About Us
Early County Family Connection brings together partners and community members to determine the best way to help our kids and families thrive. We discuss our vision for our community, assess the needs in our county, then decide how we can best work together to meet those needs.
Early County Family Connection Collaborative
Monthly in-person meetings held the first Wednesday of each month (excluding January, April, July) at 12p.m. at Blakely-Early County Chamber of Commerce. 214 Court Square, Blakely GA
Early Choices
For Children: Nutrition education through gardens at Early County Head Start and Early County Pre-K. Children experience planting, tending, harvesting, and tasting at least three vegetables per school year.
For Teens: Sexual risk avoidance education through curriculum sessions, school wide assemblies, and mental health support, including in-school yoga classes and monthly Brain Break.
For Families: Nutrition education through SNAP-Ed family cooking classes. Promotion of WIC enrollment for eligible families and use of WIC funds for fresh fruits and vegetables. Triple P Positive Parenting Program® classes which are proven effective in tackling children’s behavioral, emotional, and developmental challenges by enhancing parents’ understanding, abilities, and self-assurance.
Early County Literacy Task Force
Short Stories with Sheena – Monthly visits to Head Start, Pre-K, and daycares for interactive literacy lessons.
Little Libraries – Free Little Libraries placed around Early County. Restocked monthly. Click here to see a map of the Little Libraries.
Story Walk – Families can read a story together as they walk the trail at Kolomoki Mounds State Park. Pre-K students enjoy a story walk on site. Click here to see photos of the Story Walks.
Book Distributions – Gently used books for all ages are distributed at community events.
About Georgia Family Connection
Georgia Family Connection, a statewide infrastructure for aligning efforts across sectors, comes together through two distinct but connected change-makers: a statewide network of Collaboratives in all 159 counties and Georgia Family Connection Partnership (GaFCP). Each strengthens the other—and together, they form Georgia Family Connection.
We work toward measurably better outcomes across five key result areas:
The Georgia Family Connection statewide network—the only one of its kind in the country—works alongside children, families, and communities to help them thrive by crafting local solutions that maximize resources and make systems more effective and efficient. This network cultivates collaboration among community service providers, reducing duplication of efforts and allowing everyone to do more with the resources available.
Collaboratives equip local service agencies and organizations with the tools and methods they need to be more effective, helping them develop and work together on integrated strategies to improve child, family, and community well-being. We fill in service gaps in our communities by functioning as an incubator for direct services to families and children when a need isn’t being met. We also respond to urgent situations by maintaining strong relationships and the infrastructure necessary to deliver timely support.
GaFCP unites the statewide network in a shared framework that promotes consistent, ongoing collaboration and peer learning—equipping Collaboratives to draw on communities’ collective wisdom and experience across the state. GaFCP develops effective partnerships with state leaders, private enterprises, and other stakeholders to link the network with public and private funding, resources, talent, and innovation. GaFCP also empowers leaders across Georgia by making data accessible and providing practical tools, training, and technical assistance to support informed decision-making.
