New Events, Event Update, Families In Need, Statewide Annual Report and First Beginnings

New Events

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 added to our calendar.

• Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Training
  Continuing Education
  Friday, February 26, 2016

• The Salvation Army Human Trafficking Awareness Day of Action
  Special
  Friday, March 11, 2016

• Instilling Hope V: Trauma-Informed Care Circuit II Conference
  Continuing Education
  Friday, March 11, 2016

Event Update

Another business has joined as an event sponsor for this year's CAII Cupcakes and Cookies for Kids.

Capital City Bank is participating as a bronze sponsor. They have supported this fun and tasty event for two years in a row.

With proceeds benefiting the Second Judicial Circuit Guardian ad Litem Program, CAII Cupcakes and Cookies for Kids is a friendly annual competition for amateur and professional bakers and an opportunity for the public to raise money for our program by sampling the delicious results.

This year's competition is on Saturday, April 16, 2016 at the Florida Department of Transportation W. Haydon Burns Building Auditorium across from Cascades Park in Downtown Tallahassee.

Visit gal2.org/cupcake for complete details and to purchase tasting cards, enter the competition or register as a sponsor.

Thank you to Capital City Bank for their support!

Families In Need

We regularly encounter families who are in need of living assistance but our resources are extremely limited. When special requests for essentials such as beds, linens, clothing and school supplies come in from families, our staff reach out to the community for help.

Thanks to the generous contributions of businesses and individuals in the community, all outstanding requests have been updated to "fulfilled" status. Focusing on our program's current needs, two new general requests were posted in their place.

• Family in Need: Furniture and Household Items
• Family in Need: Used Laptop Computers

A small Families in Need section was also added to the Donate page to bring greater visibility of these requests to potential donors.

If you or your business can help, get in touch with the request contact listed in the relevant post. Thank you in advance for your assistance!

Statewide Annual Report

The Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office's annual report for this year was recently published. The report — A Voice Heard: Visualizing a Hopeful Future — is now available for download.

"I have been handing out this report to legislators, judges, child welfare colleagues and key stakeholders during my meetings and travels," said Executive Director Alan Abramowitz. "This report really highlights the importance of what our volunteers do on a daily basis for Florida's most vulnerable children."

You can contact Kelly Razzano at kelly.razzanogal.fl.gov or (850) 922-7213 to request a quote for print copies of the report.

First Beginnings

Several updates were made to the First Beginnings project page. First Beginnings provides assistance to youth in our community who are venturing out on their own for the first time.

A new Household Items List section was added. This list specifies the items the project needs donated. In addition, the page received some minor text updates and a refreshed print flyer.