What's Going on at the GALA Foundation?

Just a quick post to update everyone on some of the happenings at the Mecklenburg Guardian ad Litem Advocacy Foundation.

We are keeping busy planning our Basketball Charity event, featuring the Harlem Ambassadors! The Ambassadors are a traveling, comedy basketball showcase, and the GALA Foundation is hosting them here in Charlotte on March 12^th, 2011. We are looking for local celebrities, advocates, or supporters to come out and play against the Ambassadors, contact us if you know of any, or if you yourself happen to be one! Or if you feel that basketball really isn’t your thing, but you are still interested in helping out, then contact us at guardian@meckguardian.org, and help us with organizing the fundraiser.

The money raised at our Basketball Charity event will be used to support our Beyond the Classroom initiative. Many of the children in foster care are unable to attend extracurricular activities, such as summer camps, piano lesions, art lessons etc, which can be integral to their upbringing.  It is our goal to provide 900 children with an opportunity to explore an activity of their choice.

In addition to Beyond the Classroom, we have a project called the Cases for Kids project, where we provide bags, suitcases, or luggage to a child in foster care who is moving placements and does not have a way to transport their belongings, or if a child has simply lost their backpack. If you are interested in more information on this project, or if you would like to make a donation, visit our website, meckguardian.org.

Thanks to generous donations from the SouthPark Rotary Club, The SouthPark Lions Club and Girl Scout Troop #3620 we have been able to kick of this project, but still have a great need to fill the backpacks with personal care items such as shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste. We would also like to fill the bags and backpacks with school supplies so the children can be sent off to school well prepared to learn.  If you have a group of people looking for a project, this could be a great way to get involved and give back to your community! Contact us if you would like more information on this project!

We are also still in the process of developing our tutoring program, and would love any ideas, thoughts, or resources that you have to share with us. The program is still very much in the initial phases, and any ideas will be taken into consideration as we move forward with this program.