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We'd like to thank William & Elizabeth for sharing their fostering story!  


What an inspiring message to encourage others to consider fostering!

As you may know already, we are in urgent need of quality foster parents for local teens and sibling groups.  If you are called to foster, we invite you to share their journey.  

Give us a call at (863) 519-8900 x 289 or email info@heartlandforchildren.org for more information.

Quarterly Recaps

Rudolph Round-Up 2015

December has come and gone and we all here at Heartland hope that you and yours enjoyed a wonderful holiday season and a happy, healthy start to the New Year!  Our goal this year was to grant the holiday wishes of at least 1200 of our local children who were receiving services through the foster care system.

Thanks to the generosity of all the donors who chose to be Rudolph Champions in 2015, we were able to not only meet our goal, but exceed it!

We are thrilled to share that holiday wishes were provided for 1410 children through the 2015 Rudolph Round-Up Holiday Toy Drive!


Read the full recap here.

Paper Tigers Film Screenings a Success!


Heartland for Children was pleased to host three film screenings of the much anticipated documentary, Paper Tigers, here in Lakeland, Sebring, and Winter Haven in November 2015.  HFC partnered with Prevent Child Abuse Florida to bring this film to our community. 

Paper Tigers intimately examines the inspiring promise of Trauma Informed Communities – a movement that is showing great promise in healing individuals struggling with the dark legacy of
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).  

Anyone interested in participating can connect with Kathie Graydon at kgraydon@heartlandforchildren.org or at (863) 519-8900 x 205.


Read the full recap here.

National Adoption Month 2015

On November 18th, 2015 (National Adoption Day) alone, we had six children (all girls) finalize their adoptions!  We had one additional adoption at the end of November making seven total children and teens adopted for the month of November. 

In 2015, 32 children and teens throughout Polk, Hardee and Highlands counties were either matched with a family or finalized their adoption with a family they were matched with!

Read the full recap here.
Visit our Heart Gallery here.

2nd Quarter Champions

Faith Champions: Grace Bible Church


Through their partnership with Heartland for Children’s faith based initiativeGrace Bible Church, under the leadership of lead Pastor Dustin Woods, has been instrumental in impacting the lives of children and families throughout Circuit 10 – Hardee, Highlands and Polk counties. For the second year Grace Bible Church committed to being Rudolph Round-Up Champions and through the generosity of the church and its members, hosted a toy drive to specifically benefit teens who are receiving services through the local foster care system.

Read the full blog here.

Business Champions: Waypoints Financial


Waypoints Financial has been a wonderful partner in our community, opening their hearts to helping children in need through Heartland for Children’s Rudolph Round-Up Toy Drive

For several years, the staff at Waypoints Financial has committed to being Rudolph Champions, purchasing specific wishes for teens and hosting a toy drive to specifically benefit children and teens who are receiving services through the local foster care system.

Read the full blog here.

Case Manager's Corner

  • Barbara Hester | One Hope United - One of the most consistent and productive units in the entire system of care is supervised by Barbara Hester of One Hope United. Barbara, along with her teammates Ernestine Frazier, Sharon Mattison-Reid, and Ann Cruz have repeatedly surpassed their adoptions goals year after year.
  • Sylvia Matteo | Children's Home Society - One of the highlights of the past quarter was the timely reunification of 9 siblings by Children's Home Society Supervisor Sylvia Matteo and her team.
  • Mary Thomas | GCJFCS - Gulf Coast Case Manager Mary Thomas is being recognized by her leadership team for her excellent work ethic, her extreme diligence and her high quality of documentation.
  • Cemico Green | Neighbor to Family - Neighbor to Family relayed this story of how Family Care Manager Cemico Green worked with one of her families: Cemico Green, Family Care Manager at Neighbor to Family (NTF), worked with a teen (and family) who has Insulin Dependent Diabetes. 
Thank you to all of our Case Managers, Supervisors, and everyone else out there on the Front Line. You’re out there every day doing the heavy lifting, and we appreciate you and all that you do.
 
Read the full blog by Bill Nunnally here!

SAVE THE DATE: Pinwheels in the Park 

Join Heartland for Children and the Lakeland Flying Tigers for this year’s annual Pinwheels in the Park. This is a family-fun event with many different activities for families to participate. Check our calendar to find out more information about this event as it becomes available.
 

Why Pinwheels?

The pinwheel is a whimsical reminder of the great and happy childhood that we want for all children. Each year, the Pinwheels for Prevention campaign engages the community as a reminder of the role we all play in the lives of children.
 

Get Involved

This year, throughout the month of April, there will be many opportunities to be involved, including attending proclamations at local school boards and commissioner meetings, displaying pinwheels or pinwheel vases, and attending local events.
 
If you have any questions about the Pinwheels for Prevention campaign, or would like to be involved this year, email our Prevention team at prevention@heartlandforchildren.org, or visit heartlandforchildren.org/pinwheels!  

BOGO Info Night at Beef O'Brady's

Date: March 21st, 2016
Time: 6 pm - 7: 30 pm

Learn more

Upcoming
Events

Stay up to date with all of Heartland for Children's events by bookmarking our calendar page or subscribing to our events on Facebook!

BOGO Info Night at Java Cafe

Date: April 12th, 2016
Time: 6 pm - 7:30 pm

Learn more

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Copyright © 2016 Heartland for Children, All rights reserved.


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