Business and Community Service Profile - About First Steps
First Steps, an initiative of the Rochester Area Foundation, is a community-wide effort to improve the kindergarten readiness of Rochester-area children. First Steps brings together the expertise and resources of community organizations that work with families and children to:

· To increase community awareness of the importance of school readiness;
· Improve the quality of early learning and development opportunities for children; and
· Develop reliable methods of measuring children’s progress and of system performance.

First Steps does not provide direct services but works with community partners to promote high quality early learning experiences. Our primary partners include Child Care Resource and Referral, Rochester Public Schools-Early Childhood Family Services, Head Start, Wilder Research and the Working Family Resource Center. For more information, visit the First Steps website at www.firststeps.us.


Business and Community Service Profile - About Rochester Area Foundation
Dedicated to community vitality since 1944, Rochester Area Foundation’s mission is to strengthen community philanthropy by promoting responsible and informed giving and to assist donors in meeting their charitable objectives. The Foundation uses its resources to improve the quality of life, promote greater equality of opportunities and to develop effective methods to assist those in need in the greater Rochester area. Rochester Area Foundation invests in the community through grants to local nonprofit organizations and through its strategic initiatives, First Homes and First Steps.  Learn more at www.rochesterarea.org.