First 5 Orange County hosted a free community event for families with young childrenages 0-5 on Saturday, May 9 at Peppertree Park in Tustin, in partnership with First 5 California, the City of Tustin, CalOptima, and Orange County Social Services Agency. The joint event, titled Stronger Starts Statewide Day of Action, commemorated the statewide initiative dedicated to raising awareness about the critical importance of early childhood development and the need to ensure every child in California has the strongest possible start in life.
Over 350 families attended the event. The event distributed over 3,500 diapers and 200 blanks grocery boxes. In addition, 27 interactive resource stations reinforced the importance of early learning through play and 180 flowerpots and sunflower seed kits from First 5 California were gifted to encourage continued bonding and relationship building to fight the harmful effects of adverse childhood experiences and prevent toxic stress response.
“We seize any opportunity we can to promote family wellbeing and health and were excited to align with our fellow First 5 partners to host the Stronger Starts Statewide Day of Action,” said Kim Goll, President and CEO of First 5 Orange County. “In California, 1 in 3 children are affected by toxic stress, highlighting the urgent need to raise awareness about developmental health and support early intervention efforts.”
First 5 California’s Stronger Starts initiative highlights how families can proactively build resilience and buffer against the effects of toxic stress, helping to set a strong foundation for healthy development and future success. Held on May 9 across the state, First 5 organizations hosted individual events for families in their respective counties, forming a unified effort to raise awareness, provide essential resources, and create a fun, engaging day for the community.
“CalOptima Health provides insurance to about 840,000 people in Orange County and about 82,000 are zero to five years of age,” said Michael Hunn, CEO, CalOptima at the event on Saturday. “We want to remind parents and families, make sure the kids get their well-child visits, their immunizations, and developmental screenings. So many organizations at this event are here to support you in those first five years.”
Several community leaders were in attendance, including Kim Goll, First 5 OC President and CEO; Michael Hunn, CalOptima CEO; and Soledad Rivera, CalOptima Community Relations Manager and First 5 OC Board Chair. The leaders each emphasized the importance of communal gatherings and family-friendly events to meet residents where they are, bringing health and developmental services directly into communities to expand access and promote equity in care.
To learn more about the Stronger Starts campaign, visit First5California.com.
For more information about First 5 Orange County, visit first5oc.org.
About First 5 California’s Stronger Starts Campaign
Stronger Starts is a statewide public awareness campaign from First 5 California designed to support parents and caregivers in helping children ages 0–5 grow up safe, supported, and resilient. Since its launch in 2023, the campaign has guided families through three phases—Educate, Assess, and now Address—building understanding of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress response (TSR), and equipping caregivers with practical tools to respond to children’s emotional needs. Now in phase 3, the Address phase is focused on helping parents and caregivers reflect on their own experiences and apply simple, research-based strategies to create safe, stable, nurturing relationships that can buffer the effects of toxic stress response and promote healthy development.
About First 5 Orange County
First 5 Orange County is a local public agency dedicated to helping children from prenatal to age five have the strongest start in life, by funding and improving access to essential services for children and their families. First 5 Orange County is funded by tobacco tax revenues. For more information, visit www.first5oc.org. First 5 Orange County is located in Santa Ana.