Annual Holiday Party

Dear Friends of Bay Area Legal Services,

Thank you for your past and continued support of the L David Shear Children's Law Center (“CLC”) of Bay Area Legal Services, Inc. The CLC represents children in foster care who are victims of abuse, neglect or abandonment. Through a trauma-informed lens and attorney/social worker partnership, the CLC provides high quality, holistic, and client-directed legal advocacy in and out of the courtroom.

Throughout the past year, the zealous advocacy provided by the CLC has meant that, six siblings, ages three through eleven, are now adopted by a stable and loving family after living separately for over three years in countless foster homes. Leo, age five, returned to his mother, Donna, after ensuring that Donna and Leo received individualized and evidence-based therapeutic services to build a safe and secure relationship. After years of legal battles, Chris, age fifteen, was adopted by his grandmother and never has to return to an abusive environment.

I am also proud to report that CLC attorney, Taylor Sartor, launched the first ever child-friendly mobile app and website “FosterPower” to help children in foster care understand their benefits, protections, and legal rights. In addition, CLC attorneys, Jennifer Robinson and Jennifer Hodges, continue to lead community groups to improve outcomes for children in early education and who experience domestic violence. These are just a few of the countless examples of how our work makes a difference in the lives of the most vulnerable children in our community.

Your support of our annual holiday party allows our child clients to enjoy the holiday season. The CLC is hosting our annual holiday party on Saturday, December 16, 2023, at the Brandon Community Center. To make this celebration special, we need your help. We are looking for individuals and organizations willing to sponsor this event through financial contributions to help us pay for items (i.e. event space, craft supplies, gift cards and a book drive), or in-kind donations we can use as door prizes. We are also looking for food and drink donations. Bay Area Legal Services, Inc. is a not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) organization and all contributions are tax deductible. Kindly make your monetary donation payable to Bay Area Legal Services, Inc. with a specific notation “for CLC Holiday Party” on your contribution. If you would like to help with our holiday party, please e-mail Lisa Cribbs, lcribbs@bals.org, or Ashley Duncan, aduncan@bals.org or call 813-227-9050.

We thank you in advance for your generous support. All sponsors will be recognized on the Bay Area Legal Services, Inc. website as those who care and support children in need in our community. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,
Heather Tager
Managing Attorney

Book Drive

The Children's Law Center 2023 Holiday Book Drive Wish List is available on Amazon. Kindly consider purchasing a book (or two or three) from our Amazon Wish List to be given as a special holiday gift to each child attending the CLC Holiday Party.

NOTE: The shipping address for each book is defaulted to the Children's Law Center office.

Make a donation to the L. David Shear Children's Law Center Annual Holiday Party!

To donate by mail, please make your check out to Bay Area Legal Services with "CLC Holiday Party" in the memo line. Send to:

Bay Area Legal Services
1302 N 19th Street
Suite 400
Tampa, FL 33605

REQUIRED NOTICES:
A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (1-800-435-7352) WITHIN FLORIDA. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. REGISTRATION # CH1969.AS A CONDITION OF THE FUNDING RECEIVED BY THE LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION (LSC), BAY AREA LEGAL SERVICES MAY NOT EXPEND ANY FUNDS FROM WHATEVER SOURCE FOR ANY ACTIVITY PROHIBITED BY THE LSC ACT OR BY PUBLIC LAW 105-119. BAY AREA LEGAL SERVICES DOES NOT UTILIZE THE SERVICES OF PROFESSIONAL SOLICITORS AND THEREFORE RECEIVES 100% OF EACH CONTRIBUTION.