Guardian ad Litem Foundation has a major fundraiser next month—“Give and Groove” with the Mulligans on Friday, November 7, at The Sanctuary, 716 N. 9th Ave. Culinary Productions will provide food.
Background: The Guardian ad Litem Foundation supports the Guardian ad Litem program in the 1st circuit (Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton counties),which advocates for the best interests of abused, abandoned, and neglected children in court.
- Our Guardian ad Litem program is one of the busiest in the state. About 1200 kids are removed from their homes every year in our circuit. The program has approximately 400 volunteers to and needs 200 more.
The Foundation supports the children by recruiting volunteers to visit the children monthly and advocate for their best interests in court. Additionally, it raises funds to provide clothing, personal needs (such as suitcases for their clothes), camps, sports fees for these children.
Larry Clarke has been a volunteer since 2012. He shared that when the Child Protective Investigator takes possession of a child living in unsafe conditions, none of them have anything to put their clothes and other belongings in, so the investigators have 40-gallon garbage bags in their trunk.
- “The kids become known as ‘Trash Can Kids.’ I’ve never seen a kid with a suitcase,” Clarke said. “We decided to do something about that.”
He continued, “To give the kids a decent start, we give them suitcases with age-appropriate items. If it’s a baby, it’s got diapers in it. If it’s a five-to 7-year-old, it’s got a blanket in I and some kind of huggy animal in it. And the books for the older kids. The program is extremely expensive.”
Sponsors Needed
The Mulligans have been part of very successful fundraisers for the foundation in Okaloosa County, but the Escambia event has had a hard time recruiting sponsors. Sandy Sansing is the presenting sponsor, but several other levels need to be filled by October 20…