Children First

A Sustainable Future for the Next Generation

Children First is an organization that provides Head Start and Early Head Start programs, serving more than 700 of Sarasota County's lowest income children. The organization is a community leader in the care of underserved children, and has already applied sustainable improvements to a few of its locations, such as solar hot water heaters and energy efficient insulation.

Partners for Green Places (PGP) opened the opportunity for further environmental impact and change for Children First, further cementing the organization’s leadership in the community.

Ultimately this is great for our children, and families, and staff because those efficiencies that we’ll gain will all translate into more support for our mission.
**— Phillip Tavill, President and CEO of Children First**

Creating a Scalable Model

THE AUDIT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

To start the journey as a Partner, the Children First team worked with one of our partner auditors to conduct a detailed energy audit, which provided an analysis of the current energy and water uses of the facility. This audit, facilitated by Partners for Green Places, resulted in a detailed blueprint of recommendations that would implement energy and water saving efficiency measures. The list, tailored to the Children First facility’s needs, quantified and enumerated the long-term financial savings tailored to each implemented sustainable measure.

Based on the organization’s previous efficiency improvements, the team decided to audit its facility in North Port, one of its 15 facilities in Sarasota, as the first model for the Partners for Green Places initiative. The structure was built in 2007, and in need of substantial upgrades. The detailed Energy Roadmap document analyzed two years of utility bill history, presented which appliances were using the most energy and water, and provided detailed recommendations for air upgrades to conditioning, lighting, insulation, water fixtures, and more.

Since receiving the audit results and recommendations, the leaders of the organization are prioritizing the list according to the highest return on investment and greatest positive environmental impact. With a goal to make the North Port building a catalytic location for the rest of the organization, Children First is hoping to make these sustainable measures scalable and translatable across the organization.

Catalyzing Future Impact

THE OUTCOME

Children First continues to experience the environmental impact and cultural value that becoming part of the PGP alliance has catalyzed. With sustainability coming to the forefront of the organization’s strategic plan, Partners for Green Places pushed forward an organizational shift in thinking sustainably, particularly about more capital investments that result in a quick return on investment with the ultimate goal for future savings to be redirected toward its mission.

Internally, becoming a Partner for Green Places has enabled Children First to further impact the hundreds of families and children it serves by inspiring and motivating them to access resources that promote energy efficiency and overall financial savings. Additionally, the staff and volunteers are being educated on accessible sustainable practices and the positive environmental impact of them.

IMPLEMENTING THEIR BLUEPRINT

As Children First begins to implement their blueprint for sustainable success, stay tuned for:

Data and statistics about the decrease in energy and water consumption
Exact cost savings from efficiency upgrades that will be directed back to their mission