2008 Springfield Business Expo

Ambassadors for Children will have our own booth at the Springfield Business Expo, which draws around 6,000 spectators each year. This is a very exciting opportunity for us, as we will be recruiting business groups to participate in the Adopt-a-Caseworker program.

____________________________________________

This program will allow local businesses the opportunity to support local child victims of abuse/neglect and their Caseworkers in a very specific and direct way. Volunteers from the Ambassadors for Children Advisory Committee and the Agency Director, Sondra Uzzell, will staff the booth from 9am-7pm on Thursday, October 2nd. To receive a free Expo ticket, please contact Sondra Uzzell at suzzell@ccozarks.org or call 417-862-3586.

Come see us on October 2nd in booth 803!!!

____________________________________________

"The Adopt-a-Caseworker program is supported by grant #2005-VF-GX-K009 awarded by the Office for Victims oice Programs, U.S. Department of Justic, in cooperation with HALOS. Points of view in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of HALOS or the U.S. Department of Justice."

2008 Day of Caring

The 2008 United Way Day of Caring proved to be a huge success for Ambassadors for Children!

A total of 14 fantastic volunteers from the City of Springfield volunteered their time and energy on Thursday, August 14th to help organize and distribute duffel bags for our Pack-a-Bag with Love program. Their total in-kind volunteer time was 52 hours!

These volunteers completed 185 duffel bags for children entering foster care in Greene County and also assisted to transport 100 of the bags to the Greene County Children's Division Office.

A total of 265 bags had already been completed and delivered to Missouri Baptist Children's Home, Presbyterian Children's Services, Boys & Girls Town, and Springfield Partners by volunteers from Ash Grove First Christian Church.

We truly appreciate the help and support of these wonderful people!

Check out these amazing Before & After pictures!!!

Bags before prep, empty storage boxes after prep, and finished bags ready for transport

Foster Parent Insight

Local Foster Parents were given the opportunity to participate in a special focus group last night (8/14/2008) to share their thoughts about Ambassadors for Children and our new Adopt-a-Caseworker program.

21 Foster Parents participated in the event. They shared enthusiasm for the program, as well as the existing Ambassadors for Children programs that serve them and their foster children exclusively.

Many great questions, suggestions, and opinions were shared among the group. Thanks to all who participated in this process! The information gathered will be used to assess our community needs as we embark upon the strategic planning process for this new and exciting program!

For more information about Adopt-a-Caseworker, see the program information section to the right.

"The Adopt-a-Caseworker project is supported by grant #2005-VF-GX-K009 awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, in cooperation with HALOS. Points of view in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or polices of HALOS or the U.S. Department of Justice"

Adopt-a-Caseworker Luncheon a Success!

Ambassadors for Children hosted a free luncheon on July 22, 2008 for local faith, business, and civic groups to learn more about the Adopt-a-Caseworker program. This event was attended by 80 individuals representing the following faith groups, business groups, civic groups & organizations:

Churches & Faith Groups

Ash Grove First Christian Church

Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau

Christ Episcopal Church

First & Calvary Presbyterian Church

Grace United Methodist Church

Incarnate Word Associates Group

Messiah Lutheran Church

Park Crest Calvary Temple

Presbyterian Church of Willard

Ridgecrest Baptist Church

Royal Family Kids' Camp

Springhill Baptist Church

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

Willard Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church

Temple Israel

Business Groups

Bancorp South Mortgage Center

City Utilities of Springfield

Gold Mechanical

Great Southern Bank

Old Missouri Bank

SBU St. John's School of Nursing

Civic Groups

Alpha Delta Mu Honor Society

Girls on the Run-Downtown YMCA

Missouri State University Social Work Club

Springfield Downtown Kiwanis Group

Springfield Rotary Southeast

Organizations

Boys & Girls Town of Missouri

Child Care Resource & Referral

Community Partnership of the Ozarks

Council of Churches of the Ozarks

Greene County Children's Division

Greene County Juvenile Office

Greene County Prosecuting Attorney's Office

Guardian Ad Litem

Jordan Valley Community Health Center

Missouri Baptist Children's Home

Missouri State University

Parenting Life Skills Center

Partners for a Better Tomorrow

Presbyterian Children's Services

Special Thanks for Media Coverage Provided By:

KY3

Springfield News-Leader

KSMU

Special Thanks to Caseworker Table Hosts From:

Missouri Baptist Children's Home

Presbyterian Children's Services

Greene County Children's Division

Boys & Girls Town of Missouri

If you would like more information about our Adopt-a-Caseworker program or would like to schedule a presentation of this program for your group, please contact Sondra Uzzell at suzzell@ccozarks.org

Please click here to view our printable brochure

Please click here to view the fantastic News-Leader article that depicts the Adopt-a-Caseworker program and our recent event.

Below: Pictures of event preparation and guest arrival

The Adopt-a-Caseworker project is supported by grant #2005-VF-GX-K009 awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, in cooperation with HALOS. Points of view in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or polices of HALOS or the U.S. Department of Justice.

Lemonade Stand Catching on...

The Children Taking a Stand initiative started by Clever First Christian Church is continuing to make an impact on our community. In addition to the 3 local churches who have already had Children Taking a Stand events and contributed to Ambassadors for Children, 2 others have joined the movement.

Ash Grove First Christian Church has set up the Lemonade stand at their annual BBQ summer event and at their "Sparks in the Park" event to celebrate the 4th of July. I also learned today that Messiah Lutheran Church youth have also raised funds for Ambassadors for Children through this effort. To learn more, please contact Juli Nelson, Pastor of Clever First Christian Church, or Sondra Uzzell, Ambassadors for Children Director. All funds received through Children Taking a Stand will be used to support our non-federally funded programs.

Thank You!!

Above: Children from Clever First Christian Church pose in front of their lemonade stand on Mother's Day 2008.

We Exceeded our Goal!!

Our goal for Marlin Group Charitable Fund Sweepstakes raffle tickets (as part of the Price Cutter Charity Championship): 100 tickets

Total Number of raffle tickets sold: 108 tickets

Total Number of raffle tickets sold last year: 82 tickets

With the great work and support of staff and volunteers, we exceeded our goal of 100 tickets and made a total of $2,700 dollars from raffle ticket sales alone! We look forward to hearing our total award amount in December 2008 at the Celebration of Sharing event.

I will be working concessions this Sunday from 1-4 at the Price Cutter Charity Championship at Highland Springs Golf Course, so please stop by if you will be attending. The grand prize drawings for the $10,000 and 2008 Pontiac Solstice Convertible will be Sunday afternoon.

Peace, Love & Charity Auction

Thank you very much to the local businesses that donated gift certificates and tickets for the Peace, Love & Charity Auction as part of the Price Cutter Charity Championship! Ambassadors for Children receives 50% of the proceeds for all auction items donated on our behalf. These proceeds will be used to operate our Kid's Clothes Closet, Project Self-Esteem, Pack-a-Bag with Love, and Foster/Adoptive Parent Recruitment programs. Total value for donated items exceeds $600!!

Please join us for the auction at 6pm on July 15th at University Plaza. Visit http://www.pricecuttercc.org/ for more information.