The mission of Voices for Children is to provide support and advocacy for the abused, neglected, and abandoned children in our community. They partner with the Guardian ad Litem Program of Hillsborough County to ensure these children have the things they need to feel safe, loved and appreciated.
How does VFC and GAL work together?
The Guardian ad Litem (GAL) program is a government-funded agency. As such, they are not allowed to accept any donations. However, oftentimes, the funding supplied by the State to fulfill this work is not enough to appropriately supply the agency with all they need to be successful.
This is where Voices for Children comes in!
VFC’s mission is to provide support and advocacy for the abused, neglected, and abandoned children in our community. For over 30 years, they have chosen to accomplish this mission by partnering with the Guardian ad Litem Program of Hillsborough County.
How does VFC accomplish this?
- They support the kids to help make their lives a little easier as they navigate through the court system and foster care. When all other avenues have been exhausted (case management, foster parents, relatives), you can request help from your CAM for items such as:
- School uniforms, shoes, undergarments and socks
- Summer camps
- School supplies
- Tutoring services
- Duffle bags, backpacks, and toiletries
- School field trips
- Toys for birthdays or other occasions
- High school year books and dances
- After school activities such as dance, football, soccer, art class etc.
- Infant needs including strollers and playpens
2. They support the GAL Outreach Program and GAL Volunteer Initiatives through:
- Marketing efforts, such as ads on buses and local publications
- Supplies needed to support the recruitment effort of new volunteers
- Memberships and luncheons for recruitment team as they spread the word about GAL in the community
- Food and recognition at volunteers meetings and graduations
- Any items need to aid in the recruitment process
- Volunteer appreciations items such as notebooks and license plate frames
3. They support our GAL staff attorneys to ensure they have all they need as they build their cases for the best possible outcome for each child. This includes:
- Pay for psychological evaluations and expert witnesses
- Pay for surveillance in cases of domestic violence
- Pay for court reporting and audio files
- Pay for legal paperwork including birth certificates, hospital records, etc.
4. They support Florida’s first courthouse facility dog program.
- The facility dog helps to calm traumatized children so they find their voice and share what happened to them.
- It is their intention to provide the safest and highest level of care to the vulnerable child victims of abuse, abandonment and neglect.
To learn more about and to support the work of Voices for Children please visit their website here.
