Our Mission
To strengthen Families by providing Information, Education, Prevention, Intervention and Support services.
The Family is the basic unit of our complex and rapidly changing society. Although it is found in a variety of forms, the family is still the primary unit that provides adult companionship and support, as well as nurturing and caring for children.
Families First is committed to strengthening families by providing best practice services that support family cohesion, parent-child relationships, parent empowerment, and parenting and life skill development.
In 1986 North Carolina recognized the high teen pregnancy rate in our state and introduced the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Council initiative to challenge all counties to develop and implement a program to focus on that issue. At that time in Rowan County, the teen pregnancy rate was higher than the state average and a group of concerned citizens rallied to respond. Under the coordination and leadership of the Rowan County Health Department, the group held their first meeting on June 2, 1986 with Nancy Check as the first prevention council President. The group started out as the Rowan County Council on Adolescent Pregnancy. For 8 years the group worked tirelessly to get established, seeking funding to support staff and programs, identifying and establishing services to address the needs of the community and persevered through many obstacles to develop a Family Life Curriculum that focused on pregnancy prevention. On March 23, 1994 the community group became a 501c(3) and as a non-profit appointed its first Board of Directors and hired its first Executive Director, Cindy Wood. That same year the group changed its name to Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Council of Rowan County.
In the 30 years that followed, the agency expanded its mission and focus as it continued to grow & serve the community’s families.
In 2009 current director, Jeannie Sherrill, joined the agency and in 2013 together with the BOD the final name change to Families First NC-INC was created. The new name encompasses the work being done today. Ongoing teen pregnancy prevention efforts along with the wide scope of services offered, work together to support our Mission – To Strengthen Families. Read more about our programs here.
--Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has
- Margaret Mead
