welcome to new guardian ad litem board members - florida · welcome to new guardian ad litem board...
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November 2015 View this email in your browser
Welcome To New GuardianAd Litem Board MembersGuardian ad Litem is proud to welcome our mostrecent Guardian ad Litem Foundation Board members:Heather Solanka, Lisa Moore and Anne McCabe.
Heather Solanka is a native of theGarden State, but has spent thegreater part of her life in Florida. She isa partner at Akerman LLP where shepractices in the area of commerciallitigation. Solanka earned a Bachelorof Science degree in civil engineeringfrom the United States Coast Guard
Academy and a law degree from the University of FloridaCollege of Law. Prior to attending law school, she served onactive duty in the United States Coast Guard for six years,including two years as the assistant engineer in the CGCConfidence and four years in New Orleans. During that time,she was lucky enough to survive four rounds of MardiGras and one CG helicopter crash. Solanka is an alumnus ofLeadership Jacksonville (Class of 2011) and currently serveson the Youth Leadership Jacksonville Development andSelection Committees. She is a volunteer Magistrate for DuvalCounty Teen Court and a member of the Board of Directors forthe Jacksonville Children's Chorus, The Towers ofJacksonville, Inc. and Baptist Towers Foundation, Inc. In herspare time she enjoys cheering on her beloved Gators and,very recently, putting a few miles on her Harley-Davidson RoadKing. Lisa J. Moore currently serves asExecutive Director, EmployeeRelations and College Equity Officerfor Florida State College atJacksonville (FSCJ). Previously,Moore was a Policy and ComplianceDirector and Director ProfessionalStandards for Duval County PublicSchools, Director County Court Mediation Fourth JudicialCircuit and Assistant State Attorney Fourth Circuit.She graduated from Georgia State University with a Bachelorof Science in business administration and received a lawdegree from Mercer University School of Law. She is a self-described foodie who loves to read and travel, and enjoyswatching almost all sports.
Anne McCabe (Lobelson) moved tothe Jacksonville area after twentyyears in Nashville, TN. While there,McCabe first aligned with theNashville CASA program, serving as avolunteer for seven years while shewas at home with her children. As theiractivities increased, McCabe stepped
up to serve the Board for four years; first, as the Kappa AlphaTheta representative to the Board, and then as the JuniorLeague of Nashville representative. Both organizations were
December 18 - Home ForThe Holidays AdoptionEvent with Judge Gooding
January 24-29 - Children'sWeek
January 2016 - NationalMentoring Month
January 2016 - (Date TBD)Volunteer Pre-ServiceTraining Class
Women Who Care
Guardian ad Litem is thrilledto have caught the attentionof Laurie A. Brochu and herfoundation, 100 WomenWho Care Jax. 100 WomenWho Care is a nonprofit thathelps provide funding toother various nonprofits. Ithas a national group, aswell as other localizedgroups. Inspired by ReginaBrett's book "Be theMiracle" and aided by thelocal Ft. Lauderdalechapter, Brochu brought100 Women Who Care toJacksonville. The growingJacksonville chapter meetsquarterly and has alreadygiven funds to charities likeCanine's for Warriors, thePolice Athletic League andH.O.M.E.S. Guardian adLitem was honored to join
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founding financial sponsors of the Nashville CASA program. McCabe then moved to Jacksonville in August 2015. FellowKappa Alpha Theta alumnae Marietta Sampson and KelliePrusiecki asked McCabe to again serve, this time on the GALBoard in Jacksonville, and McCabe answered the call. Sheholds a Bachelor of Arts degree in public relations and hasbeen working as a professional recruiter for the past ten years.
Guardian ad Litem was thrilledto be one of the benefittingcharities of the 2015 The Gig - ACause To Party event held atthe Ponte Vedra Concert Hall onSeptember 12. The eventfeatured live music, food trucksand fundraising. Thank you tothe event's gracious hosts and
attendees for the generous $10,000 donation to GAL!
Gooding's GAL Good WorksJudge David Gooding was theguest of honor at the October 1 IAm For The Child ® cocktailreception held at the home ofPandora and Tom Vanberkel.Attendees enjoyed live acousticmusic and representatives from theUNF's Kappa Alpha Theta assistedwith serving the guests.
GAL advocate Lauri Dieterle moved the crowd as she sharedpoignant moments from her experiences. Melinda Brown,Director of Guardian ad Litem, and board member Anne Urbanalso spoke.
Gooding then addressed guests,speaking on his passion for helpingchildren in the court system and thepower of the Guardian ad Litemprogram. Throughout his career,Gooding has been an outspoken,tireless advocate for Florida'sabused and neglected children. Hiscontinued dedication and leadershipensures that the children's bestinterests are achieved in thedependency court system and hiswork embodies the mission andvalues of the GAL program.
"Our children are 30% of our population and 100% of ourfuture," said Gooding.
that list when Brochupresented GAL BoardPresident MariettaSampson with a $600 checkin September. Click formore information on 100Women Who Care Jax.
Kappa AlphaTheta HonoredThe Kappa Alpha Thetafraternal chapter at theUniversity of North Floridahas been named the 2015Guardian ad LitemCommunity Advocate of theYear. For the past 25 years,Thetas have supportedcourt appointed specialadvocates (CASA/GAL) intheir quest to impact thelives of children.
In Circuit 4, the Thetas haveprovided volunteer hoursand manpower any timethere has been a need foradditional support. The localchapter at the University ofNorth Florida regularlyinvites GAL to address theirnew members in order topromote the partnership thatexists between theorganizations.
GAL has an active Thetaalumni group who mostrecently provided localJacksonville children withover 300 “Birthday in a Bag”packages, providing acomplete birthdayexperience for the childrenand their foster families. Fortheir annual “Day ofService”, the Thetas hosteda cookout in honor of GALvolunteer child advocates,staff and the children. Thisyear marks the 25thanniversary of Kappa AlphaTheta's national support ofthe CASA/GAL cause.
Happy endings are the ultimate success story forany GAL advocate. So, it is with great pleasurethat we share the story of B.W. and how his happyending was achieved in just nine months.
Guardian ad Litem is honored to recognize long-time GAL supporter and board member AshleyCooper-Heath as our inaugural Volunteer Spotlight.
Ashley Cooper-Heath recently stepped down fromthe Guardian ad Litem Board of Directors in Augustof this year. As one of the longest-standing board
B.W.'s case started as anon-shelter case inwhich his biologicalmother left B.W. in thecare of his Godmothershortly after his birth.His GAL advocatehelped B.W.'s caseworker realize thatB.W. was not in thecare of his mother, buthad been left with hisGodmother full time.Now identified as a
shelter case, the Godmother was subject to arequisite home study, which she unfortunately didnot pass. With no caregiver deemed fit to care foryoung B.W., he had to be placed into foster care.
In attempts to work with B.W.'s biological mother,she never stayed in contact or complied with thecase plan. Eventually, the advocate team neverheard from B.W.'s mother again and her parentalrights were terminated. After only 3-4 months, theteam found B.W.'s biological aunt, where he wastemporarily placed after a successful home study.One short month later, his aunt's adoption wasapproved, and B.W. had a loving and safepermanent home.
Had it not been for the hard work of B.W.'sguardian ad litem, he might still be in an unfitliving situation. Now, in just nine months, B.W. ishappy in his forever home.
members, Cooper-Heath has devoted years tochampioning the Guardian ad Litem cause. She isalso an advisor to the University of Florida's KappaAlpha Theta fraternity, serving as liaison betweenthe two organizations' partnership. Cooper-Heathhas been a valuable resource for helping recruitand encourage the Thetas' involvement in GALprograms and events.
In October, Cooper-Heath competed in the HawaiiIronman 2015 World Championships as the onlyfemale handcyclist out of roughly 2,000 individuals.Upon her return, she visited the ladies of The Chat,where she shared her experiences with Guardianad Litem and the positive impact the program hason the dependency court system.
Ashley, we thank you for your years of service andwish you all the best in the future.
During this month of Thanksgiving, let me share a big thank you to each ofthe Guardian ad Litem Advocates in the Fourth Judicial Circuit coveringClay, Duval and Nassau counties. These volunteers don’t come for a"done-in-a-day” volunteer event. They come for years because they aretruly committed to the child’s best interest and their recommendations carryconsiderable weight with the judge, attorneys and social services. Theroughly 600 GAL volunteer advocates take great care in the over 1,000children they serve. They support both mind and body, whether the childrenhave endured years of abuse or neglect, are torn between loving theirparents, are disillusioned about the definition of a caring family orerroneously think they have done something wrong. These abused and neglected children become the subject of judicialproceedings each year in Florida and are placed in the Guardian Ad Litem program. The advocates serve asa trusted confidant for their appointed children and help influence the judge's decision on the child's bestliving situation. The advocates also interacts with the social worker, lawyers, school counselors, teachers,doctors, parents and foster parents.
Guardian ad Litem advocates are the voice of the child. Without them, a child’s voice is often unheard, andbest interests may be overlooked in the complicated and overburdened dependency court process. Formany GAL children, monsters don't live under the bed, but in real life. Some parents need help in learning tobe better parents: managing their anger, overcoming substance abuse or learning new parenting skills. Some may never be good, loving parents. Monies raised for the GAL program have funded opportunities like summer camp for children to escapeunsafe, drug-addicted homes, hair extensions for a teenage girl to hide the scars on her head caused by herfather's intentional cuts, or new tennis shoes for a boy who has never had a new pair of shoes.
The Guardian ad Litem Foundation also funds the GAL program’srecruiting and training of new advocates. While intangible, thevalue of a GAL advocate is priceless for the children in the program.A child with a volunterer advocate is 50% less likely to return tofoster care, more likely to get individualized assistance in schooland more likely to be permanently adopted. So, as I sit down for Thanksgiving dinner with my own daughter and
family this year, I will give thanks that we have Guardian ad Litem volunteer advocates to be the voice of ourfoster care children. Please join with me in doing the same by supporting the GAL program through afinancial donation. Or, volunteer and give the ultimate gift to those children still in need of an advocate - thegift of your voice.
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