Brownie Troop in 2008 Toy Drive

Bunchy Gertner delivering JC Penny shopping cards to transitioning teens. Toy Drive 2008 special transitioning teens initiative.

The Annual Toy Drive is a community-wide effort that includes corporate sponsors, private donors and individuals. With it’s signature launch, timed with the Village of Merrick Park’s Tree Lighting Ceremony each year where individuals are asked to bring a new toy for the Toy Drive, Bunchy and her elves work around the clock to make sure that by Christmas Day, all 4,000 children have received their presents.

Bicycles for the special Transitioning Teens initiative for the 2007 Toy Drive.	TSAO Design Group with VFC Director and Community Outreach Coordinator, Annabel (Bunchy) Gertner. From left: Abigail Pilgrim, Janie Coka, Meredith Marlow, Amber Zimmerman, Gustavo Perdomo, Kason Hogopian and Bunchy Gertner
2008 Toy Drive Gifts table.	Bunchy Gertner with FP&L sponsors.

It’s as easy as 1,2,3,4!

1.  Toys:

Starting Tuesday, Dec. 1st take new, unwrapped toys to The Village of Merrick Park, 358 San Lorenzo Ave. 3rd Floor- 3rd Store from Nordstrom from 10am to 6pm. Find out more about our Special Transitioning Teens initiative here.

2.  Donate:

Online or write a check to Voices for Children with “Toy Drive” on the memo line.

3.  Sponsor:

Be a voice! Sponsor a group of children to shop and deliver the unwrapped toys to The Village of Merrick Park, 358 San Lorenzo Ave. 3rd Floor- 3rd Store from Nordstrom from 10am to 6pm. For sponsorship instruction please complete form or contact us.

4.  Volunteer:

Join the crowd and help us wrap the toys. Volunteer information here.

Where

Starting Tuesday, Dec. 1st
The Village of Merrick Park
358 San Lorenzo Ave.
3rd Floor, 3rd Store from Nordstrom
10am to 6pm

“We are honored to host such a momentous event and to speak up for the abused, abandoned, and neglected children who go unheard every day in an overburdened foster care system,” said Nelson F. Hincapie, President & CEO, Voices For Children Foundation. “Let’s stand up for our foster children, so they can stand a chance for the future,” he added.

Residents, businesses and community organizations can become sponsors of one of these “forgotten children” represented in the life-sized cut-outs for $250. Following the march, guests are invited to stay and enjoy a Children’s Celebration at Bayside Marketplace. This family fun-filled event is comprised of various performances including Hip Hop Kidz, entertainment by Radio Disney AM 990, and a display auction of diverse art by the children in foster care. One hundred percent of the proceeds of the art are going to the child artists.

This fundraising campaign is being held by Voices For Children Foundation, the fundraising arm of the 11th Judicial Circuit Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) Program. The funds provided by Voices allow the GAL Program to recruit and train the volunteers who serve as the “voice” for the foster care children. When a GAL volunteer is involved, a child is less likely to move from home to home and they are 95-percent less likely to re-enter the foster care system.

This event will not be possible without the help and support from our sponsors:

Platinum Sponsors: Bilzin Sumberg;Baena Price & Axelrod LLP; The Children’s Trust; Bayside Marketplace

Gold Sponsors: Flagler Development Group; Leon Medical Centers;  Miccosukee Resort & Gaming;  Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.; Mayor Carlos Alvarez’s V initiative

Media Sponsors: Univision 23 / Telefutura 69; CBS4; Fuel Outdoor; The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald; Diario Las Americas; WLRN; Official Diamond Voice: Comcast; Official Silver Voice: Parrot Fish Studio

Voices For Children Foundation is a not for profit organization that raises funds to ensure that every abused, abandoned, and neglected child in Miami-Dade County has a court appointed Guardian Ad Litem and that financial assistance and other resources are available for their accompanying health, educational, and social needs. Guardians Ad Litem are trained, court-appointed adults who serve as the representative voice for abused, abandoned, and neglected children involved in dependency court proceedings. For more information and to sponsor a “child” visit www.voices4.org or call 305-324-5678.

For more information on artworks that are still available for bidding, please contact Paula Vargas at 305.324.5678 or pvargas@voices4.org.

The 2010 Be A Voice Feel The Magic Gala is sponsored by:

PRESENTING SPONSORS

Mandarin Oriental, Miami

Southern Wine and Spirits

GOLDEN FAN GUARDIAN

Cathay Pacific Airways

ORIENTAL GUARDIANS

Berkowitz Dick Pollack & Brant

Greenberg Traurig

TAI PAN GUARDIANS

Yolanda & Jeffrey Berkowitz

Florida Power & Light

The Continental Group

Veena & Ramesh Panjabi

Dr. and Mrs. Michael Rosenberg

Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, P.A.

Swire Properties, Inc.

Please check back for more information on upcoming young professionals events! If you would like more information about this initiative or are interested in taking on a leadership role, please contact Voices at 305-324-5678.

Please remember to visit our website regularly for updates on this and other exciting projects!

If you would like more information, please contact us at 305.324.5678 or at emorales@voices4.org.

Andu Restaurant
141 SW 7th St
6pm

$5 with RSVP, $10 at the door

Call Elsie Morales at 305-324-5678 or email emorales@voices4.org for more information or to RSVP.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

In 2009, Voices For Children celebrates 25 years of being the one, big difference in the lives of abused, abandoned, and neglected children. Be A Part of It.