Nonprofit Spotlight: Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the Triangle
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle
Article written by Olivia Barrow while studying at the University of North Carolina.
Memories of her own childhood drove Kelly Foster of Durham to look into Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle. With her son more than 40 years old, Foster felt the time was right to become a big sister in the program, which serves Durham, Orange, and Wake counties.
“I have six sisters, myself making seven, and four brothers, three of them alive,” she said. “I came from a big family, and I know how it is when the parents cannot supply everything.”
Foster has been matched for about a year and a half with 10-year-old Karima, who has six siblings. They see each other five to six times per month, doing activities such as ice skating, going to movies and ball games, and getting dinner.
Karima is among 1,100 children, ages 6 to 14, served by Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle. The Triangle mentoring program is part of the national Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, whose mission is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported one-to-one interactions with adults.
The organization’s four programs are community-based mentoring, site-based mentoring, sports buddies and mentoring in technology. It is adding a mentoring effort to reach children with a parent in prison.
For Ms. Foster, being a big sister is a chance to introduce Karima to activities she would not otherwise be involved in, such as the Girl Scouts.
“My favorite part is when I get home from school, I don’t have to be bored,” Karima said.
Active in the Triangle since 1999, the program has doubled in size since 2005, when the Durham and Orange group merged with the Raleigh group. It has expanded from about 500 volunteer-child matches in 2005 to 1,000 today -- and plans to add between 200 and 300 matches this year.
The two greatest needs are for more money to support more mentors and for more volunteers, especially black males. Those interested in mentoring apply at www.bbbstriangle.org, providing three references and participating in an in-person interview. The program conducts a background check and then works to match a mentor with a student with a similar personality and interests.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle considers about 92 percent of the children it mentors to be at-risk, based on the fact that they receive free or reduced-price lunch at school, said Barron Damon, vice president of partnerships. Although the program targets students who are at risk or who live in single-parent homes, any child may apply.
The organization operates with a budget of $1.8 million. It contributes $400,000 to other mentoring programs in the Triangle, and the rest of the budget supports the administration of the program. It costs about $1,000 to set up each match. Volunteers pay for their own activities with their mentored children, so the cost of volunteering depends entirely on how much the volunteer can provide.
“I have a passion for trying to help children learn about things in life that expand them and that would allow them to think differently about the possibilities in life,” said Steve Morton, president of the Board of Directors.
To learn more, visit Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the Triangle on the web at http://www.bbbs.org/site/c.dfIMKYOAJsG/b.3929453/k.BE0C/Home.htm
SECU Family House
Article written by Alena Oakes while studying at the University of North Carolina.
The sounds of pots clanging in the communal kitchen are drowned out by laughter from a group of young people. Caitlin Hughes, a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill, had come with the group to the SECU Family House, sponsored by the State Employees Credit Union (SECU), to help cook a large meal for the house’s residents.
The SECU Family House, which serves as a home-away-from-home for families with an adult patient at UNC Hospitals, hosts two to four “family meals” a week for the house’s entire residents. The capacity is around 50 people.
“The family meals are always real good, comfort food,” said Hughes, a former resident and a native of Charlotte.
Hughes had to take a semester off due to a life-threatening illness, and her mother stayed at the house during Hughes’ stay at the hospital. Hughes then joined her mother at the house for one month when she was released from the hospital but still needed to continue treatments.
She knew that when she returned to UNC for the spring semester, she wanted to go back and volunteer to cook family meals.
“Going back is nice,” said Hughes. “It’s like a reunion with family. They understand what you have been through.”
The SECU Family House provides service for families of adult patients both physically and emotionally. The house has individual bedrooms, a laundry room, a communal kitchen roomy enough for four families, several visiting rooms, and a wrap-around front porch.
The house admits families with an adult patient, whose permanent address is more than 50 miles from Chapel Hill, to stay while the patient is being treated for a critical injury or illness at UNC Hospitals.
The rooms, styled much like a tranquil hotel, are available through a wait-list system and referral by UNC Hospitals. The rooms are feature at least a double bed, a fold-out couch, a chair or two, nightstand/dresser, and some closet space.
The house features large floor-to-ceiling windows that let in the sunlight in the common areas. Yellow walls brighten the children’s playroom. Hughes described the place as truly feeling like a home.
“People love to stay here despite their circumstances,” said Janice Ross, the SECU house manager. “They meet other people who are going through the same thing. They find people to talk to and often become friends. It is wonderful to see.”
The SECU Family House has operated since March of 2008, is overseen by a Board of Directors and staff, and supported by volunteers and donors.
The house received an initial $2 million grant from the State Employees’ Credit Union Foundation. Since then, the house has received donations, both monetary and needed items, and the helpful dedication of volunteers.
Ross explained that there are several ways to donate and volunteer to help the SECU Family House donating needed items published on their website, volunteering to serve at the front desk, or cooking a family meal.
“We have a lot of support and it’s growing,” said Ross. “With the family meal volunteers, when they do it once, they get a charge and want to do it again.”
Local families as well as employees of the credit union and local businesses have assigned days for preparing the family meals.
“When Charles and Patty Harrison come every other Tuesday to cook the meals, everyone is excited,” said Ross. “Their food is wonderful.”
“Six o’ clock in the kitchen of the SECU Family House during a planned meal is a place of cheerfulness in a day that may have presented much anxiety,” said Diane Woodward, SECU volunteer in charge of helping to coordinate the family meals. “Folks from all over North Carolina and beyond gather to share their day, laugh, cry, offer comfort, even help serve and clean up. It’s a way to feel connected.”
To learn more, visit http://secufamilyhouse.org
A Helping Hand
Article written by Jacob Swiger while studying at the University of North Carolina.
Reading “The Sound of Music” to sweet elderly women for an afternoon sounded wonderful to Cathy Ahrendsen, but she had no idea it would lead to a new awakening.
Ahrendsen, who grew up in Falls Church, Va., started an adopt-a-grandparent program while attending James Madison University.
Then, 15 years ago, Ahrendsen founded A Helping Hand, a nonprofit located in Durham, that carries the commitment to caring for seniors from her early days to her work today.
A Helping Hand provides quality care to adults older than 65 in Orange, Durham, Chatham and western Wake counties. A Helping Hand, which has an office in Durham, offers companionship, escorted transportation, meal preparation, light housekeeping and respite care to its list of clients. The nonprofit has seven staff members and directs volunteers to provide care for seniors.
Ahrendsen started erecting the foundation for A Helping Hand while caring for a senior as a part time job when she first moved to Chapel Hill. Then a second person asked for help. And then a third. After a visit to a lawyer to learn about starting a nonprofit and to the Orange County Department on Aging to see what services seniors need, Ahrendsen developed the idea of A Helping Hand.
“Cathy Ahrendsen has built a team of individuals who bring joy and independence to the seniors of the Chapel Hill area,” said Shannon Connell, a former public relations intern for A Helping Hand.
Ahrendsen’s interest in seniors began at a young age. Her grandmother lived with her family for the first 19 years of her life. She organized a choral performance for a local nursing home when she was 13 and continued to organize performances for three years.
“The people were so appreciative of our visits, and we enjoyed hearing about history from people who had experienced it first-hand,” Ahrendsen said.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the elderly population is the fastest growing segment in the country. In 1994, one in eight Americans was elderly. By 2030, that proportion will grow to one in five. A Helping Hand is trying to cope with this expansion.
“We are trying to increase donations to offer services to older adults on our waiting list who need transportation to access health care and other vital services,” Ahrendsen said.
The major issue facing older Americans is public transportation. Ahrendsen said that many older adults are unable to travel alone using public transportation because of hearing, mobility or cognitive impairments.
“Public transportation provides ‘door to door’ transportation,” Ahrendsen said. “A Helping Hand provides ‘door through door’ transportation.”
This service is one of the reasons A Helping Hand received a STAR award in 2009 from the Beverly Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Albuquerque, N.M., which recognizes outstanding transportation services provided to older Americans throughout the nation.
Additionally, A Helping Hand seeks to educate the public. The nonprofit is pursuing funding to provide sensitivity training for elementary school students to help them understand challenges the elderly face, Ahrendsen said. It has a service learning program that trains college students interested in careers in health care for older Americans.
A Helping Hand recently updated its Web site (www.ahelpinghandnc.org) and provides information on volunteering and donating as well as more details about its assistance programs.
Genesis Home
Written by Justin Page while studying at the University of North Carolina.
Photo from http://www.genesishome.org
The colorful handprints on the wall of a house in Durham tell stories of redemption. One set of handprints speaks of Andrea, a Durham woman who once found herself homeless after escaping an abusive relationship. After 14 months in this colorful house, Andrea now works as a substitute teacher and lives with her daughters, 12 and 14, in their new home.
Andrea is a graduate of Genesis Home, a non-profit organization that houses homeless adults and families in a large but cozy house just outside of downtown Durham. Genesis Home differs from conventional homeless shelters; the organization helps its residents develop independent-living skills and eventually move into their own home.
Like many non-profits across the Triangle, Genesis Home faces the challenges stemming from the recession. But the economy is not slowing down the organization, which is increasing its fundraising and even adding new programs for its residents.
“Because we have done some good planning the last few years, we’re now in a position where we can actually think about doing more,” said Executive Director Ryan Fehrman.
Genesis Home receives most of its funding from the government, but the large house on North Queen Street also depends on contributions from individuals, foundations and other service organizations.
Since its founding in 1988, Genesis Home has helped hundreds of individuals and families find new homes on their own. In 2009, the organization housed 24 families and 80 individuals. Seven of those families moved into permanent housing.
The recession has intensified demand for sheltering the homeless. The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics shows unemployment in North Carolina at close to 11 percent, among the highest in the nation. The National Center on Family Homelessness also ranks North Carolina seventh-worst in rates of homelessness.
Genesis Home emphasizes families. The house has only two administrative offices; the rest includes bedrooms, kitchens, playrooms and meeting rooms. Director of Development Mary McGuigan works in one of the small offices she joking calls “cell block G.” McGuigan says the focus of the organization is where it belongs: the families.
“Our job is about transforming lives,” McGuigan said. “It’s about giving people the tools they need to make their fresh start.”
McGuigan says Genesis Home works with more than 600 volunteers and does not hire secretaries or administrative assistants.
“If we’re going to hire, we’ll hire more case managers,” McGuigan said. “We need more people to make sure our families are OK.”
Case managers work in the “Family Matters” program, which serves 12 families by teaching them life skills, such as budgeting and vocational training. The average family stays in the house for six months. After that time, case managers continue to monitor families as they transition into independent homes. During the past five years, 75 percent of families have secured housing for at least six months after graduation.
The “Independent Living” program supports young adults who have aged out of foster care, while “Turning Point” provides housing for five families headed by an adult with a disability. Genesis Home is expanding its services with two new programs: “Circles of Support” and “In-Step” program.
“Circles of Support” collaborates with local congregations to assist families in developing employment and educational goals. “In-Step” consists of 12 weekly workshops that focus on developing financial management skills, nutritional judgment, relationship building methods and other skills that will help families live independently.
“No matter what their skill set is, it’s probably just good and healthy to attend the seminars,” McGuigan said.
From 2008 to 2009, government funding for the home declined nine percent. But an even greater problem waits when families are ready to leave. The economy has created a shortage of affordable housing throughout the Triangle.
“Here in Durham, our housing authority has a wait list of more than 2,500 individuals and families for only 1,700 units,” Fehrman said. “If we don’t have housing for people who are formerly homeless, they stay homeless.”
But Fehrman and McGuigan remain optimistic. Fundraising from 2008 to 2009 increased nearly 20 percent.
“We're trying to increase our giving levels so that we don't have to be dependent on government funding,” she said. “We know that we're facing issues.”
Genesis Home is in the process of updating its website and reaching out to more donors through social networking sites. McGuigan says new media technology allows for more than just traditional newsletters.
“We need to make sure we can effectively and efficiently get our story out to the public in a way that is compelling,” she said. “If we do that, we’ll continue to broaden our donor base.”
By broadening its fundraising efforts, Genesis Home will continue to add handprints to the wall in the breezeway of the house. After leaving her prints, Andrea says Genesis Home saved her life.
“I learned to take small steps, set goals and then take the next small steps and reach those goals,” Andrea said. “…I am on my way to a better life.”
Genesis Home is located at 300 North Queen Street Durham, NC. For more information please visit http://www.genesishome.org.
Voices Together
Written by Alex Linder while studying at the University of North Carolina.
photo cited from http://voicestogether.net
Chorus members sat in a semi-circle watching two instructors, one behind a piano and one conducting. They sang their hearts out, for the better part of an hour, with smiles on their faces and their worries melting away.
This was no ordinary chorus, and what they produced went far beyond delightful music.
Formed by the nonprofit Voices Together, the chorus consisted of people with developmental disabilities, who have had problems with speech and communication. They may not have felt comfortable talking in a group, or they may have had trouble putting together a complete sentence.
Voices Together helps more than 400 people in the Triangle area to sing and interact with enthusiasm and without fear. The organization operates choruses in area schools and provides private-pay choruses in the community with locations in Raleigh, Cary, Durham and Chapel Hill. Participants are grouped into adults, teens, young adults and little voices.
According to Yasmine White, the founder and executive director of Voices Together, chorus groups are geared towards creating a supportive community through music. Groups of nine meet in weekly one hour sessions and are helped by two board-certified music therapists or a board-certified music therapist and a music educator. Forming nine-member groups, said White, enables therapists to address individual concerns as well as helping participants deal with social integration.
“Often a lot of individuals with disabilities are left out of things,” White said. “They have difficulty making friends and participating in the community. Our groups not only provide a community for them, but they show how to bridge to the community outside.”
Voices Together was founded in 2005 by White, who has worked as a musical therapist for more than 20 years. She said the Voices Together approach is to use music to accomplish the therapeutic goals of improvement in the areas of communication, social integration and speech. “Music stimulates many different parts of the brains, and with people with disabilities many of these parts are closed off otherwise,” White said. “Practicing music strengthens these areas and builds skills to prepare them to take on a role in the community.” White said each song the chorus sings is chosen with an interactive goal in mind.
During a recent Chapel Hill session, instructor Kimberly Harrer, who has worked in music therapy for 10 years, conducted the song “S.O.S.” by the Swedish pop group ABBA, forcing members to watch and stay involved. Harrer would point at individuals to sing alone, giving them an opportunity to be independent and self-reliant. Instructors also make it a point to get members to talk about themselves and share their thoughts with the group. Continually, Harrer would ask a question and, if the answer came back somewhat fuzzy, she would keep asking a participant to clarify until he or she had captured the full idea.
This Voices Together approach has produced wonderful results in speech improvement. White said there have been some instances in which the first time individuals have ever spoken successfully was when they were at a group meeting.
Sarah Caligari, whose son Florin has been attending the Chapel Hill adult session for two years, said the program has expanded her son’s language skills. “They have really helped Florin to elaborate and use his vocabulary more,” Caligari said. “Before there was only one answer, either yes or no, and sometimes he didn’t even want to answer at all. But now he feels more comfortable, because he has been exposed to the group.”
Marlyn Wells also has seen improvement in her daughter Anna, who has been attending the Raleigh adult session for a year. “She is more appropriately social now,” Wells said. “I am just in awe of what they have been able to do.”
Wells called going to Voices Together her daughter’s all-time favorite activity and said she is fascinated with the musical aspect. “She’s always talking to me about breath holds and how important it is to articulate,” said Wells. “That part of it has certainly translated to other parts of her life.”
Voices Together works through public school systems in helping children and teens with developmental disabilities. Currently the program is operating in Durham, Orange, Wake and Chatham County Schools. White said the organization has plans to set up in Greensboro soon. Also she is working to get the program into the community college system. Decisions in the organization are made by White and a board of directors.
Voices Together is endorsed by The Autism Society of North Carolina, The Arc of North Carolina and The University of North Carolina Department of Education and Special Education. Voices Together is a tax exempt non-profit corporation. The nonprofit is looking for dedicated volunteers. To get involved call at 919-942-2714 or visit the website at http://voicestogether.net/.
The Joel Lane Museum House
Unlike most nonprofits, the Joel Lane Museum House in Raleigh isn’t suffering at the hands of the recession.
Visitation has already increased from 2,837 people last fiscal year to 3,776 people so far this fiscal year, and the museum has received more than 400 donations ranging from less than $50 to more than $10,000. The museum is funded entirely by private donations.
According to a survey of nearly 1,000 nonprofits by the Nonprofit Finance Fund, more than half of nonprofits in the U.S. expect the recession to have a long-term negative affect on their organization. More than 30 percent don’t have enough cash to cover more than one month of expenses.
Belle Long, curator of the Joel Lane Museum House, said part of its financial success is due to community outreach and an attractive Web site.
“We’ve been very fortunate,” Long said. “I think people know times are bad so they’re being just as generous as they have been in the past.”Col. Joel Lane, known as “The Father of Raleigh,” was a Revolutionary War patriot who sold 1,000 acres to North Carolina in 1792 to form Raleigh as the state’s permanent capital city. His house was built in the 1770s and was restored in 1970 to its original appearance. It’s the oldest house in Wake County.
The museum house, located at 728 W. Hargett St. in Raleigh, is filled with classic artifacts from the 18th Century, and the quaint yellow siding harkens back to a simpler time. Costumed guides give tours around the fully furnished house and its grounds. The site consists of three buildings and a garden with herbs, fruit trees and other plants.“It’s a special place,” Long said. “It grabs people by the heart strings, and they get hooked.”
The Joel Lane Museum House began hosting a lecture series in 2008. Long said the lectures provide an additional opportunity to visit the museum house. Lectures have had to move across the street several times because the crowd exceeded the 25-person capacity of the museum room. Long said the lectures help make the Joel Lane house more pertinent. In April the museum house will host a lecture on architecture in 18th- century North Carolina by Peter Sandbeck, administrator of the State Historic Preservation Office.
Long said the increasing exposure due to the lecture series has also increased the need for volunteers.Assignments for volunteers, she said, “depends on people’s talents. Not everyone is going to want to give a tour.”Volunteers can do everything from helping maintain the gardens to guiding tours to stuffing envelopes. New volunteers can sign up on the museum house Web site: www.joellane.org. Last year volunteers gave more than 400 hours to the museum house.
The museum also sponsors educational programs.School groups can participate in hands-on activities after they tour the site. Students can carry water with a yoke and buckets and watch fire made with flint and steel. The museum can accommodate groups of up to 70 people.
By Anna Winker, a senior majority in journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill
More information about Joel Lane and the museum house can be found on the Web site at www.joellane.org or by calling 919-833-3431.
Visit Joel Lane's Profile Page here.
Animal Protection Society of Durham
Ladies, meet Bryce. He’s blond, handsome, loyal and dependable. He loves to cuddle, he’s always happy to see you, and whenever you call, he comes running. Where can you meet Bryce or others like him? Not on Match.com or at your favorite local hang-out, but at the Animal Protection Society of Durham.
Here you can also run into Serena, Arnold, Gracie and Noah, all of whom would love to be your new pet and maybe even your best friend.
“We have animals of all shapes and sizes and ages and colors and personalities so that we can help match up what somebody is looking for in a family pet with the animals that are already here,” said Carolyn Paige, president of the APS Board of Directors.
APS is a non-profit organization that works with the Durham County Animal Shelter to provide care and find homes for thousands of cats and dogs and other pets, like rabbits and birds, each year.
“A lot of people think the shelter’s a bad place, but for a lot of these animals, it’s the best lives they’ve ever had,” said Simon Woodrup, APS director of community outreach. “It’s the first time they’ve had regular food, that they’re not exposed to cold or heat, that somebody’s caring for them in a nice way.”
The organization was founded in 1970 by community volunteers who wanted to improve the lives of animals and the animal shelter in Durham County. In 1990, the society signed a contract with the county that allowed it to take over everyday operations at the shelter.
“Without APS, the county would still have an animal shelter and there would still be animals there, but it probably wouldn’t be quite up to the standards that we would like to see,” Paige said.
Aside from running an open-admissions shelter and taking in stray and neglected animals, APS is also in charge of adoption, education and outreach programs. In 2009, APS helped 1,185 animals find a home and returned more than 500 missing pets to their owners.
However, almost 7,000 animals entered the shelter last year, leaving close to 5,000 animals without a home. Woodrup says that the stark difference in the number of animals coming in and the number going out largely results from one underlying problem.
“You can continue to do the best you can for the animals in your care, but until pet overpopulation is taken care of, or at least improved, we’re going to have to continue to euthanize thousands of animals a year right here in Durham simply because there are more animals than there are good homes for them,” Woodrup said.
This is why, according to the society’s three-year strategic plan, its number one goals is to reduce pet overpopulation by increasing spay/neuter operations. Research shows that households making less than $30,000 a year are only 50 percent likely to have their animals spayed/neutered, whereas families with higher incomes will spay/neuter their pets nine times out of 10.
For this reason, APS partners with organizations like AnimalKind to supply subsidized spay/neuter surgeries that, at most, cost $20, making it easier for low-income families to afford these operations.
Another important goal of APS is increasing the number of animals adopted from the shelter each year. The organization provides subsidized adoption fees, which include the spay/neuter surgery, a physical exam, a microchip and several vaccinations. It costs only $95 to adopt a cat and $125 for a dog.
“If you were to take an animal and go to the vet and do all the things that we do for it, you’d be looking at nearly $400 or $500,” Woodrup said.
Aside from adoption programs, APS also provides education and outreach opportunities in order to promote responsible pet ownership. The organization teaches pet owners how to handle behavioral issues, and the education committee travels to local schools to teach children about important animal issues. APS wants to leave the community with the message that shelter animals are not damaged goods.
There are several ways to get involved with APS. The society has close to 200 volunteers who put in almost 20,000 hours of work in 2009. Woodrup knows that APS is lucky to have such a large number of people willing to help out, but he says some activities could use more volunteer help. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old and agree to no fewer than eight hours a month for at least six months.
“The easiest thing for a lot of people is working directly with the cats and the dogs because they pretty much give you unconditional love,” Woodrup says. “The harder things are some of the things that are not so fun, which might be working at the front desk or doing clerical work or event planning or fundraising.”
The Walk for the Animals fund-raiser is the organization’s biggest event of the year, scheduled for May 22 in 2010. The event raises more than $100,000. Participants must pay a registration fee and are encouraged to raise at least $150 in pledges.
The shelter is located 2117 E. Club Blvd., Durham, NC 27704, and you can stop by Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.—the hours extend to 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday—or Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Visit APS of Durham's Profile here.
For more information, visit www.apsofdurham.org or contact Simon Woodrup at volunteer@apsofdurham.org.
Written by Mary Avant, a journalism major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Rebuilding Together of the Triangle
Dan Sargent: Project Coordinator for Rebuilding Together of the Triangle
Today I had the privilege going to lunch with Dan Sargent, Project Coordinator for Rebuilding Together of the Triangle (RTT). It was a great opportunity to learn about this small nonprofit organization doing great things in the Triangle. Rebuilding Together is a nationally affiliated nonprofit organization, with 200 affiliates across the nation; each a separately incorporated 501(C)3 organization. The Triangle affiliate has been serving the community since the late 1990's.
Rebuilding Together of the Triangle's mission is to make a sustainable impact on preserving and revitalizing homes and communities, assuring that low-income homeowners, from the elderly and disabled to families with children, live in warmth, safety, and independence. Homeowners, with an income of less than 65% of the county median income, are qualified to receive home repairs and revitalization from RTT. Some of the projects that Rebuilding Together perform are repairs, disability modifications, and weatherization. After applicants are screened to ensure qualification, it is Sargent's responsibility to match projects with groups of volunteers to complete the work.
Projects occur in the fall and spring; about 13 total in one year. Sargent said most of the labor is completed by volunteer groups from local corporations. Sears, Genworth Financial, Cricket Communications, Choice Hotels, and Lowes are some of the corporations who regularly donate and volunteer on projects with Rebuilding Together.
For more information about how you can volunteer with Rebuilding Together of the Triangle. Visit their Triangle Gives Back Profile.
Friends of Wake County Guardian ad Litem Provide Support to Volunteers and Families in the Court System 
Friends of Wake County Guardian ad Litem (FWCGL) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is, "To enhance the lives of at-risk children and their caregivers through programs which promote their physical, educational, and emotional well-being, and to provide support to the Wake County Guardian ad Litem Program." Volunteer guardians at litem provide a voice for children, often victims of abuse and neglect, in family court and the foster care system. The volunteer guardian at litem promotes and advocates for the best interest of the child with the goal to find a safe and permanent home.
Friends of Wake County Guardian at Litem's role is to provide support to the volunteers and families. Family and volunteer needs are often not met by the existing resources. FWCGL's role is to try and provide those resources which range from education and enrichment to special medical and/or developmental needs. Find out more from their Triangle Gives Back profile here.
Do you know a nonprofit that would be great for our spotlight series? Contact Kayla@trianglecf.org
