Rounding out the end of summer and heading into first semester, coincides with the traditional time of year for shopping fall trends for our kids to feel good entering the forthcoming school year with a clean backpack, classroom supplies, new sneakers and some fresh swag. Thankfully for foster kids, the Children’s Guardian Fund recently launched a Back-to-School Shopping Pilot Program for students with unconventional home lives. The Children’s Guardian Fund is a nonprofit organization that provides emergency response to the immediate needs of children removed from abusive or neglectful homes—enabling normalcy and enrichment to their young lives by funding normal childhood items and experiences that they would otherwise not have access to. 

The fund recently received $10,000 from an anonymous donor to support its newly launched program, which aims to support those families in the community who are taking care of children in the foster care system (as relative or non-relative caregivers). And caregivers not registered as licensed foster parents receive less support from the state—often causing struggle to provide for the needs of the child temporarily placed in their home by the state. 

This generous contribution came just in time for the influx of requests that the nonprofit received this year. “My intent is to make sure that children have what they need to start off the school year,” said the donor who has requested to remain anonymous. “Every child deserves to feel equal on the first day of school.” Within 10 days of launching its program, the organization funded over 100 back-to-school requests already—totaling more than $20,000 in giving. The Children’s Guardian Fund anticipates 150 more grant requests before the program closes for the season.

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County is proud to partner with SRQ Media Group to highlight stories about community impact powered by philanthropy in our region, thanks to the support of donors and our local nonprofit partners. The Community Foundation is a public charity founded in 1979 by the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council as a resource for caring individuals and the causes they support, enabling them to make a charitable impact on the community

The Children's Guardian Fund