Air Traffic Control Tower

By: Bill Higbie | Porter County Community Foundation President & CEO

Have you ever been inside an air traffic control tower?  Neither have I.  Can you imagine the view from up there--watching all those planes full of people coming and going?  At the busiest airports in the country, over 2,000 aircraft land or take off every day.  I’m sure glad someone is keeping track of all that movement!  And, I’m glad it’s not me!  (You should be, too!)

The job of an air traffic controller is an important one.  Whenever multiple objects of any kind, let alone those carrying people, are moving around in close proximity to one another, it works better if someone has an eye on the overall picture.  Each individual plane can’t possibly know all that is happening around it.  Air traffic controllers are trained and trusted to know how to do that.  Peoples’ lives depend on it.

At this point you should be wondering why this guy is rambling on about planes and what does it have to do with First Things First Porter County?  I’m glad you asked.

Let me set the stage by sharing that there is a fast-growing body of research and knowledge proving beyond question that the very best investment a community can make is in that which prioritizes quality early childhood experiences and learning.  It is now clear that the first 1,000 days following a child’s birth set the course for the rest of their life.  What happens in the first three years—good, bad or indifferent—has a powerful and lasting impact, not only on the life of each individual, but on the broader community.

All facets of economic growth, workforce development, talent attraction, place-making and quality of life depend on a strong system of support for families.  According to the First Five Years Fund, “Economic development starts with early childhood development—and the best investments ensure all children, particularly those from low-income families, have access to high-quality early childhood education.”  Investments directed at early childhood fortify community development in many ways—increased property values, higher graduation rates, lower rates of incarceration, fewer arrests for violent crimes, reduction in the need for government assistance, better health outcomes, improved labor productivity and more.

Embracing the importance of the early years, the Porter County Community Foundation has leveraged funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. to catalyze community partners and create a healthy system of care, support and services to ensure that every baby born in Porter County is prepared for a strong start to life.  If the journey does not start right, it will be difficult to finish well.  And, it will likely be a turbulent trip all along the way.

First Things First Porter County is rooted in the belief that getting it right early—when it counts most—is a far better, more successful and less costly approach than having to deal with the consequences of complacency.  (It is better, safer and cheaper to pay air traffic controllers than to repair the damage that results from ignoring the facts).  First Things First Porter County reflects the values of Porter County—that caring for our youngest citizens should be our highest priority and woven into the fabric of our culture.  It should be what we do for every child and family.  It should be our universal truth.

Fortunately, there are dozens of agencies doing great work and providing critical services to families with newborns, infants and toddlers.  But, until now, no one had a big-picture, global view of what is happening, and this work is too important to be handled without the ability to observe the entire landscape.  First Things First Porter County changes that by becoming an “air traffic controller” to facilitate the collaboration of all the moving pieces (and there are many) within the early childhood ecosystem in Porter County.

With First Things First Porter County, the Porter County Community Foundation is taking a bold and collaborative approach to drive a culture shift by integrating the three pillars of Healthy Beginnings, Family Support and Quality Early Learning to create synergy, to make connections, to make the joyful, challenging, hard, exciting, life-changing experience of having a baby a wee bit easier and to make Porter County the best place to begin.