First 1,000 Days Sarasota County is encouraging the community to get involved this spring in its “Color the Community” campaign. The campaign kicked off with the unveiling of three new works of art across Sarasota County: Swing Out Into the World, by Laura Pommier at 14212 Tamiami Trail in North Port; its sister mural, Bubbles, by Truman Adams, at Forty Carrots Family Center, 1500 S. Tuttle Avenue, in Sarasota; and a traveling artwork, Making Roots, created by Traci Kegerreis. The art  is designed as gateways for young families to learn about resources available to support parents in being their child’s first teacher.

Artists were encouraged to creatively express one or more of the fundamentals of early childhood development: maximize love, and manage stress; talk, sing and point; count, group, and compare; explore through movement and play; and read and discuss stories. First 1,000 Days Sarasota County is asking the broader community to follow suit by creating sidewalk chalk art inspired by the early learning principals; posting photos of the art to social media and tagging @First1000DaysSarasota on Facebook and Instagram with the hashtags #First1000DaysSarasota #ColortheCommunity; and signing up for free text tips on The Basics and connect with local resources for parents and young children. For more information, click here.