As I look back, 2006 was a time of transition at the Eckerd Family Foundation. As many of you know, we lost Ruth Eckerd last summer. Ruth was the matriarch of our family and the gentle, passionate spirit of this foundation.

On December 10, we honored her amazing life with a special performance of “The Nutcracker” – her favorite show – at the Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. We invited some 500 kids from our grantee organizations to attend – many of whom had never been to a ballet or even to a performing arts center before. As I looked across the audience, I thought this was a perfect tribute to a woman who had spent her life helping less fortunate children. She would have loved sitting in the audience on that wonderful afternoon. It would have been a dream come true for her. We miss her.

A new year brings new promise and possibilities. As we begin 2007, I look forward to new opportunities to improve the lives of children and families, especially the innovative ideas stemming from the Children’s Summit held in October. You’ll read more about those efforts in this issue of the newsletter. I’m also very excited about our new, user-friendly Web site, which you also will learn more about in this newsletter.

Happy New Year, and all the best in 2007.

Joe Clark

Children’s Summit Attendees Cast Vision for New Florida Children’s Cabinet

Community leaders are proposing the creation of a statewide Children’s Cabinet following the Oct. 6 Florida Children’s Summit.

The Children’s Cabinet would guide public policy with a comprehensive approach to address the many issues facing Florida’s children. The Cabinet would ensure that across state agencies -- from the Department of Children and Families to the Department of Education -- public resources would be aligned so that children receive the services they need for healthy growth and development. As a result of monitoring improved services, the Cabinet also would encourage more efficient practices, and thus taxpayer savings.

“A Florida Children’s Cabinet would be a win-win for children and families who desperately need improved services as well as policymakers who believe in the value of investing in our future generation,” said Joe Clark, president of the Eckerd Family Foundation.

The Cabinet is one idea resulting from the Children’s Summit. Other recommendations will address the quality of before- and after-school care, the availability of healthcare for all children and pregnant women and re-examination of Florida’s zero-tolerance policy in schools. Another idea is the re-examination of the mission statements of the state’s children and youth-serving agencies – a step the Eckerd Family Foundation long has advocated for the state’s juvenile justice system.

[read the rest of the spotlight story]

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Financial Aid Helps Trade Students Earn Certification and Continue Training

Jessica Martinez (pictured in the first row of
students, second from left) and classmates in the
early childhood education program at Bowers/Whitley Career Center in Tampa.

Jessica Martinez is the first in her family to graduate from high school. Now, she plans to be the first to attend college.

“A couple years ago, I didn’t think I would make anything of myself,” said Martinez, 18, who graduated last month from Bowers/Whitley Career Center in Tampa. “Now I just want to prove to myself and everybody that I can make it.”

At Bowers/Whitley, a high school that focuses on career preparation for at-risk youth, Martinez studied early childhood education. She plans to enroll at Hillsborough Community College and eventually become a child psychologist. But without financial help, college would be impossible, she said.

Thanks to a grant from the Eckerd Family Foundation, Martinez and the 400 students at Bowers/Whitley Career Center now have the opportunity to receive financial aid for college and technical training after graduation, as well as certification tests and class materials.

“I went through some hardships, and I didn’t think I would be able to do it. But I came through and did it,” Martinez said. “I want to better myself.”

[read the rest of the story]

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Judge Herbert J. Baumann, Jr., Wins Outstanding Public Servant Award

The Florida Network of Youth and Family Services honored 13th Circuit Court Judge Herbert J. Baumann, Jr., with the Outstanding Public Servant award at a November ceremony.

Baumann, administrative judge for the Unified Family Court in Hillsborough County, was “an easy pick” for the award, because of his dedication to helping children and families, said Bill Hogan, Hillsborough County Department of Children’s Services program manager, who nominated Baumann.

He is “very well respected for his leadership, his approachability and his innovation when it comes to resolving problems regarding children and their families,” Hogan said. “He’s also a very humane person who has bent over backwards to give children more opportunities to be successful.”

With support from the Eckerd Family Foundation, Baumann most recently established a new Foster Teen Court, which sees all Hillsborough County 17-year-olds in foster care to help them prepare to age out of foster care. He also previously established a Second Chance Court and a Domestic Violence Against Parents Respite Program.

Thousands of youth are arrested for domestic violence against their parents every year, Hogan said, and parents often lock their children out of their homes, leaving them with no place to go. In the past, the youth were sent to detention centers. But thanks to Baumann’s coordination between agencies, the respite program allows the youth to stay at the county’s Haven Poe Runaway Services Center and participate in a treatment program that involves parents and addresses family issues. The program has reduced the number of children in detention, according to Hogan.

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Community Leaders ‘Walk A Mile’ in the Shoes of Foster Youth

In November and December, state and local leaders got to trade places with young adults transitioning out of foster care – all part of a new project in Hillsborough County called Walk A Mile. It’s a chance for the policymakers to learn from the young adults – and vice versa.

Each young adult was paired with someone who best fit with the youth’s goals and situation. Many of the young adults wanted their matches to understand firsthand their difficulties finding housing or living on tight budgets. For instance, Judy Wichterman, a Hillsborough Kids, Inc., vice president, joined her foster youth match, Melissa, to donate blood plasma because Melissa wanted Wichterman to experience what she does to earn money. State Rep. Rich Glorioso was paired with 17-year-old Indianette because both are interested in the military. Glorioso joined all the foster youth for a discussion about growing up in foster care, suggestions for changing the system, and the importance of personal goals.

Other policymakers who participated in this year’s Walk A Mile project included Hillsborough Kids, Inc., board members Mary Ellen Gillette, Reynolds Allen, Russell Thomas, Sandy Murman, Charles Ketchie, and Rahul Mehra, MD; Hillsborough Community College president Gwendolyn Stevenson; Department of Children and Families Suncoast deputy regional director Jan Gregory; and Hillsborough Kids executives Jeff Rainey and Pam Menendez.

Walk-A-Mile is a national program that matches low-income people with policymakers to “walk a mile in each other’s shoes.” Funded by the Anne E. Casey Foundation, it is rooted in the principle that if policymakers have a greater personal understanding of issues, they will develop sound public policy. The Hillsborough County Walk A Mile was organized by Connected by 25, a program supported by the Eckerd Family Foundation that links young people from foster care to the supports they need.

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New Web Site Features Information about Grants and Latest News

The Eckerd Family Foundation has launched a new Web site packed with information about the foundation, applying for grants, the foundation’s vision and focus and past grant recipients. In the “About Us” section, visitors can learn about the foundation’s history and vision, while in the “Our Grants” section, visitors can find out how to apply for a grant and meet the foundation’s guidelines. A section called “Youth Development and Engagement” explains the principles of positive youth development and the “Foundation News” section takes visitors to information about the latest happenings. The user-friendly format provides helpful details for those seeking everything from grant requirements to copies of past newsletters.

To see the new Web site, visit www.eckerdfamilyfoundation.org

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The Eckerd Family Foundation is committed to promoting meaningful and lasting change to transform the lives of vulnerable youth and their families. The foundation's mission provides leadership and support for innovative educational, preventative, therapeutic and rehabilitative programs for children, youth and their families. The foundation awarded these new grants in November:

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT:

Asheville Parks and Greenways Foundation
$300,000
Asheville, North Carolina
Offering a challenge grant for renovation of the W. C. Reid Center housing the Cultural Renaissance Arts Program, the only cultural arts outreach project in Asheville directly reaching youth in public housing areas. The program challenges youth to become positive contributors to the community through the production and presentation of social dramas, visual arts, dance, music and literary arts projects. The program was recognized by the National League of Cities in the most innovative municipal program category.

Nonprofit Leadership Center of Tampa Bay (formerly Management Assistance Program)
$60,000
Tampa, Florida
A matching grant to support a college and graduate-level certification program for nonprofit management. To equip the next generation of nonprofit leaders, management training is a necessity for executives to assure they will have the skills to sustain well-managed operations. The Nonprofit Leadership Center and the University of Tampa have collaborated to develop the Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Innovation program. Through this program, the Center has committed to enhance the quality and content of its training and educational offerings to area nonprofit organizations. The grant is restricted to organizations serving children and families.

FOSTER CARE:

Camelot Community Care, Connected by 25
$275,550
Tampa, Florida
Supporting development of a statewide technical assistance office for the replication of the Connected by 25 (Cby25) program serving foster care, juvenile justice and other transitioning youth. Cby25 has demonstrated success with specific understandable outcomes. This project and its advocacy efforts have resulted in system changes for youth aging out of foster care across Florida. Program replication demands a thoughtful, strategic process ensuring fidelity to the Cby25 model. This grant will facilitate the process of replication throughout the state.

The Children’s Home
$700,000
Tampa, Florida
A challenge grant for the renovation and upgrading of Lois Binnicker Hall, the administration building supporting 2,000 children and 600 families annually. This residential treatment program serves children who have been abused, neglected or abandoned with a program designed to provide a nurturing family setting. The Children’s Home works to heal each child and return them to the community, healthy and ready to take their place as a successful participant. The grant also recognizes contributions to The Children’s Home made by Lois Binnicker, a founding member of The Children’s Home, and her daughter, Ruth Binnicker Eckerd, a past board member.

CHILD PROTECTION AND PREVENTION:

Help A Child, Inc.
$45,000
Pinellas Park, Florida
This is an emergency support grant to address a funding gap to support the Parent Aide Program, a child abuse prevention program that works with families before child abuse occurs. Community volunteers serve as aides to parents seeking supportive guidance. This proven intervention program helps parents achieve success in raising their children by helping develop a supportive environment and offering knowledge to guide parents to successfully raise healthy, emotionally stable children.

YOUTH IN TRANSITION:

Presbyterian Home for Children of Black Mountain, N.C., Inc.
$160,000
Black Mountain, North Carolina
Funding a challenge grant of $100,000 for the construction of an eight-unit apartment building for foster youth completing high school or GED requirements and housing the independent living program for youth transitioning from foster care to young adulthood. An additional amount of $60,000 is awarded for operation of the transitional living training program designed to promote a successful transition to adult living by offering physical, emotional, financial and career-guidance support to the young adults housed in the new building. Each youth enrolled in the program must be actively pursuing a trade, technical or college education.

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  Editors    
  Ed Hatcher ed@thehatchergroup.com  
  Angie Cannon angie@thehatchergroup.com  
  The Hatcher Group http://www.thehatchergroup.com  
    301-656-0348