And this is what Community looks like! It takes a village to raise a family

From Diana Reese, Volunteer Child Advocate, Guardian ad Litem...

So today is my "37th" birthday and here's my wish: That we work together as a community to help children in tough situations. This story is a perfect example.

My friend Maria Bond knew Jazzie from her days interning at Friends of Foster Children of Palm Beach County, Inc. When Jazzie took on the parental role of caring for her four younger siblings along with her own one year old, Maria shared WPTV's story (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEW5l2k1AnI&feature=youtu.be).
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I and my friends at Speak Up for Kids Palm Beach County, Foster Palm Beach, & Guardian ad Litem Program-Palm Beach County, Florida, Coleen LaCosta then started to share. My friends at Keller Williams Palm Beaches put together a fundraiser at the KW offices. Donations started coming in to help this family stay together.

We asked our friend David Chirico from Networking to Help Children to share with his supporters. We had several people make donations, dropping off clothes, (special thanks to Maryanne Hedrick), and then Realtor Maria Colandrea called and said she was doing a fundraiser in her neighborhood. She collected gift cards, clothes, and shoes that the girls loved! Then Maria found out the girls needed proper beds and she went to work getting her friends and neighbors to donate the bunk beds you see here, plus the mattresses, plus the bedding, and curtains, and more supplies. And she's still going - texting my phone with more as I write.

In addition to helping this family, one of her donors had bunk beds to give which were too big for Jazzie's place so I reached out to some of our Foster Parent Licensing agencies to see who needed bunk beds to be able to license a prospective foster family. Within 60 seconds of sending that email, both sets were gone. [We do still need a truck to move them pretty please]

So this is community working together for a brighter future and bringing smiles to children's faces!

Thank you 🥰