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Duffles4Kids Update

Hello Duffels4Kids friends! We can’t believe that it’s already August because it seems as if just yesterday it was May! Where did the summer go? As we get ready to usher in a new season — and school year — we wanted to take a moment of your time to recap our awesome summer. Duffels4Kids Walk We held a very successful Duffels4Kids Walk in Jacksonville on May 21. This would not have been possible without the great support from our sponsors (such as Family Support Services of North Florida), individual donors and our walkers. We welcomed almost 300 attendees to the Jacksonville Zoo to “walk for the kids.” Check out the website at www.duffels4kids.org to see the logos of our sponsors and you can also view photos from the walk HERE. Florida State Foster/Adoptive Parent Association Conference On June 11, Duffels4Kids distributed 129 duffels and more than 100 pajamas to foster parents attending FSFAPA’s annual conference in Orlando. We love having a table at events catered to foster kids and foster parents because everyone can see actual results of supporting a program like ours. (By the way, we sold out of our amazing handmade bracelets supporting kids in foster care!) We had more requests than duffels during the conference but as of today, all requests have been processed and duffels were shipped directly to the children throughout the state. Foster Youth Graduation Present In early June, Duffels4Kids provided large wheeled duffels to 80 foster youth graduating in Miami-Dade County. Each duffel included a spiral-bound Foster Care Transition Toolkit, which was developed by the U.S. Department of Education to help foster youth succeed beyond high school graduation. Duffels4Kids will provide additional support to those youth entering college for the first time, gifting them with care packages and other items as needed. Medtronic Philanthropy Event Duffels4Kids was awarded $20,000 to facilitate a philanthropy project for Medtronic and on June 14, Medtronic employees stuffed 500 duffels for children in foster care at the Hilton Diplomat in Hollywood. Each volunteer wrote an encouraging note for the kids — a small gesture that will surely bring big smiles to the recipients. View our photos from this event HERE. School Backpacks We secured 200 backpacks for organizations hosting back-to-school giveaways for August. Helping K-12 students start school on the right foot is a big priority for us too!Florida Department of Children & Families Distribution On August 5, we distributed 200 duffels to the Jacksonville office of DCF. Investigators were at the office to pick up the duffels, which they will have on hand to give when a child is removed from his/her home. Our goal: #NoMoreTrashBags for foster kids transitioning from home to home. So there’s our summer in a nutshell (as always you can check our blog for more details on each event). What’s planned for the next four months? Celebrations4Kids (birthday parties for teens in group homes), more duffel distributions and a holiday partnership with Biaggi Luggage! Stay tuned as we strive to change the culture of foster care, one duffel at a time.Warm regards,T. LaShaun Wallace Recognition Family Support Services of North Florida A HUGE thanks goes to our lead sponsor for the 2016 walk: Family Support Services of North Florida. FSS was very supportive of our efforts to host the walk in Jacksonville and their staff worked tirelessly to make this year’s walk a success. Lee Kaywork (CEO of FSS) and his family also participated in the walk with us, showing the community that foster kids are a priority from the top to bottom in his organization. Thank you FSS for believing in our vision! Youth Volunteers Duffels4Kids has several events throughout the year where volunteers are heavily needed. We are proud of our youth volunteers who step in to help their peers in foster care. They are proving that they are ready to make the world a better place. Copyright © 2016 Duffels4Kids, All rights reserved.

August is Child Safety Awareness Month

RELEASE FROM DCF & DHSMV Children are precious cargo – motorists must take responsibility to ensure children arrive alive TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – This month, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) is reminding motorists to focus on child safety in vehicles as well as on and around Florida roads. DHSMV is partnering with the Florida Department of Children and Families, Florida Department of Education, Florida Department of Health, Florida Sheriffs Association, Florida Police Chiefs Association and the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics to recognize August 2016 as Child Safety Awareness Month. “Children are our most precious cargo and it’s critical for all motorists to take extra caution when a child is in or around a motor vehicle, even in your own driveway,” said DHSMV Executive Director Terry L. Rhodes. “In the heat of the Florida summer, when more children will be out on the road preparing for the start of school, it is very important to remember that whether driving through a school zone or taking a family trip, motorists must do everything possible to ensure our children arrive alive.” Throughout the month of August, the department will be educating the public regarding all aspects of child safety on Florida roads, including: occupant protection and proper seat restraints, not leaving children in hot cars and safety in and around school zones and school buses. Preliminarily in 2015, there were 66,091 crashes in Florida involving children under the age of 18, resulting in 25,992 injuries and 149 fatalities, a 25 percent increase in fatalities from 2013. DHSMV data shows the following: Crashes involving children <18 2013 – 56, 084 2014 – 60,659 2015* – 66,091 Injuries involving children <18 2013 – 22,578 2014 – 23,949 2015* – 25,992 Fatalities involving children <18 2013 – 120 2014 – 121 2015* – 149 *Source: Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles preliminary data as of June 13, 2016. “It is critically important to ensure the safety of our children in vehicles as they travel our state’s roadways. That means properly restraining children according to their age, size and weight,” said Colonel Gene S. Spaulding, Director of the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP). “FHP encourages everyone in the vehicle to buckle up, including passengers in the back seat. Remember, as the caregivers for these young lives, it’s your responsibility to ensure they are safe.” Preliminary numbers show that in 2015, 1,165 children were injured wearing no safety restraint in a vehicle and law enforcement issued more than 21,000 citations to motorists for not properly securing children in a vehicle. Florida law requires that all drivers and all passengers under the age of 18 wear a safety belt. More than 200 children under the age of six were injured in crashes not wearing any type of seat restraint. FHP has several members that are car seat certified who can help identify the best child seat to fit a child, can ensure the seat is properly fitted in a car and can check that the seat is being used correctly every time. Starting Friday, August 5, FHP will begin offering free car seat checks and installations for motorists who bring their current car seat to local FHP Troop stations on the first Friday of every month. A full list of locations and contacts to make an appointment can be found on the department website. The department and its partners are also reminding motorists to never leave a child unattended or unsupervised in a motor vehicle. It is extremely hot, especially during the Florida summer, and leaving a child in a car can result in the child’s injury or death. “We are proud to partner with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in Child Safety Awareness Month as many child injuries and deaths reported to the department are preventable through education and awareness,” said Florida DCF Secretary Mike Carroll. “This campaign represents one of the most effective ways to protect children, at the community level with neighbors sharing information and looking out for each other.” “Student safety is our top priority,” said Education Commissioner Pam Stewart. “As the new school year approaches, it is especially important that we do everything we can to keep children safe, whether they are walking to school, while at the bus stop or riding the school bus. The Department of Education is proud to partner with DHSMV to promote Child Safety Awareness Month.” State Surgeon General and Secretary Dr. Celeste Philip said, “Heat-related tragedies are entirely preventable, and during these summer months when our vehicles trap extreme amounts of heat, I encourage families in Florida to always check on infants and children to ensure they aren’t left behind or at risk of these situations.” “One of the goals of the Florida Sheriffs Association is to protect Florida’s future through programs focused on the safety of the youth in our state,” said Sheriff Jerry L. Demings, President of the Florida Sheriffs Association. “On behalf of our Florida Sheriffs, I fully endorse and support the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle’s Child Safety Awareness campaign this August.” “Every single thing we can do to emphasize child safety to Floridians is critical. Too often, we get calls about tragedies that could be prevented with better awareness,” said Winter Park Police Chief Brett Railey, President of the Florida Police Chiefs Association. “Anyone driving with a child in their vehicle should always make sure the child is safely restrained and never – NEVER – leave a child unattended in a vehicle.” “FCAAP is looking forward to working with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to help protect children by raising awareness about the proper use of child safety restraints,” said Tommy Schechtmen, President of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. DHSMV offers additional safety tips for parents and all motorists to keep kids safe in and around vehicles: Children under age four must be in a car seat and as of January 1,

Guardian Ad Litem – Circuit 20

Holly Rodriguez, Circuit Director Twentieth Judicial Circuit Mailing Address Lee County Justice Center Annex 1700 Monroe Street Fort Myers, FL 33901 Physical Address 2075 West First Street, Suite 300 Fort Myers, FL 33901 Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee 239-533-KIDS (5437)

Duffles4Kids Update

August is Child Safety Awareness Month

Guardian Ad Litem – Circuit 20

Guardian Ad Litem – Circuit 18 Seminole County

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Guardian Ad Litem – Circuit 18 Brevard County

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Guardian Ad Litem – Circuit 16

Guardian Ad Litem – Circuit 15

Guardian Ad Litem – Circuit 14