The Children’s Guardian Fund (CGF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that immediately responds to the needs of children removed from abusive or neglectful homes.  Through the funding of donations, we are able to provide emergency essentials and on-going support for the needs of children in our community that otherwise would be unavailable.  Whether it be a crib, clothes, tutoring, summer camp, or driving lessons in order to enable obtaining employment, we provide over 1000 children annually with the support and means in instances where state and local agencies are unable.

 


 

Letter from Our President

I became a Guardian ad Litem in 2007. After retiring from a 35-year career as a teacher and high school principal in the UK and in international schools in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, I wanted to continue to support children. I was willing to work with teenagers so most of my cases entailed advocating for older children. The Children’s Guardian Fund enabled me to provide them with the things that we expect children in traditional, stable families to have, but that children in care do not have access to. Access to the Fund meant that they could enjoy and make the most of their teenage years.

When I was invited to join the Board of the Children’s Guardian Fund I readily accepted the opportunity, knowing that the funds we raise make a significant difference in the lives of children who have done nothing wrong except to be born into families unwilling or unable to care for them.

Serving as president of the Children’s Guardian Fund is both an honor and a significant responsibility. There are currently more than 1,400 children in our area who have been removed from their families because they were abused, neglected or abandoned. The epidemic of opioid abuse has led to a tragic increase in the number of infants born addicted and the economic downturn has led to family stress that often results in children being harmed and removed from their homes. The demands on our funds have grown accordingly.

We serve children of all ages, from newborn to 18 and into young adulthood. While my personal experience as a GAL has largely involved working with teenagers, most of the children we serve are age12 and under. These are the children the Fund provides for.

 

Despite the welcome signs of an economic recovery, the Children’s Guardian Fund continues to see challenges ahead: shortfalls remain in the state budget and the most vulnerable in our society continue to need help. Fortunately, our local area enjoys the great blessing of a dedicated group of volunteer child advocates. However, we want to ensure that our child advocates are provided with the resources they need to have the maximum impact on the lives of children in care. With the right combination of care and services, these children can grow up to enjoy a safe and positive future.

We want children of all ages to get the help they need with their school studies. We want the child with a musical gift to join the school band or the church choir. For children with an interest in athletics, we want to provide team uniforms, or soccer cleats, or baseball mitts. We want to be sure that a newborn baby abandoned in the hospital and taken in by a generous neighbor or relatives has a crib to sleep in.

The volunteer child advocates from the Guardian ad Litem program provide a voice for the child who has nobody else to speak on their behalf. The Children’s Guardian Fund supplies the money that enables the advocates not only to speak up, but also to pay for some of the everyday extras that allow children in foster care to feel more like the other kids in their neighborhood. In turn, we rely on the generosity of local residents and corporate sponsors to donate the funds that enable us to help these children who deserve so much more than to be neglected, abused and abandoned.

Please join me in making my term as president as productive and successful as it can be—for the sake of the children.

Jeremy Carter

 

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