Jacksonville Home & Patio Show Brings Up To 80 New GALs!
April 04, 2017
It was a great day for children on the First Coast as the Guardian ad Litem recruiting team amassed approximately 80 potential leads for the GAL program – meaning we could shortly have as many as 80 more voices toward our goal of providing a volunteer advocate to every child in the 4th Circuit dependency court!
Child Advocate Recruiters Neci Williams and Samari Franco, along with staff and volunteers, were on hand for the Jacksonville Home & Patio Show, March 2-5, 2017. Thousands of homeowners visited the Prime Osbourne Convention Center to meet with the 355 exhibitors. Lee Ford and Barbara Markowski (pictured in the feature image) have both been GAL volunteers for over two years. GAL’s Samari Franco said that having experienced volunteers on hand to share their experience truly helped people understand why it is so important to have child advocate volunteers.
Rocio and Tom Thornton (pictured at left with Samari Franco, on left) also donated their time at the Home & Patio show to assist in recruiting new volunteers. The Thorntons have been longtime supporters of Guardian ad Litem and volunteered for the program for more than eight years. The Thorntons own The Bank BBQ and Bakery, a restaurant located in the downtown Jacksonville area and have worked with the GAL program numerous times for various events.
For more information on how you can join Lee Ford, Barbara Markowski and the Thorntons as a Guardian ad Litem volunteer, visit our Volunteer page, or contact one of our Child Advocate Recruiters at (904) 255-8440.
