SARASOTA, FL – Thanks to generous community members and organizations, thousands of children in the state care system in Circuit 12 (Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties) and other vulnerable children received gifts this past holiday season through the Safe Children Coalition’s “SCC Angels” program.
While most people look forward to the holiday season, for foster children, the holidays can be a time of stress and sadness, a time when the thought of their families may dredge up unhappy memories and when they are living with people they may not know very well. Some foster children may never have even experienced a real holiday celebration, with presents, delicious meals and holiday displays.
The SCC Angels program works to ensure that foster and other vulnerable children in Florida’s Circuit 12 feel the warmth of the holiday season through the donation of gifts from caring members of the community. The program matches sponsors – families, businesses, nonprofit organizations and religious institutions – to children’s gift wish lists. Gifts are brought to SCC offices; the organization also gratefully accepts monetary donations that help support critical, life-saving programs for children who are homeless, abused, and neglected throughout the entire year.
“The holiday season provides the perfect opportunity to reflect, feel gratitude, give thanks and give back to people who are facing challenges within our communities,” said Safe Children Coalition president and CEO, Brena Slater. “With the community’s support and compassion, the SCC Angels program has improved the lives of foster and other vulnerable children who now know that people cared to remember and share the joy of the season with them.”
Safe Children Coalition serves nearly 8,000 children a year. Last fiscal year nearly 1,700 children were in foster care and out of home care in Circuit 12, in safe and nurturing foster homes. When children are removed from a home, the primary reasons are drug abuse by a parent or caretaker, domestic violence in the home, physical abuse, neglect, inadequate housing, and abandonment. Approximately 60 children in Circuit 12 enter foster care every month; when a child is removed from their home, foster parents provide temporary care while the parent or parents receive help, with family reunification the primary goal. Another 6,000 children are served in Prevention and Diversion programs with the purpose of diverting children and families from the foster care system.
The SCC Angels program is presented each year around the holidays. For more information or to request a child’s holiday wish list in 2022, call the Safe Children Coalition office at 941-587-9167 or email angels@sccfl.org.
About Safe Children Coalition, Inc.
Safe Children Coalition, Inc. (SCC) serves as the lead agency for community-based care for Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties. SCC is a collaboration between local community agencies that provide services to children and families in need. SCC is committed to protecting children, strengthening families, and building community. The core functions provided by SCC include: child welfare case management, foster care, adoption, independent living, prevention, diversion, quality management, and support services as well as other social service programs. Visit sccfl.org or call 941-371-4799.