SARASOTA – The All Star Children’s Foundation has scheduled a ceremony to celebrate the groundbreaking of its “Center for Hope & Healing.” This 5-acre campus will provide a special place for children who have entered the foster care system due to abuse and neglect. Here, they will receive trauma-informed treatment in a setting where they can thrive, experience unconditional love, and where the course of their lives will be forever changed.
Co-Founders Dennis and Graci McGillicuddy are excited about the impact this development will have on the community. “This groundbreaking represents a dream come true,” says Graci. “I cannot wait to open the doors and hug every child who enters.”
The All Star Children’s campus will include a 12,000 square foot building that houses the trauma-informed treatment and therapy programs, a learning lab, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital research and development program staff, a children’s boutique, and an aquarium. The heart of the campus includes 6 single-family style foster homes that can accommodate individual children as well as siblings. There will also be a community recreation center, playground, an outdoor theater, picnic areas, and a community garden.
Many local organizations and government leaders played a role in developing this project. Generous supporters include the Barancik Foundation, the State of Florida, individual donors, businesses and organizations, and the McGillicuddy’s themselves. There are naming opportunities available for those interested in helping create lasting impact in the lives of children in this community. In addition, with the support of Johns Hopkins and other critical partners, All Star Children’s Foundation hopes to deliver a program that can be replicated nationally, that will impact local and national policy, and that will truly transform foster care.
Executive Director, Lucia Branton, has worked in the child welfare system for 20 years. “I have seen the effects of child abuse and neglect,” states Branton. “Building our campus on the scientifically proven premise that the effects of trauma can be healed, means hope and opportunity for the children we will serve. They no longer need to be innocent victims of their past.”
To RSVP for the groundbreaking ceremony or for additional information, call 941-349-2770 x242 or email BethB@ascf.care.
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All Star Children’s Foundation is a public, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to healing the effects of child abuse and transforming foster care through innovation, science, and compassion. ASCF is building a 5-acre campus in Sarasota that includes a 12,000 square foot clinic and administrative headquarters, 6 single-family style foster homes, a community recreation center, a playground, community garden, outdoor movie theater, and more. A donation today can change a child’s future. For more information, call 941-349-2770 x242 or email BethB@ascf.care.
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