Chesterton High School assistant principal Adam Tenbarge is not the only active member of the community his family can take credit for. His wife, Kasandra (Kasie) Tenbarge, has assumed the position of Associate Director for First Things First Porter County, a non-profit organization that aims to set local children off on the right foot.
The importance of early childhood development is often overlooked, but its significance is no less important than that of any other cause. Today’s children are tomorrow’s adults, and the conditions of one’s childhood can greatly impact who that child will grow up to be. First Things First was created in the vision of healthy beginnings, family dynamics, and quality of learning for every baby born in Porter County, Indiana. Launched in 2021, but dreamed up long before, First Things First has built strong and successful relationships with organizations in the community that share or support their goal.
As Associate Director of First Things First (FTF), Kasie Tenbarge will work to support Mary Jane Eisenhaur, FTF’s mother and Executive Director, in her feats of business, organization, planning, management, as well as diversifying FTF’s relationships within the community. Tenbarge recalls three main reasons that influenced her decision to join the organization: the potential of a start-up organization, the impact it would have on her own community (Chesterton, Indiana), and Executive Director Eisenhaur.
“[Eisenhaur] is the foremost expert in Northwest Indiana on the topic of Early Childhood Education, Data, and Policy analysis,” says Tenbarge on the subject of Executive Director Eisenhaur. “It is truly an honor and privilege to have been invited to join her and her team in this role to advance the mission of First Things First. Mary Jane is the founder of First Things First, this is her life’s work, and I am grateful for her trust in me.”
Having the expertise of Mary Jane Eisenhaur as the backbone of First Things First is an easy explanation of the success of the organization since its founding just three years ago. The mission, to give all Porter County infants a good introduction to life, has struck something in the hearts of the community, making partnerships with other businesses a breeze to obtain. Additionally, it was this very idea that also helped sway Tenbarge into joining the force.
“First Things First has a relationship with many organizations here in Chesterton… I really loved the idea of helping to positively impact the families right here in the town that I live in!”
These relationships, Tenbarge explains, are crucial to the success of First Things First, seeing as FTF itself does not provide any direct services to the county.
“Instead,” she says, “we provide funding to support our partners in the community who are providing direct services to families.”
Raising a child is no easy task, and sometimes neither is being one, but when troubles occur, no one in Porter County can say they will go without communal support. First Things First has the potential to be just the thing the community needs to raise a bright new generation of citizens, and that is another detail that sold Tenbarge on assuming the position of Associate Director. Although having a long established career in non-profit, Tenbarge has never been a part of such a new organization, which, in her case, proved to be exciting instead of intimidating.
“The opportunity to be a part of a startup organization that has so much potential (and that has already experienced so much success) I felt was a rare and exciting opportunity,” she says.
FTF’s potential is a given, seeing as they provide support for one of the biggest challenges people face: growing up. Furthermore, even as children grow out of their first stage of life, FTF may one day help the further additional development of people they helped as babies. After landing the position of Associate Director, Tenbarge reports that children prenatal to three years of age are not the only kids that First Things First hopes to educate.
“I can also say that we do hope to be able to host interns from CHS in the near future… Stay tuned!” she hints.
Be it but as old as its clientele, First Things First is nowhere near unreliable on the subject of their dedication and commitment to raising Porter County right. Built from a benevolent woman’s vision and supported by upstanders of its very own hometown, FTF is in itself a malleable citizen of Porter County that relies on its predecessors to help it grow and flourish into something spectacular. Without a doubt, First Things First Porter County is never to fall obsolete to the families of Northwest Indiana.
