In its first ever Back to School Voices For Children, together with Old Navy and the Office Depot Foundation, gave children served by the Guardian ad Litem Program a reason to smile with style. On August 10, 350 children descended upon Old Navy in the Shoppes at Dadeland for their chance to get ready for the upcoming school year with new uniforms, sackpacks and supplies donated by event organizers.

From 6 - 9 p.m., the Old Navy Dadeland store closed to the public to allow families to shop for their foster children. Each child received $75 to spend on new clothing at Old Navy as well as a discount on khakis and polo shirts for school uniforms. In addition to new clothing, Office Depot donated 7,500 sackpacks in five different and colorful designs for the children to choose from.

The children participating were selected from the Guardian ad Litem’s Kinship Care Project, which provides representation to children who are placed with family members other than their parents as well as ensures that they receive appropriate services, including access to financial assistance and educational and medical resources.

Please join us at Baru Urbano this Thursday from 6pm to 10pm to celebrate the upcoming 2^nd Be A Voice Soccer Tournament. 1001 South Miami Avenue.  Help us Kick Child Abuse by enjoying $5 well drinks, with 100% of the proceeds benefiting Voices For Children Foundation.

Voices is doing it again! Presented by Global Development Consultants, Voices For Children is hosting its 2nd Be A Voice Soccer Tournament on Saturday & Sunday, June 25-26, 2011. Join Voices For Children from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. each day and enjoy an exciting weekend of soccer-mania. Come with your family and learn about how you can BE A VOICE for an abused, abandoned or neglected child. Currently there are approximately 3,000 children in Miami-Dade County who are in foster care.  Admission to the tournament is free.

Create a team with your colleagues, friends or family, and together we can help KICK CHILD ABUSE TO THE CURB.

If you are interested in forming a soccer team:

Team Cost: $1,000 per Team
Team consists of 8 people
Cost includes team uniform with logo or name of sponsor on the uniform and food.

Photos from our 1st Be A Voice Soccer Tournament can be found on Voices’ Shutterfly page.

The 2nd Be A Voice Soccer Tournament is Presented by:

Global Development Consultants, Inc. is a consulting company dedicated to the development of urban housing, real estate, design, construction, financing, development and promotion of housing developments.

Our company has an agreement with the City of Miami, FL, the city of Port-au-Prince in Haiti, and in Cundinamarca, Columbia, for the construction of affordable and accessible housing for low income families, made from recycle materials.

Global DC staff has 40 years of development and more than 100,000 houses built, as well as office, hotels, and Commercial projects.

The combined years of experience of Global Development Consultants Inc.’s core team provides the necessary capabilities and management skills to successfully execute on their vision of delivering a project provide business, social, economic and environmental benefits.

And in partnership with 

Click here to Register  (REGISTRATION FORM)

Click here to see Event Flyer (EVENT FLYER)

For more information or to sign up, please contact:
Name: Julian Otero
Phone: 305-726-4032
Email: oterojulian@hotmail.com

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact:

Name: Nelson Hincapie

Phone: 305-281-4473
Email: nhincapie@voices4.org 

On Wednesday, June 1, 2011, you have the opportunity to help strike out child abuse.  Join Voices for Children on June 1 from 6:00-10:00pm for a game of bowling and to learn more about how you can BE A VOICE for an abused, abandoned or neglected child. Currently there are approximately 3,000 children in Miami-Dade County who are in foster care.  Your participation in this event could make all the difference.

Create a team with your colleagues, friends or family, and together we can help STRIKE OUT CHILD ABUSE in Miami.

Cost: $400 per Team
Team consists of 8 people
Cost includes one game of bowling, shoes, tons food and a complimentary drink. There will also be a cash bar available.

Love to bowl and want to support the cause, but can’t get together 8 folks? No problem! For a donation of $50 we will pair you with other enthusiasts.

Click here to Register  (REGISTRATION FORM)

For more information or to sign up, please contact:
Name: Andrea Steinacker
Phone: 305-376-8585
Email: andrea.steinacker@mssb.com

Splitsville Lanes, 5701 Sunset Drive, Miami, FL 33143

The Village of Merrick Park hosts its Annual Tree Lighting to kick off the holiday season on Thursday, November 18th from 6:30pm-8:30pm.  The tree lighting will take place at 7:45pm.  Residents and visitors are invited to view the 50-foot tree and enjoy the musical performances as well as bring a new, unwrapped gift for Miami-Dade’s foster children to benefit Voices For Children Foundation. Click here for more information.

The Voices For Children Annual Toy Drive benefits thousands of children in Miami-Dade’s Foster Care system each year.  Since 1989, this community-wide effort has ensured that every child in the dependency system receives a gift during the holiday season.  Occurring annually in November and December, the Annual Toy Drive helps children under 18 by providing them with age appropriate board games and other fun toys.

The Annual Toy Drive initiative also provides items for the many youth that are a part of the Transitioning Youth Project, or TYP.  The TYP works to ensure youth leaving the foster care system have the adult relationships, education, housing, job, and life skills they need to be successful on their own and become productive, healthy adults.  During the holiday season, these youth are given items that will help them lead healthy, independent adult lives, such as linens, the ability to purchase work appropriate clothing, or bicycles as a means of reliable transportation.

2010 Annual Toy Drive: The 2010 Annual Toy Drive will start in mid-November and run through December. Stay tuned for the announcement of additional official drop locations.  To aid in the Toy Drive and to learn more information, please call (305) 324-5678 or email DMarin@voices4.org.

There are 114,550 U.S. children are in foster care, waiting to be adopted. They have been removed from their homes as victims of child abuse, neglect or abandonment and are left without a family.  Last year, 29,471 children turned 18 and left the Foster Care System without an adoptive family.  November is National Adoption Month and you can make a difference.

The “30 Days of Amazing Children: Explore Adoption!” initiative presenting children in foster care who dream of being adopted by forever families was unveiled yesterday, Noevember 1, by Florida Department of Children and Families Secretary George Sheldon and Florida’s Chief Child Advocate Jim Kallinger.

A different “Amazing Child” available for adoption in Florida is being featured every day during National Adoption Month in November on www.adoptflorida.org. Many of the featured teens, sibling groups and children with medical needs are depicted on videos as they talk about themselves and their hopes to become part of a loving family. About 850 children are available for adoption on any given day in Florida, and more than half of them are teenagers.

“Floridians are encouraged to visit www.adoptflorida.org during November and become acquainted with children available for adoption and their dreams of belonging to a family,” Secretary Sheldon said. “These are Florida’s children. Their futures depend on actions that all of us can take to raise adoption awareness and recruit loving adoptive families.”

“When children in foster care are adopted by a permanent family, they feel loved, secure and positive about their future,” Chief Child Advocate Kallinger said. “The many adoptive parents I have met are equally overjoyed to add these wonderful children to their families. We just need to keep spreading the adoption message.”

Children in foster care who do not achieve permanency with a family before transitioning out of care at age 18 are at higher risk of being arrested, becoming teenage moms, dropping out of school and becoming homeless. Over the past three and a half years, Florida has safely reduced the number of children in foster care by nearly 11,000, or 36 percent, through adoptions, permanent guardianships and reunification with parents.

Nearly 50 adoption celebrations and finalization ceremonies are being held throughout Florida this November. Go to http://www.adoptflorida.org/adoptionmonth4.shtml to find out about events in the Miami area.

While private forms of adoption can cost upwards of $30,000, adopting one of Florida’s children in foster care costs little or nothing. The benefits include a monthly adoption subsidy for the family, health benefits for the child, and free college tuition at a Florida public university, community college or vocational school. The federal adoption tax credit recently was raised to $13,170 per child and is refundable, meaning eligible taxpayers can receive it regardless of whether or not they owe taxes for that year.

For more information, please visit www.adoptflorida.org and be sure to follow Voices For Children Foundation on Facebook.

Consider this your invitation!

On November 11, 2010 at 6:30pm come prepared to preview all the hottest Fall and Winter Fashions as Dior and W Magazine host an event benefiting Voices For Children Foundation.

The event will feature a special preview of the Fall/Winter 2010-2011 Collections and include cocktails and private shopping hosted by Yolanda Berkowitz and Carole Seikaly.  Admittance is by RSVP only, so be sure to email eventrsvp@diorus.com or call (212) 373-9436 by November 7, 2010 to reserve your space today.

Location: Dior - Bal Harbour Shops - 9700 Collins Avenue - Bal Harbour - Florida - 33154.

The Be A Voice, Take A Stand Gala is scheduled for Saturday, February 19, 2011.  As we eagerly count down the days to this fantastic event at Mandarin Oriental, Miami, be sure to check out the October 2010 issue of Ocean Drive Magazine featuring an interview with Jorge Gonzalez — Mandarin Oriental, Miami’s general manager.

Click here to read the full article in Ocean Drive, on newstands now.

As a part of the Children’s Needs Program, Voices For Children will hold its second in a series of Artistic Expressions Workshops next Thursday, October 14th at 4:00pm.  If you are working with a child who is artistically inclined, this painting workshop is the perfect place for him or her!

Participation in the workshop is free and Voices, through a generous grant from The Rotary Club of Miami, will provide all the art supplies needed to complete the project.  The completed artwork will be displayed at the next Forgotten Children Festival on April 2, 2010 at Bayfront Park.  This is a terrific opportunity to allow children in Foster Care to reflect on the creative process and gain artistic control.

 Who: Child artists in the Dependency System

 What: Painting workshop with a local artist. Supplies and dinner will  be provided.

 When: Thursday, October 14th at 4:00pm

 Where: Voices For Children Foundation, 1500 NW 12th Ave. Suite  1117

Space is limited and you must RSVP in order to attend this workshop.

To reserve a spot for a child artist in Foster Care, please contact Dorothy Marin at 305-324-5678 or dMarin@voices4.org.

Bumper Balls, Gutter Balls and Odd Balls….those were just a few of the unique team names created by those participating in Voices For Children’s Second Strike Out Child Abuse, Bowling Event which took place on September 15, 2010 at Splitsville Luxury Lanes and Dinner Lounge.

Almost 300 people, including friends, family and business associates, gathered to enjoy cocktails, quesadillas and pizza and to support the end of child abuse and child neglect in Miami-Dade County.

Thirty-six teams competed for trophies which were given to the First and Second Place teams.  Trophies were also awarded to the First Place billiards team. David Geller and his team, the Voices For Children of Broward County, drove a long way to take home First Place, with a score of 1008.  The Pinmeisters, led by Vivian Strantz, received a score of 794 and took home Second Place. Dawn Schleisinger and Dave Dewitt were the winning combination and won First Place in the Billiards competition.

The real winners of the night, however, were the children.  The event not only raised awareness of the important issue of child abuse within our community, but also raised over $24,000.  This includes over $8,000 in new donor contributions from the evening, which will be doubled thanks to a very generous matching grant from a private foundation.

Thank you to all of those who bowled, pooled and supported in this fun and exciting evening! Photos from the night can be viewed on Voices For Children’s Facebook Page, or on Voices’ Shutterfly Page. 

Special thanks to Stacy Maderal, Sales/Events Manager and Dwayne McQuillen, General Manager of Splitsville Luxury Lanes and Dinner Lounge for sponsoring the event and to Board of Director and GAL volunteer, Andrea Steinacker and her husband Rob Hopson, for their hard work in chairing and photographing this event and for continuing to Be A Voice.