At First In Families of the Southern Piedmont, our mission is to empower and support people with intellectual/developmental disabilities by establishing partnerships between families and the community.

First In Families of the Southern Piedmont provides support to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families in Cabarrus, Davidson, Rowan, Stanley and Union counties. Started by parents of children with developmental disabilities, there are now 11 First In Families (FIF) chapters in North Carolina serving 42 counties. The Southern Piedmont Chapter is housed within The Arc of Union County and we are a private, not-for-profit agency of last resort providing a safety net for many families requiring assistance with specific needs. This can mean anything from help with rent or utilities to help with funding for eyeglasses, wheelchairs or ramps.

What makes FIF unique is that we build partnerships with businesses, organizations and individuals to leverage and utilize community resources to meet the needs of the families we serve and to stretch the funding and donations we receive to assist as many families as possible. This means, for example, purchasing the supplies for a needed home-project, and then finding volunteers to do the labor. We often receive requests for fences and other home modifications to meet the needs of a family member with an intellectual/developmental disability, and our dollars go a lot further when we can find volunteers to donate their time and help out.

http://www.fifsp.com