DUFFELS FOR KIDS
In the world of foster care, trash bags are often synonymous with luggage. It shouldn't be and the Florida State Foster/Adoptive Parent Association is doing something about it. Through the Duffels for Kids program, every child in foster care will receive a free duffel bag to call his or her own, even as they transition back to their biological parents or to another permanent family.
Duffels for Kids distribution will be coordinated by FSFAPA's board, with the help and support of local foster parent associations, Department of Children and Families representatives, private investigators, community-based care organizations and guardian ad litems. Caregivers will be able to request a duffle bag for their youth in care through FSFAPA's 800 line or our online request form. FSFAPA's first push will be to distribute to children already in care. As the program grows, regional DCF offices (along with their PIs) and CBCs will have duffels on hand to distribute in the same manner as they distribute gift cards and complimentary items at initial placement -- with documentation to track the distribution of the bags.
JOIN US FOR OUR 2013 DUFFELS FOR KIDS WALK
Every day, a child in care transitions into another home without proper luggage. Help the Florida State Foster/Adoptive Parent Association break the cycle! Support the Duffels for Kids Walk at Jungle Island on May 18. As you already know, May is National Foster Care Month so FSFAPA will be using this backdrop to kick off this wonderful program ... we're ensuring that EVERY foster youth has a duffel to call their own... because trash bags shouldn't be a substitute for luggage...
2013 WALK DETAILS
What: Duffels for Kids Walk
When: May 18, 2013
Where: Jungle Island
Time: 9 a.m.
View the Duffels for Kids flyer here!
Online Registration is Now Closed
You can still join us May 18 and register onsite! Registration fee is $35 (cash only).
You may also donate directly to Duffels for Kids through our PayPal link:
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NEED MORE INFO?
Contact T. LaShaun Wallace, FSFAPA program director, at info@floridafapa.org or 954.699.0844.
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2013 Duffels for Kids Walk
Sponsors
Platinum -- $10,000
Gold -- $5,000
Support Florida's kids in care ... become a Gold sponsor!
Silver -- $2,500
Support Florida's kids in care ... become a Silver sponsor!
Bronze -- $1,000
Support Florida's kids in care ... become a Bronze sponsor!
Supporting -- $500
Bright House
Lake Sumter Families
Your name could be here too ... become a Supporting sponsor today!
2013 Notable Walk Attendees
Margaret Iuculano, a former foster child who aged out of the system at 16, is the Duffels for Kids Walk spokesperson!
During Margaret's time in foster care she was shuffled among more than a dozen foster homes and details those experiences in her memoir, My God Box, Parable of the Incorrigible Child.
Today Margaret is married with two children, and is a businesswoman who has held leadership positions in fortune 500 companies and was CEO of her own small business. She won multiple business awards before becoming a staunch advocate for foster kids. In 2007, she founded Angels for Foster Kids, Inc.; a social service organization that attempts to moderate the negative impacts that are often faced by children who are living in foster care.
Esther Jacobo, Regional Director for Miami–Dade and Monroe counties for the Florida Department of Children and Families and Children's Trust board member
Dr. Kalyani Gopal, licensed clinical psychologist and author of "The Supportive Foster Parent," which tackles the day-to-day issues in raising foster children.
Sidarth Singh and Shifali Singh, siblings who founded Duffels for Angels and Aid for Change to provide duffel bags for foster children in Indiana. They also hosted a similar walk in 2012 and produced this video for the cause.
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