Join Captain Quacky and the rest of the crew this Saturday, May 18 for the 2013 Duck Derby Festival! Help change the luck of a child by following the flock. Find out more about the Duck Derby Festival by visiting our events page and adopt your last minute ducks on Saturday. See all of you AdvoFans there!
A huge Thank you to Paper Plane Productions for the the incredible work put into this video and for finding the heart of Advocates for Children on film.
Kayleigh Ladshaw
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ADVOCATES!
2013 marks the 30th anniversary of our organization. What started out as a group of concerned community members that saw a need for a children's shelter in Bartow County, has grown to serve the needs of over 2,600 children and families every year.
Did you know Flowering Branch started out as a nine bed facility? Residents shared rooms with other children and we rarely served more than five children at a time. But how times have changed! Now Flowering Branch is home to 13 kids at a time and every child has their own room to decorate and make their own.
So many more programs have been added to the roster and we are happy to be able to bring that sparkle of hope back into the eyes of so many. Keep an eye out this year as we travel back in time reliving AdvoHistory!
AdvoLove.
Kayleigh Ladshaw
We want to thank you!
For all you do to make Advocates the organization it is and for making it what it will be. We are offering a free lunch for all of you that have donated, volunteered, cheered us on, sponsored events and shared kind words with our kids.
Save the Date! October 9 at the Clarence Brown Conference Center for an afternoon of sharing and thanks. Because that's what you deserve!
AdvoLove.
Kayleigh Ladshaw
The kids at Flowering Branch have had a full summer of fun thanks to the many donations and volunteers that helped to ensure happy kids during their break from school. We took trips to The Atlanta Zoo and The Botanical Gardens, cheered on the Braves during a home game, splashed around at the lake and took part in many other amazing opportunities.
We have a shelter full of arts and crafts and heart warming poems from all the days that our kids stretched their creative muscles. Want to know a little more about what they have been up to? Check out The Bud, a newsletter written and illustrated by the kids staying with us. We are proud of them, and once you see what they can do, we're sure you will be too.
AdvoLove.
Kayleigh Ladshaw
Our inner hippies came out for the 11th Annual Duck Derby weekend and we spread Peace, Love and Ducks to everyone around us!
The Concert on the Lawn was filled with dancers, music enthusiasts, cornhole players and ducky groupies. Freeflight rocked the crowd while AdvoFans got into the spirit by "duck-orating" their tables and wearing hippie inspired costumes. Thank you to all those that came out to celebrate the Duck Derby weekend with us under the stars!
The Duck Dash & Fun Run was a huge success the next morning. Dashers, walkers and fun runners came out in full force bright and early with the Tom and Chad Show blasting music to get us pumped. Thanks again to Harbin Clinic and Harbin Clinic Sports Health Foundation for donating a chip timing system to this years race and congratulations to all of our winners! Please visit the Duck Dash Events page to see our list of Dash winners and receive your racing results.
After a night of dancing and a morning of dashing, we geared up for the main event...the Duck Derby! We had entertainment, a flash mob, appearances from Quacky and dozens of games for our festival goers. The weather was beautiful, vendor food was delicious, and thousands of people came out to cheer on their flock of ducks as they proudly crossed the finish line. Want to know if you're a winner? Visit the Duck Derby Events page to see if your duck won you a prize.
Don't miss out next year! We have a little something for everyone and we are already working to make Duck Derby 12 on May 18, bigger and better! Thank you to all those that bought ducks, attended our events, raced in the Dash and helped to support all of the invaluable programs that we offer. See you next year, Duck Fans!
AdvoLove.
Kayleigh Ladshaw
Across the country April is recognized as Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month and we made sure to remind Bartow how important it is that our community remembers that.
Monday, April 9, we held a Light of Hope candle vigile on the steps of the Bartow County Courthouse. Assistant District Attorney and Advocates Board Member, Rosemary Greene and Juvenile Court judge Velma Tilley spoke about the incidents of child abuse in Bartow County as dozens of concerned community members lit a candle to honor one child currently in the care of the state.
On April 11, psychologists and sexual abuse experts Julie Medlin and Steve Knauts spoke to the public on the subject Avoiding Sexual Dangers: A Parent’s Guide to Protecting Your Child, which is also the title of their recently published book and Advocates once again partnered with NorthSide Bank for the annual planting of the pinwheels. Staff and dozens of volunteers got down on their hands and knees in the dirt to plant a pinwheel outside NorthSide Bank to signify every reported case of child abuse in Bartow County in 2011...880 in all.
So many children still need the love and support that Advocates offers in our community. Remember them when you tuck your own children into bed at night. We are still fighting for their chance at happiness.
AdvoLove.
Kayleigh Ladshaw
Welcome to Advocates for Children’s new website! We hope it is easy to use, fun to look at and of course full of all the important AdvoInfo that you could ever possibly need. Please feel free to peruse our handiwork and let us know how you like it! All comments and contructive criticisms are welcome--we want you to have the best experience while learning about all of the great things we are doing in your community.
A special thank you to {indepth studios} for all the hard work and love they put into our new website. We are so thankful to have people like Shawn and Carmen Frame who donated their creative (and nerdy) expertise to the creation you see in front of you. Their generosity has not gone unnoticed and we hope that all of our AdvoFans will give them giant hugs when you see them as a thank you! More importantly, please keep them in mind for all of your future photography, print design, graphic art and web design needs! We think they're awesome and there's no doubt that you will too.
Please check back every so often for a new blog entry! We hope to keep you updated on happenings in all of our programs, funny or touching stories about the kids we serve and pretty much anything else that we think will tickle your fancy.
AdvoLove.
