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Commissioner to host mini golf tournamentStuart – You don’t have to be Tiger Woods to be a winner February 7 at United for Families’ first miniature golf tournament – a special event reserved for the golf challenged and fun inspired.
The event, which will be hosted by newly elected Martin County Commissioner Ed Ciampi, is at 10 a.m., February 7, at 76 Golf World, in Stuart.
Try your luck putting through windmills, over bridges and under tunnels in this event, where children and adults alike are welcome.
Cost is $10 per person, or $30 for a team of four. Refreshments will be provided, and prizes will be awarded for the best and worst teams. The event is sponsored by The Breeze 93.7 and 99.7 Jack FM.
“It is uniquely different than some of the more traditional events used to raise attention and money for a cause,” said Ciampi, who also is a member of United for Families’ board of directors.
Proceeds benefit United for Families’ Road to Success program, which prepares teens and young adults for life outside the foster-care system. The program, which is the focus of United for Families’ 2008-2009 fundraising efforts, is threatened by budget cuts.
“If more people were aware of the difficult circumstances young people face as they "exit" the foster care system, they would help in finding solutions and the funding necessary to ensure that these young people don't fall through the cracks,” Ciampi said.
For more information, or to register, please call Leslie Haviland-Smith at 398-2920 Ext. 298. For more information about United for Families, visit www.unitedforfamilies.org.
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Resource Coordinator Lea Tate, right, presents an award to Jaye Egan, of Martin Memorial Health Systems, for her participation in the 2008 holiday drive.
Children turn the tables on News Channel 12 Reporter Liz Quirantes. Quirantes was at United for Families recently as part of the Forever Family campaign to increase awareness of foster-care issue.
United for Families Receptionist Katherine Fryer is the 2008 Employee of the Year.
Andi Poli and husband, John, open gifts during a surprise baby shower for the United for Families contract manager.
Poli is moved to tears by a gift from her co-workers.
Development Director Christina Kaiser greets Candy Fender, a longtime United for Families supporter at a recent appreciation breakfast for holiday contributors.
Chief Financial Officer Donna Eprifania measures out a length of string with her usual sense of humor during Andi Poli's baby shower. The string was an estimate of the circumference of the expectant mother's belly.
Alan Jaffe, left, Leslie Haviland-Smith and Gerry Ireland pose with a check donated to United for Families' Road to Success program by Coldwell Banker, Hobe Sound.
From left, United for Families Volunteer Patty Caravella, Events Coordinator Leslie Haviland-Smith and Volunteer Ed Dillon take a moment for a picture during United for Families' recent family night at Duffy's Sports Grill.
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United for Families News
- Jensen Beach – Friends, family and supporters of United for Families recently celebrated Family Night at Duffy’s Sports Grill in Jensen Beach January 22.
United for Families’ received 10 percent of proceeds for its Road to Success program and plans to host the event on a quarterly basis.
- United for Families will participate in its second Macy's Shop for Cause event at the Indian River Mall from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. February 28.
The event is coordinated periodically by the retail giant to highlight the good works of local non-profit organizations.
Through February 28, Macy’s shoppers can purchase a $5 ticket from United for Families and receive 20 percent off store merchandise the day of the event. All proceeds will benefit United for Families’ Bookworm Babies Birthday Club, which provides a new book or gift card, greeting card and small toy to foster children during the month of their birthday.
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Caregiver News
- United for Families will unroll its fifth annual Have a Heart Do Your Part toiletry drive Feb. 1, 2009. But it will be the first time the campaign will run in Indian River and Okeechobee counties.
“We’ve had a great deal of success in St. Lucie and Martin counties, but we really want to reach out to the communities we serve in Vero Beach and Okeechobee,” United for Families Community Resource Coordinator Lea Tate said.
The program is a simple project for school children and has traditionally been coordinated through the local schools, Tate said.
The toiletries will help supply United for Families’ donations closets in Indian River, Okeechobee, St. Lucie and Martin counties and provide needed supplies to local caregivers.
- The next Caregiver Support Group meeting is tentatively scheduled for late March at the Martin County Service Center, on Willoughby Boulevard. Please call Jill Poole at 398-2920 for more information.
The meetings offer caregivers an opportunity to learn new skills, navigate resources and network with other caregivers.
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Community News
- United for Families will host its next curbside tour at 8:30 a.m., March 10, at Diamonds by Terry, 3868 SE Dixie Hwy., Stuart.
The tours offer an up-close look at United for Families programs and helps educate the community about United for Families’ role in the child-welfare system. Programs discussed include foster care, adoptions, and the preparation of foster teens for life success.
The curbside series is a spin-off of United for Families’ more traditional on-site tour. In the curbside version, United for Families makes the tours more convenient for guests by bringing it directly to their offices.
- United for Families' campaign to increase awareness for child abuse prevention will gear up March 28 with the 3rd Annual Stop the Tears End Child Abuse 5K Run and 1 Mile Walk.
United for Families is looking for sponsors or general donations to this event. Proceeds will help fund United for Families’ Road to Success program, which teaches independent-living skills and prepare teenagers for life outside the foster-care system.
Participating businesses will be featured in newspaper ads, articles and on event t-shirts. Sponsors who commit by February 10 will be listed in a color ad in Florida Parenting News, a magazine that goes home monthly with every school child in Indian River County.
The run is part of the agency’s Stop the Tears, End Child Abuse campaign, which will kick off National Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month and run through April. The campaign serves as a reminder that every person has the power to help bring an end to child abuse and neglect.
Community support is critical this year because the Road to Success program, which helps prevent unemployment and homelessness among children who age out of the foster-care system, is threatened by budget cuts.
Registration for the run, which will be held at South Beach Park, begins at 7 a.m., and the run and walk begin at 8 a.m.
For sponsorship information, or to donate, please call Leslie Haviland-Smith at 398-2920 Ext. 292 or visit www.unitedforfamilies.org.
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