Before You Change That Channel

This post is from my colleague Anamita Gall. 

http://video.sacramento.cbslocal.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=flv&clipId1=5336630&at1=News&h1=Surveillance+Video+Of+Teen%27s+Escape+Released&flvUri&partnerclipid&rnd=7311861

This footage of a 16 year old boy escaping torture and captivity has recently been re-released as his case has come to a close. Kyle Ramirez had been held captive, abused and tortured by his relatives who were his legal guardians. The main reason we are posting this video is to highlight the need for all of us as community members to be aware of what is happening around us, in our neighborhoods, communities and cities. It is also a shining example of a child’s will to live. There are obviously many flaws within our civic structures, which can allow someone like Kyle to slip through the cracks unnoticed. This case is a classic scenario, where one can ask where was his social services caseworker, or where was his CASA or GAL volunteer. However, more importantly, I would like to urge everyone to take away this simple fact that we all can take responsibility for educating ourselves about problems in our community, and take the next steps to becoming engaged community members.

Today, it is easy to feel like we are being constantly bombarded by the news and media which thrive on focusing on the negative. It can be overwhelming for anyone to take in on a daily basis. We have to remember that turning off the TV, or jumping straight from the news homepage to Facebook, doesn’t make the stories go away. These stories don’t happen in faraway countries or even the county over, they take place everywhere, and while it seems impossible a small act can still make a difference. There are many ways to help. GAL and CASA volunteers simply put in the time to look out for a child in need and advocate on their behalf in court. At the Mecklenburg GALA Foundation we are thankful for and proud of all of the GAL volunteers we support who work to make sure there are less horror stories like this in Mecklenburg County.

Welcome New GAL Volunteers!!

We are very excited to welcome our newest group of GAL volunteers!
They are pictured here with the Honorable Judge Rickey McKoy-Mitchell

Knowing Who You Are

Everyone here at the Mecklenburg Guardian ad Litem Advocacy Foundation is very excited about receiving the Speedway Children’s Charities grant. We attended the ceremony last Monday, and are humbled and excited to begin our latest project, Knowing Who You Are. The GALA Foundation will be partnering with the Guardian ad Litem Program and the Department of Social Services to coordinate this initiative.

Every child who enters the foster care system is confused, frightened and overwhelmed with the reality of being taken from all they know and being thrown into a new and often strange environment. A disproportionate number of our children are from minority communities and while the Department of Social Services strives to keep them within their communities, often many of them are placed in homes very different from the ones in which they were raised.

The goal of this project is to: help make the transitions for children in foster care as smooth as possible, foster healthy racial and ethnic identities within them, and to provide the GAL volunteers with another resource through which they can build relationships with their child clients. The GALA Foundation will be purchasing books with positive cultural or racial messages to help ease the transitions for children and help them develop a positive identity. 

Social workers, judges, program supervisors, and eventually Guardian ad Litem volunteers will be trained to identify and help those children who may be in need. The books will be distributed through our Guardian ad Litem volunteers and will also provide another way for our volunteers and their child clients to bond! More information about KWYA can be found at:  http://www.casey.org/Resources/Initiatives/KnowingWhoYouAre/

 Keep an eye on our blog and our website for more updates on this new initiative!

Mecklenburg Guardian ad Litem Program is in the news!!

Great things keep popping up here at the Guardian ad Litem office. Check out the Charlotte Observer article on some of our great volunteers!

The article highlights three different volunteers, and their reasons behind becoming a Guardian ad Litem volunteer, as well as a little bit about what exactly it is that they do as Guardians ad Litem. If you are curious about the program and would like a little bit more about what exactly is a Guardian ad Litem, check out the article!

GALA Foundation Receives a NASCAR Speedway Children's Charities Grant

Exciting news!! The GALA Foundation is the proud recipient of a NASCAR Speedway Children’s Charities grant. We will be attending the ceremony this coming Monday evening where we will be notified of the exact amount of the grant. A great thank you goes out to Anamita Gall, our Fundraising Coordinator,m for making this happen!

The money that the Foundation receives from this grant will be used to support a new initiative, the Knowing Who You Are project. Unfortunately, a disproportionate number of the children in the Guardian ad Litem program are of minority descent. Often they are placed in homes with different backgrounds than their own, and this can cause them to become confused about their ethnicity. It is important for them to develop a healthy image of themselves and their racial identity, and the GALA Foundation will be purchasing books that promote a healthy racial identity and explore issues of multiculturalism. We hope that this will foster healthy identity development in our foster children, and also provide an additional way for our volunteers to connect with their child-clients. Stay tuned for more information on this exciting new project!!!  

Today is National Adoption Day!!!

Today, November 20th, is National Adoption Day, a day to celebrate the finalization of thousands of adoptions across the United States. It is a day to celebrate families of all different shapes, sorts and sizes and commemorate a day that will be remembered for a long time to come. The Mecklenburg Guardian ad Litem Advocacy Foundation was lucky enough to play a part in this day, attending the ceremonies at the court house and mingling with kids and families. Arts and crafts, donuts and cake make a great day and a great way to celebrate National Adoption Day!

Although this is a joyous occasion, today is also a day to remember the thousands of children who are still in the foster care system, waiting to be adopted into a family. It is a day to bring awareness to the plight of these children who dream of being reunited with their biological families, or brought into and accepted into a new one. As we celebrate this day, and look forward to the Thanksgiving holiday, please also remember these children that are still waiting on their families. Be thankful for what you have, your friends, family, job, home or whatever brings you joy. But remember that somewhere out there is a person, a child no less, who is wishing for the same thing.

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.