Giving Challenge – why does it matter?

April of 2020 was not a good month for non-profits.  All events were shut down, grant funds were being redirected to healthcare, and massive uncertainty made fundraising difficult.  All while our families needed us more than ever.  We were worried.  Then something AMAZING happened.

On April 28-29, over 300 donors “showed up” with gifts of $25-$500 and turned it all around.  We raised $50,679.76 to continue meeting the emergency, academic, and social needs of local children in foster and state care.

Donor support during the 2020 Giving Challenge gave us the resources and flexibility necessary to respond to the needs we saw emerging in the early days of the pandemic.  One need stood out above the rest: tutoring.  Children whose lives had been disrupted by the foster care system suffered even greater academic deficiencies as schools transitioned to online learning.  Our children needed intensive assistance.  We provide over 60 students with weekly one-on-one professional tutoring, all while meeting many other needs that came up.

The Giving Challenge happens every 18-24 months.  Hosted by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, this community-wide event runs online for 24-hours, during which the Patterson Foundation matches all donations made on the GivingChallenge.org website.

As our community continues to face recovery challenges, we ask that you consider supporting the Children’s Guardian Fund during the 2022 Giving Challenge on April 26-27.  We need more Guardian ad Litem Volunteers.  We have over 250 children waiting for a personal advocate.  Without an advocate, their voice is not being heard and their needs are not being met.  If you have the time to volunteer, we strongly encourage you to reach out and speak to the recruiter at 12gal.org/volunteer.

We know that not everyone has the time or capacity to take on the challenging work of child advocacy.  If you can’t volunteer, consider donating in honor of a GAL volunteer on April 26-27 noon-noon.  This is a great opportunity for everyone to BE THE ONE and collectively strengthen our advocacy efforts on behalf of our local children who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected.