Florida’s Children First, the state’s premiere independent advocacy organization, will honor child advocates in Fort Lauderdale at its annual fundraising and awards event. Community and business leaders, and all other persons concerned about the future of Florida’s children, especially abused, abandoned and neglected children and youth, will be in attendance.
HONORING: CHILDREN’S SERVICES COUNCIL OF BROWARD -CHAMPION FOR CHILDREN
The CSC’s mission is to provide leadership, advocacy and resources necessary to enhance the lives of the children of Broward County and empower them to become responsible, productive adults. They have helped more than 150,000 children with 150 proven programs and a network of 100 providers supporting youth by providing funding. The CSC of Broward, under the guidance of Cindy Arenberg-Seltzer, has provided substantial funding to pay for counsel for children in Broward. For this reason, we applaud them as “Champions for Children.”
GIA TUTALO-MOTE– MEDIA ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR Gia Tutalo-Mote is an Emmy award-winning television producer/reporter who established “Forever Family”. Forever Family news stories and on-air promotions highlight children in foster care who are searching for adoptive families, teens “aging out” of foster care, and issues relating to the American foster care crisis. In addition to overseeing all aspects of Forever Family, Gia is the host of Forever Family on NBC 6, ABC 7 and NBC 2. She is also a frequent radio guest and appears in national television programming. Her work has been recognized and awarded by many state and national organizations.
BRIAN THOMPSON– OUTSTANDING YOUTH ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR Brian is an 18 year old Senior who will graduate in June from Dillard High School with a 4.7 GPA. Brian didn’t have an easy start in life; he came into care at the age of 16 as he struggled with instability, abuse, being separated from his sister, and the loss of both his parents. Despite a difficult past, Brian overcame many obstacles. He was introduced to Florida Youth SHINE and found a passion for advocacy. Brian soon stepped in and started leading the Broward chapter at the age of 16. He got involved on a statewide level and shared his experiences with youth around the state about the importance of siblings being kept together and other issues that youth in care face. He learned about resources available to him and worked to inform other youth locally about their rights.
RSVP: Email events@floridaschildrenfirst.org or call 954-796-0860 Or RSVP online at www.floridaschildrenfirst.org
For more information, click on the event link.