On Wednesday, December 17, 2014, our nonprofit Child Advocates II, Inc. (CAII) hosted a fundraising event at 101 Restaurant benefiting the Second Judicial Circuit Guardian ad Litem Program.

CAII Wine Tasting for Charity was a fun and informal way for volunteers, staff and community supporters to meet and mingle while donating funds for local abused, neglected and abandoned children.

CAII is a charitable, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit volunteer organization founded to help our program through fundraising and marketing activities, volunteer recruitment programs, holiday gift drives, special events and volunteer support.

Taking place inside 101 Restaurant's Versailles Lounge, CAII Wine Tasting for Charity featured four different wines as well as an assortment of hors d'oeuvres.

Including program staff and CAII board members, approximately forty-two people came out to support the event — the first of its kind held by CAII. Thanks to everyone's donations through ticket sales, CAII made over $700 for children in one evening.

View the CAII Wine Tasting for Charity photograph set

The success of this event would not have been possible without the generous contributions of the following local businesses and individuals. Thank you!

We regularly host, sponsor and support a variety of events that provide community outreach, increase awareness of our program, help recruit new volunteers, raise funds and furnish training to our volunteer guardians ad litem. The following events were recently added to our calendar.

• Differentiated Instruction    Continuing Education
  Thursday, January 8, 2015

• Volunteer Training: January 2015    Training
  Monday, January 12, 2015
  Wednesday, January 14, 2015
  Thursday, January 15, 2015
  Tuesday, January 20, 2015
  Wednesday, January 21, 2015
  Thursday, January 22, 2015

• Educational Advocacy Certification Program    Continuing Education
  Wednesday, January 21, 2015

• Educational Surrogate Training    Continuing Education
  Monday, January 26, 2015

On Sunday, December 7, 2014, an article written by Child Advocates II, Inc. (CAII) board member Marianne A. Trussell was published in the Chronicle edition of the Tallahassee Democrat.

Advertising this Wednesday's CAII Wine Tasting for Charity fundraiser at 101 Restaurant's Versailles Lounge, the article also provides an overview of our program and the mission of CAII.

The Tallahassee Democrat article is presented below in case you missed it. Thank you to Marianne Trussell for sharing our program with the public.

Wine Tasting for Charity Event Hosted by Child Advocates II and 101 Restaurant
to be Held Dec. 17
by Marianne A. Trussell

Sunday, December 7, 2014
Tallahassee Democrat
Chronicle Edition

On Wednesday, December 17, Child Advocates II, Inc. (CAII) and 101 Restaurant will host a Wine Tasting for Charity event at the Versailles Lounge of 101 Restaurant in Kleman Plaza, from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. to raise funds for the Second Judicial Circuit Guardian ad Litem Program (GAL Program).

CAII is a charitable 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization founded to support the GAL Program. Through fundraising, public outreach, and volunteer support, CAII works closely with the Guardian ad Litem Program to help provide for the needs of abused and neglected children in Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, and Wakulla County.

Since its inception in 1988, CAII has conducted numerous fundraising and marketing events, volunteer recruitment programs, membership drives, and special events, and collected donations to help secure the basic needs of these children.

The cost for sampling an assortment of delicious wines and tasty hors d'oeuvres is $25; general admission is $15. Also available are two levels of sponsorships which will not only help children in need, but promote your business. The platinum level is available for $250 and the titanium level is available for $500.

All sponsors' logos will be placed on lounge table tents and on the CAII website and will be mentioned during any radio and television promotional opportunities.

Titanium level sponsors will also receive special recognition at the event during the keynote presentation. Payment through PayPal is encouraged; cash and check admission will be accepted at the event. Please visit https://gal2.org/events/2014-12-17-wine/ for additional details and to access PayPal.

Your participation and support are appreciated. Invite your friends — everyone is welcome. This pre-holiday event is a great way to express our gratitude for what we have by helping the youngest members of our community who are less fortunate. Alcoholic beverages are for those 21 years and up. Remember to drink responsibly.

We regularly host, sponsor and support a variety of events that provide community outreach, increase awareness of our program, help recruit new volunteers, raise funds and furnish training to our volunteer guardians ad litem. The following event was recently added to our calendar.

• CAII Cupcakes and Cookies for Kids   Fundraising
  Saturday, April 18, 2015

The Second Judicial Circuit Guardian ad Litem Program office's technology systems will be upgraded next week resulting in a staff email outage and reduced file access.

The upgrade is scheduled from Tuesday, December 9 at 7:00 PM to Sunday, December 14, 2014. Staff will not be able to send or receive email during this time, so please call by telephone to reach us.

• Staff Directory

Our website and its hosted resources will not be affected by the upgrade. Since staff will be able to monitor the GAL Community forums, current volunteers may post their non-urgent questions there.

Please note that any forms sent from our website will still be accepted but not delivered to the appropriate staffer until after the office upgrade is complete.

We apologize in advance for any inconvenience that this upgrade may cause.

New Event

We regularly host, sponsor and support a variety of events that provide community outreach, increase awareness of our program, help recruit new volunteers, raise funds and furnish training to our volunteer guardians ad litem. The following event was recently added to our calendar.

• Child Welfare Regional Training Panama City   Continuing Education
  Tuesday, January 13, 2015
  Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Continuing Education

One new library item has been added to our comprehensive continuing education resource center.

• FDLRS Parent Services Wiki
  A wiki library of resources and events from the Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources System (FDLRS) Miccosukee supporting families in Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Taylor and Wakulla counties.

filed under Disabilities, Educational Advocacy and Website

The Differentiated Instruction training event scheduled for Wednesday, December 3, 2014 has been cancelled. This continuing education course will be offered again in the near future, so watch this space for an announcement when it is rescheduled.