Planting the Seeds for Success - Allison Cuffaro, Tampa, Florida

W INTER – 2007
HAPPY NEW YEAR! We hope that you have
enjoyed a very happy and safe Holiday Season.
Voices for Children and the Guardian ad Litem
Program wish you all the best in 2007! With each
New Year comes an opportunity for new growth but
we know that not everyone likes to make New Year’s
resolutions. Some people are just certain that they
won’t keep them…and if you’re one of those people,
don’t worry - you’ve got plenty of company. But as
the saying goes, “The failure to plan is a plan to fail”
– definitely. So, don’t set yourself up for another year
of failed personal growth. Go through the resolution
ritual anyway, so that at least you acknowledge those
things you need to improve and make some effort to
do something about them. It’s not too late. The coming
of Spring is a perfect time to plant the seeds for new
growth!
On behalf of the abused and neglected children of
Hillsborough County, Voices for Children and the
Guardian ad Litem Program have made a resolution
this year to recruit a significant number of additional
guardian ad litem volunteers to BE A VOICE for children
in need. Our goal is to increase the number of volunteers
from 279 to 400 by the end of this calendar
year. To do this, we must cultivate the seeds that we
have already sown in this past year, as well as make
concrete plans, as Spring approaches, to plant the
new seeds that will be necessary to reach this important
goal.
Q UARTERLY N EWSLETTER
Both the Guardian ad Litem
Program and Voices for
Children are committed to an
identical goal:
100% representation of
children needing the services
of a Guardian ad Litem.
Planting the Seeds
for Success
How our garden grows!
www.vfcgal.org
Dr. and Mrs. Randy Feldman, accepting his award as this
year’s Champion for Children.
Nurturing Those in our Community
Who have Made a Positive Difference:
The 5th Annual Champion for
Children Award Ceremony
On Thursday, October 26, 2006, Voices for
Children hosted the 5th Annual Champion for
Children Award Ceremony. The theme of this year’s
Continued on page 4

2006 Voices for Children
Board of Directors
Teresa Stinson
President
David Reed
Vice President
Jim Gonnering
Treasurer
Allison Raver
Secretary
Scott Farrell
Past President
Diana Almeida
Brent Britton
John Byczek
Sean Cadigan
Andrea Cheney
Sue Clarendon
Bill Cummings
Colin Davis
Dr. Randy Feldman
Chip Fletcher
Susan Guidi
Zoe Gustafson
Anita Maurer
Matthew Meyer
Robin Midulla
Megan Proulx
Arthur Woods
STAFF
Lisa Semeyn
Executive Director
4326 El Prado Blvd. Suite 7
Tampa, Florida 33629
(813) 902-9300
McShane Communications
Newsletter Production
(813) 832-3373
2
Teresa Stinson, VFC President
President
Voices for Children
Teresa Stinson
My Wish for 2007? That we continue to make giant strides in protecting
our children in the dependency court system. In the last five years,
we’ve moved the needle by nearly 30% so that more children can have a
guardian ad litem and their own voice in court.
Wouldn’t it be great if we could move that needle 30% in one year? We absolutely
can, but only with your help! Please call us today and see what you can do to save the
life of a child. I promise that you can make a difference...today.
The Executive Director
2006 was an amazing year at Voices for Children. The following is a
brief recap of some of our success:
• Secured donated office space for VFC, special thanks to Scott Wetmor;
• Nominated as 2006 non-profit of the year by Tampa Bay Business Journal;
• Established monthly brown bag luncheons for our volunteer guardians;
• Over 2000 children received toys during the GAL holiday drive;
• Over $20,000 was given to the children needs fund;
• Hired two staff advocates overseeing approximately 120 children; and
• Number of children represented by a volunteer guardian increased from 35% in the
beginning of 2006 to 52% in December 2006.
It was an amazing year for Voices for Children but we are even more excited about 2007.
Allow me to share some of our immediate goals:
• Train 140 new volunteers by the end of 2007;
• Secure funding for psychological exams;
• Hire a full-time recruiting specialist;
• Hire a full-time education director; and
• Increase the number of children being represented by the GAL program by 30%.
This year, we received over $150,000 from foundations throughout the community;
our annual event was attended by over 300 people and raised close to $60,000. But most
importantly, more and more of our children are starting to feel that someone cares. Your dollars
are making a difference. Your support is motivating others to step up and BE A VOICE.
It is my honor to be working for Voices for Children and meeting some of the most
generous people in our community who believe that every child should have someone
to love.
Lisa
Executive Director
Voices for Children
Lisa Semeyn

Program Director
Charles Nelson
Program Director
Guardian ad Litem Program
Charles Nelson
This has been fun! I was really looking
forward to coming back home after
my State Office stint, but everyone, volunteers
and staff alike, have been wonderfully receptive
to my return as Director in the Tampa office. I’ve
enjoyed every minute since I’ve been back and I’m looking
forward to many years of working with all of you.
I recently wrote our volunteers to express our strategic
priorities for both the short-and long-term. I’ve since
added one more and I’d like to share it with all of our
business partners:
Everything we do should be done with our volunteers
in mind. We have always been, are today, and will
always be a volunteer-based organization. As we move
towards the future, we need to significantly grow our
volunteer workforce as our model of representation is
most effective when a volunteer works hand-in-hand
with our capable staff of social workers and attorneys.
Volunteer growth is our number one priority.
We must provide the highest possible level of advocacy.
Our children deserve no less. The most important
child in the world is the one we are working with at the
moment, and that child’s best interests must be protected.
Our pre-certification training must improve. Our inservice
offerings must be more responsive to the needs
of our volunteers and staff in improving their advocacy
capabilities in court.
Yet, court hearings are not the answer to every problem.
The most effective advocacy that we can provide is
when we can work in concert with local care managers
to provide the best care possible for every child. I know
that this has been difficult at times and understand that
the working relationship has sometimes been strained.
Improvements will come not only from both “sides”
understanding the value of the others’ point of view, but
in actively seeking out differing opinions to make sure
that the best interests of children are protected. Building
mutual respect is a goal that is worth pursuing…we
must understand the system as well as anyone and use
the rules, regulations and laws in effective ways that
demonstrate our proficiency.
Job 1, since my return, has been to kick start an
effort to significantly grow our volunteer base from our
current 279 volunteers to 400 by the end of December,
2007. This is a challenging task, but we have partnered
with Voices for Children, Hillsborough County, the
National Jeweler’s Association and our own Volunteer
Recruiting Committee to make that become a reality.
You’ll be hearing much more about this exciting challenge
over the next few weeks, and we invite all of our
partners to participate with us in this important endeavor.
You can help! Just ask us how!
Guardian ad Litem Program Director Charlie Nelson
performs with PolyFonix.
He’s back!
Please join us in welcoming back Charles
(Charlie) Nelson as the Director of the Guardian ad
Litem Program. Some of you might remember him.
He joined the program as a volunteer in 2000 and
then was hired as the Director in May of 2001. He
left us locally to work for the GAL State Office as
Director of Operations in 2004. But when Tracy Ellis
announced her resignation, Nelson jumped at the
opportunity to lead the Tampa office once again.
He comes back to us not only as our local GAL
Program Director, but as the Regional Director for the
South Central Region of the state program. Some of
you might also remember Charlie’s penchant for a
corny joke. Well, have no fear, he brought his special
sense of humor right back with him, tickling the
funny bones of those present at the Guardian ad
Litem holiday party. But his talent doesn’t end there.
Charlie is a member of an a cappella singing group,
called the PolyFonix; and his group delighted the
crowd at the December event with some holiday
favorites. Welcome Back Charlie!
It’s a Boy!
Former Director Tracy Ellis
gave birth to Grayson William
Burns on January 11th at 12:39
pm. He weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. (the
exact weight of his brother 17
months earlier) and was
21.5”long. It was because of this
expansion of her family that Tracy
realized that she could not give
both the program and her family what they each
deserved while serving as the Director. So, on
December 7th she stepped down, but couldn’t bring
herself to say good bye. She is continuing to work
part-time with the State Office on legal issues.
Thank you Tracy, for your leadership. We congratulate
you on the birth of your new child, we commend
you for your commitment to your family and wish
you all the best!
3

4
Planting the Seeds for Success
Continued from page 1
event was “Havana Nights” and it
was held at the Renaissance Hotel at
International Plaza. The night included
hors d’oeuvres, libations, music and a
silent auction. Radio personality Jack
Harris (WFLA) emceed the event,
which featured local reporter Shayna
Lance as the guest speaker. The success
of this important fundraiser has
helped establish the event as one of
the social events of the season!
The Champion for Children
fundraising event was created to recognize
outstanding members of our
community who make a
positive difference in the lives of children
– helping them grow up to be
happy and healthy adults. The
Champion for Children Award is given
once a year to a person in the community
who stands out for having
gone that extra mile for our kids and
who is willing to fight for the rights of
children, helping to ensure their safety
and well-being. The award recipients
truly make a difference in the lives of
our youth and Voices for Children
wants to nurture these remarkable
individuals, making sure that they are
recognized publicly for what they are -
Champions for Children. Past recipients
of the award include Dottie
MacKinnon Berger, Liz Kennedy,
Paddy Moses, and Dr. and Mrs.
Giacomo (Jack) Guggino.
This year, the Voices for Children
Board voted to honor Randy Feldman,
DDS, MS. Dr. Feldman received his
MS in Orthodontics from Ohio State
University and has been practicing in
Tampa Bay for the past 24 years. Dr.
Feldman is not only extremely accomplished
and respected in the field of
dentistry and orthodontics, but also as
one of Tampa’s most involved and
active community leaders. He has vig-
Local Radio Reporter Shares Her Foster Care Experience
Shayna Lance is a terrific reporter, with a nose for
where to find the action. She is one of the best in her trade
and has been a welcome addition to AM radio in the
Tampa Bay area. Ms. Lance courageously stood at the
podium, sharing things about her past that she had never
even told her husband before. She tells her
husband that she was born in college, not
just because it shaves a good two decades
off her age, but because until she fought her
way onto that college campus, her past was
one marred with foster homes, fear and a
crushing feeling of worthlessness.
Lisa Semeyn, Executive Director of Voices
for Children, first met Ms. Lance when she
visited the NewsTalk 1040 WWBA-AM newsroom,
expecting to tell an influential reporter
about the accomplishments and goals of
Voices for Children and GAL. As it turned out,
Ms. Lance was so moved to hear about our
programs that she offered to share her story
with our guests in the hopes of giving other
children a chance at a happy life – without
having to overcome the adversity that she
had faced. She told us she could clearly
remember six foster homes in three years,
but she is sure there were more. While she was equally
sure there are good foster homes out there, she explained
that she was not fortunate enough to stumble on one.
She described foster homes placements where she
worked 50 hours a week at several different part-time minimum
wage jobs so that the employers didn’t find out
about each other – always to turn her paycheck over to the
foster mother. She described homes where she scrubbed
the grout between the kitchen tiles with a toothbrush to
make up for what the foster mothers would tell her was a
Guest speaker Shayna
Lance, a news radio
reporter, shares her
personal experience as
a foster child.
pitifully low $16 a day that couldn’t possibly begin to cover
her keep. She can clearly remember not being allowed to
eat for a week, because she had “snarfed down” the last
stuffed pepper after school one day. That stuffed pepper
was one more than her allotment of food. To this day,
when she’s sad, or feels like she’s not earning
her keep, she can not stomach eating because
she feels like she’s not worthy of the cost of
food.
She asked the audience to imagine, for a
second, always being the one to hold the camera
at Thanksgiving…not being allowed out of
your room in front of the relatives, or being
asked to step out of the shot for Christmas pictures…because
you’re only temporary
…because you don’t really belong in the family.
She then told the audience that she had it
good…really good. So good, in fact, that she
would not even come close to qualifying, on a
Guardian ad Litem Case Prioritization Worksheet,
for a guardian ad litem volunteer to be assigned
to her – she never had a sibling in foster care,
she never had been molested, and she never had
a broken bone. But she believes, as we do, that
EVERY abused and neglected child deserves a
VOICE – that every child involved in Hillsborough County’s
dependency court system deserves a guardian ad litem.
While Ms. Lance was baring her soul, she knew on that
very night there was another little girl in Tampa Bay who
wanted a chance at a safe and permanent place to call
home, where she would be loved and protected. And she
knew that maybe she could help that little girl, cowering
under her covers because she had eaten the last stuffed
pepper, by being part of a group who could give her someone
to tell a judge she was hungry.

orously worked to improve the lives
of children in our community as Past
President of the Make-A-Wish
Foundation and More Health – an
organization that promotes health
education for kids. Dr. Feldman led
a major effort to add fluoride to
Tampa’s water supply, developed
an oral hygiene program for
Hillsborough County Schools, and
developed and produced a dental
exhibit for the Children’s Museum of
Tampa.
We feel Dr. Feldman epitomizes
the spirit of the Champion for
Children Award and we are proud to
name him as the 2006 award recipient.
He is described as having amazing
energy, creativity and vitality. He
uses those gifts to give back to the
community. His office manager, Anne
Lastinger, states that “he not only creates
beautiful smiles orthodontically,
but also internally by giving back to
children. He uses those gifts to lift kids
out of despair and places them in
places where they can be cared for
and nurtured.”
Cultivating Leaders
for Growth
Voices for Children is very pleased
to announce that, after the Champion
for Children Award Ceremony, Dr.
Feldman graciously agreed to join our
Board of Directors this year. And,
thanks to him and the Champion for
Children event, Voices for Children will
have three new additional board
members, Bill Cummings, Susan
Guidi and Diana Almeida, to help
further the cause for our children –
proof that with nurturing comes
growth… for a better and brighter
future for our children!
Protecting our
Children so that
they can Thrive:
Guardian Angel Award
Like flowers in a garden, our children
must be protected from things
Teresa Stinson, President of
Voices for Children, presents
the Guardian Angel Award to
Nancy Farage, Esq.
that would threaten their good health
and growth. Each year at the
Champion for Children Event, a
Guardian Angel Award is also
presented to a special individual. The
Guardian Angel Award is given to a
member of our community who has
stood up to protect the rights of the
most vulnerable members of our community,
our children. Past recipients
include Ann Murphey and Dr. Kathryn
Kuehnle. This year’s recipient was
Nancy Farage, Esquire.
Ms. Farage has been involved with
our local dependency court since 1991
in a pro-bono (volunteer) capacity, first
with the Guardian ad Litem Program
and then as an Attorney Ad Litem.
Anyone who knows her can tell you
that her children’s cases are very personal
to her. Her involvement goes
well beyond the legal needs of these
children and well past regular
business hours. She encourages the
children to call her whenever they
need to and she makes it a point to
visit them in their homes. She is their
friend and is there lending emotional
support. For her, the children’s birthdays
mean a party and gifts. She is
also Santa’s best helper each holiday
season. If there is a problem with a
child’s residential placement, she
advocates for them until the child is in
an appropriate and safe environment.
For 15 years, less fortunate children
in Hillsborough County have
benefited from her warm heart and
compassion. Voices for Children is
very proud to have awarded Ms.
Farage the Guardian Angel Award for
2006.
Voices for Children would like to
thank each and every one of you who
have made a choice to be a part of
efforts on behalf of the Guardian ad
Litem Program and the child victims
of abuse and neglect who we are all
striving to protect. Whether it was as
an honoree or a guest at the
Champion for Children event or as a
sponsor, such as our title sponsor,
KnopikVarnerMoore – Attorneys at
Law, or other donor, all of you
contribute in your own way to
sustaining the great work of the
Guardian ad Litem Program and cultivating
new hope for ALL victims of
child abuse and neglect in
Hillsborough County. Because of you,
they have a chance to grow up to be
healthy, happy and contributing members
of our community.
Raising Awareness:
Growing our
Volunteer Resources
Voices for Children and the
Guardian ad Litem Program are gearing
up to promote new growth in their
volunteer resources in 2007. Through
funding from Voices for Children and
Hillsborough County, the Guardian ad
Litem Program will soon kick off a significant
marketing campaign to raise
awareness about the need for VOICES
for the abused and neglected children
in Hillsborough County. Right now,
only about half of the children that
need a guardian ad litem have one to
speak up on their behalf. In order to
change this, substantial volunteer
resources must be cultivated and
developed. It is anticipated that this
marketing campaign will include a
combination of print (newspaper and
billboards) media and radio advertising.
Other creative methods of getting
our message across are also being
explored, including the possibility of a
brief presentation being offered to
Continued on next page
5

Planting the Seeds for Success
Continued from Previous Page
people on jury duty in Hillsborough
County.
And, of course, Voices for Children is
planning its 3rd Annual Q for Kids event
as part of the National Child Abuse
Prevention Month in April. This year’s
event will be held on April 10th, from
11AM – 2PM, in Lykes Gaslight Park located
in downtown Tampa. The annual event
is an important part of Voices for
Children’s efforts to raise awareness and
shine light on the need for volunteer
guardians ad litem, so that Guardian ad
Litem Program can grow its team in order
to provide a VOICE for every abused and
neglected child in Hillsborough County.
National Adoption
Day a Huge Success!
A National Adoption Day event was held at the
Hillsborough County Edgecomb Courthouse on November
18, 2006, from 9AM – 1PM. The Mistress of Ceremonies
was Marty Matthews, WTSP news anchor and host of the
“Wednesday’s Child” feature spotlighting children awaiting
adoption. The keynote speaker was David Penn, an adoptive
parent and President & CEO of Kid City, the Children’s
Museum of Tampa. Other speakers included representatives
of Hillsborough Kids, Inc. and the City of Tampa
Mayor’s Office.
After the opening ceremony, Judges Katherine Essrig
and Martha Cook began hearing back-to-back adoption
cases, creating new parent-child relationships for 68 former
foster care children. Each new family was presented
with a framed picture commemorating this important day
in their lives and a voucher to pay for each of the children’s
college educations at a state school.
The Guardian ad Litem Program’s new Adoptions
Team participated in this important event, along with the
volunteer guardians ad litem assigned to some of the
cases. The Program looks forward to finding more foster
children safe, permanent adoptive homes in the year
ahead, through the coordinated efforts of its special team.
6
Judge Katherine
Essrig and
Guardian ad
Litem Volunteer
Janet Solomon
pose with one of
the happy adoptive
families on
National
Adoption Day.
Mayor Pam Iorio
proclaims
“Guardian ad
Litem Day” in
Hillsborough
County at the first
Q for Kids event.
Please join us for
this year’s event!
“I say that the strongest principle of growth lies in human choice.”
- George Eliot
Lifetime Achievement
Tribute - 2007
IRVING GOLDSTEIN
When Mr. Goldstein was certified as a guardian
ad litem for our circuit in August of 1998, he said his
main goal, aside from helping children, was to be the
oldest guardian in the program.
Eight years later, Mr. Goldstein
has achieved that goal. He will
be 91 years old in July and he
was still an active guardian
until he was forced to “retire.”
He was originally certified in
Dade County, Florida in
December of 1993 when he was
just a young lad of 77. He was
IRVING GOLDSTEIN
very active in Miami and carried
as many as six cases at a time.
The families he has worked with in the Hillsborough
County program regard him with affection and
respect and have looked to him for assistance and
information.
He won the confidence of one family so completely
that a case which was heading for Termination
of Parental Rights achieved a successful reunification.
On another case he changed the life of a young man
who was placed for adoption after spending years in
a group home. Mr. Goldstein visited the child often,
talked with him, fascinated him with stories about his
own troubled childhood on the Lower East Side of
New York and how he rose above that past, consoled
the family and held the placement together by helping
secure counseling for the family.

2006 Toy Drive
Bryan Spaulding, GTAR 2006 Communications Committee Chairman, Carol
Austin, Chief Executive Officer, Vernon Taylor, 2006 Committee member,
Suzanne Parker, Assistant Director Guardian Program, Lisa Semeyn,
Executive Director, Voices for Children.
GAL Toy Drive Shopping Achieves Goal
Over 2200 children that were
being served by the GAL program
during the holidays
received toys this year, thanks to
the generosity and hard work of
Tampa’s community. Once again,
Christ the King was kind enough
to turn their church hall into the
“North Pole” and allow our volunteer
guardians to “shop” for
gifts for their children. Toy dropoff
locations were in almost all of
the tall buildings downtown and
Rampello Downtown Partnership
School joined in the efforts (see
list of donors and drop off locations
on page 9). Principal Tony
Perrone was honored to help and
pledged to collect twice as many
toys next year! Special thanks to
an anonymous family that
“adopted” over 33 children for
Christmas, buying three to four
gifts per child, to the tune of over
$3,000! Thank you to all who volunteered
to help store toys, pick
up, haul, stack and wrap all of the
donations. You are truly “Santa’s
elves.”
GTAR delivers hope and happiness
for the older children in
foster care during the Holidays –
After taking on the challenge to
provide back packs for all the children
in foster care this fall, GTAR
wanted to continue their support
at Christmas. Once again, the call
came to Voices for Children,
“how can we help, what is your
greatest need for these children
at Christmas?” It didn’t take the
VFC office long to reply, “our
older children are always the
hardest to buy for, the best gift
they could get would be the freedom
to shop on their own.” That
being said, GTAR sent out an email
to their members and collected
800 - $25 gift cards. Thanks
to their help and the help of others
in our community, over 1000
young adults in foster care went
shopping at Christmas!
Mark Your Calendars
February 21 st
GAL Volunteer Brown
Bag Lunch
12:00PM – 1:30PM at the GAL
Program Office
Guest Speaker:
Judge Katherine Essrig
RSVP to Tami.Dodd@gal.fl.gov
or (813) 272-5505
March 1 st
GAL New Volunteer Training
Begins
For more information please
call Tami Dodd at (813) 272-5505
or (813) 956-2653
March 9 th
GALS Uncensored
Christ the King Church, Tampa
March 21 st
GAL Volunteer Brown Bag Lunch
12:00PM -1:30PM at the GAL Program
Office
Topic to be determined
RSVP to Tami.Dodd@gal.fl.gov
or (813) 272-5505
April 10 th
3 rd Annual “Q for Kids”
Fundraiser Barbecue
benefiting the GAL Program – A
National Child Abuse Prevention
Month Event
11:00AM -2:00PM in Lykes Gaslight
Park, Downtown Tampa
April 21 st
The Third Tampa Bay Trial
Lawyers Association Amateur
Charity Kingfish Tournament
and Party
Saturday April 21, 2007
Green Iguana Bar & Grill
8790 Bay Pines Blvd. St. Pete.
Contact Margaret Schumacher at 813-
769-3460 or margarets@tbtla.us for
fishing tournament information.
May
GAL Annual Volunteer
Recognition Ceremony/Dinner
Specific date and location to be
announced. Watch for your invitation!
7

GRANTS AND MAJOR GIFTS
New as of October 1, 2006 through December 31, 2006
Sally Bartholomew
Center for Special Needs Trust
Administration
Community Foundation of Tampa Bay
Conn Memorial Foundation
Couch Family Foundation
DeBartolo Family Foundation
M.A. Garcia
Hillsborough County Bar Foundation
Eric & Josephine Isenbergh
Junior League of Tampa
Law Offices of Morgan & Morgan
Lazydays Partners Foundation
New York Yankees Tampa Foundation
Calvin Reed
Ellen & David Reed
Standard Pacific Homes Of Tampa
Chris T. Sullivan Foundation
Tampa Bay Pilots Association
Transportation Management Services
TWC Fifty-Eight
USAA Foundation
James & Gail Wilkes
Carolyn Wilson
Special Thanks to All Our Donors
Voices for Children of Hillsborough County, Inc., the Hillsborough County Guardian ad Litem Program and, most of all, the
children who benefit from your support, would like to gratefully acknowledge the following gifts and grants.
Charlotte Reed
Diane & Gary Adams
Drs. Michael Albrink & Karen Wells
Manny Alvarez
Mr. & Mrs. M.G. Alvarez, Jr.
Kevin Ambler
Stephen & Erika Anderson
Stuart Angelo & Company, P.A.
Rosemary Armstrong &
Morris Weinberg, Jr.
Samuel Ballinger
John & Mary Bennett
Books Are Fun, Ltd.
John & Mary Bennett
Joaquin & Angela Campo
Kendal Capaz
Castellano Air Conditioning & Heating
Sebastian Castellano, D.D.S, P.A.
Heather Ceresoli
Sumesh & Susan Chandra
Monty Coleman
Dr. Alida Pagan Colon
Eligio Colon & Carmen Fernandez de Colon
Robert Colwell
Jerry Copeland
Ann Marie & Wayne Critcher
Lisa Cullaro, P.A.
Kate & Robert John Dean
Richard DeMarsh
DHR Consulting
Derek & Tami Dodd
Kim Duncan
Mark & Renee Eberbach
Dr. & Mrs. Emilio Echevarria
Anthony & Diana Ekonomou
Dr. Randy Feldman
Pauline Ferrante
Fritz
Joseph Garcia, P.A.
Rick & Traci Garrett
Cecile Gayzik
Karen Gerlach
A FAMILY CHALLENGE
Helping Children for Years to Come.
Charlotte Reed, the
matriarch of the Reed family,
served as a volunteer
with the Guardian program
for many years before she
passed away in 2005. Her
passing prompted an outpouring
of generosity that
will help GAL children for
CONTRIBUTORS
October 1, 2006 through December 31, 2006
years to come. The Reed
family asked that all donations
in memory of
Charlotte be placed in an
endowment fund established
in the Community
Foundation of Tampa Bay.
This year, the Reed family
is donating an additional
John & Lori Gibson
Carl & Loren Goldman
Jim Gonnering
Rhonda & Mark Gordon
Mac Greco
Robin Greiwe Midulla, P.A.
Jack & Judy Guggino
Zoe Gustafson
James & Michelle Gyurke
Robert Hapanowicz
Jonathan Hengst
Phyllis Ho
Diana Hunt
Hunter Littlefield Publishing, Inc.
Jay Karmen
Kay’s Treasures, Inc.
Kenneth Kilgast, Jr.
Fran King
Marymare King
Nicole Lacy
Roland Lamb
Jimmy & Anne Lastinger
Gar Lippincott
Bruce Livingston
Diana Lupton
The Mahr Company
Tricia Maloney
Patricia Martin
Ann & Mike Marvel
Paul & April Matheny
Mathews Construction
Anita & Ken Maurer
Thomas McNamara, P.A.
Carole Mehlman
Stephen & Judith Mitchell
Law Offices of Mark Mooney
Paddy Moses
Barney & Marie Myers
Stephanie Nagel
Neptune Office Plaza, Coral Gables
Kellie Newsome
$22,500 to the endowment
and is challenging Voices
for Children to match this
money before the end of
the year. To find out more
about how you too can
contribute to this match,
please call Lisa Semeyn at
(813) 902-9300.

Norstrem Associates
Mark Ober
Kim O’Brien
David & Maryellen Oellerich
Oriental Rugs Specialist, Inc.
Maggie Osborn
Brooke Palmer
Pepin Distributing Company
Rachel Peterkin & Kenneth Hardy
Ted Peters
Don Phillips & Erin St. Clair
Mark & Michele Pilger
Javier Pinilla
Nerissa Prest
A.J. & J.L. Preston
Publix Super Market Charities
Scarlett Pursifull
Samuel & Leigh Ann Queirolo
Diana Reeve
Cindy Richards
Caesar Rinaldi
Janet Roberts
Adam & Jennifer Schepps
Charlotte Semeyn
Lana Shelden
David Shoemaker
Squire Sanders Legal Counsel
John Staunton, P.A.
Michael & Teresa Stinson
Tampa Bead Cafe
Daniel Tapia
Target Stores, Gandy Blvd.
Linda Thomas
TP Orthodontics
Eduardo & Paige Valiente
Wachovia Securities
Elisabeth Ann & Daniel Wagner
Michael & Marilyn Warner
Richard Williams
Colleen Winnett
Heidi Winninger
Irene Yang
Violetta Yerrid
Mildred Zuhars
In Honor of Judy & David Dibbs
Charles Bryan
In Memory of Father Basil Karpelenia
Martin & Kennedy Garcia
In Memory of Lauren Kozlowski
Dawn & David McDonald
In Memory of Charlotte Reed
Sidney & Charlotte Vaughan
In Kind Donations
Diana Almeida
Aguiar Photography
Bradfield’s Personal Fitness
Busch Gardens
Café du Frain
Heather Ceresoli
Deborah Kent’s
Fast Lane Clothing/ Tampa T-shirts
Special Thanks to All Our Donors
Fleischman Garcia
The Florida Aquarium
Gaspar Digital
Gianpiero’s Pick of the Vine
Anne Hill
Neely Jordan
K-Force Staffing
Lowry Park Zoo
Mary Beth McNeil
McShane Communications
Mise en Place Restaurant
Outback Catering
Pipo’s Restaurant
Premier Beverage
Publix Super Markets
Renaissance Tampa at International Plaza
Roberts Printing
Erin St. Clair
Swope & Rodante
Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center
Tampa Sweethearts Cigar Company
Target Gandy Store
Toffee To Go
Valencia Gardens Restaurant
Callie Weed
Yuengling Brewing Co.
2006 Holiday Toy Drive Collection Sites
AmSouth Building
CB Richard Ellis
CMD Realty Investors
McShane Communications
New Tampa Junior Women’s Club
Sam Rampello Downtown Partnership School
SunTrust Building
Tampa Bay Area Mothers of Multiples
TYCC Suncoast Team
USAA Realty
Wachovia Center
YoungLife South Tampa
2006 Choir of Angels
Mary Alvarez
Rosemary Armstrong
Bruce Ballas
Joe & Mary Helen Chillura
Ann Marie & Wayne Critcher
Maria Dumois
Toni Everett
Martin & Kennedy Garcia
Rosann Garcia & John Barry
Cecile Gayzik
Mac Greco
Magda & Poa Ynes Homsy
Mary Iavarone
Bennie & Joyce Lazzara
Sam & Deborah Lazzara
Diana Lupton
Michael & Ann Marvel
Tony Muniz
Maggie Osborn
Kevin & Michele Platt
Charlotte Semeyn
David Shoemaker
Karen Wells
Violetta Yerrid
Champion For Children
(See related story on following page)
Champion For Children
Archangel
Sponsors ($5,000)
KnopikVarnerMoore
Philip Orsino
Champion For Children
Angel Sponsors ($2,500)
AEGON, USA
Broad and Cassel
Phillips Development & Realty
A-1 Contract Staffing Group
Integrity Staffing Solutions
Champion For Children
Cherub Sponsors ($1,000)
David Reed
Davison Homes Holdings
Dominion Business Finance
Ideal Health Solutions
Landmar Group
Pepin Distributing
Champion For Children
Safe Home Donors
Kevin Ambler
Sherri Koper
Jennifer McLeod
Donnamae Clinebell
Alan Douglass
Irene Ferguson
Dr. and Mrs. Jack Guggino
Ideal Health Solutions, Inc.
Buck & Mary Jane Jones
Charlie & Melanie McShane
Brooke Palmer
David & Ellen Reed
Judd & Lisa Semeyn
Michael & Teresa Stinson
THANK
YOU!
9

10
Donor Activities
Give now – grow later!
The Monique Burr Foundation for Children presents it’s check for a $10,000 matching
grant to Voices for Children. We are proud to announce that we have brought in our
matching donation already. Please join us in expressing our true appreciation to the
Monique Burr Foundation for Children and our matching fund donors!
Havana Hero Program:
“Building” a Safe Home
for our Children
Every child needs a safe,
permanent and nurturing home
where they can grow, physically and
emotionally, and thrive. As part of
this year’s “Havana Nights” themed
Champion for Children event, we
proved that we can help build that
safe home for these children in need.
To help us reach the goal of providing
a VOICE for every child who
needs one, a new fundraising effort
was developed where those in attendance
at the Champion event were
asked to become a Havana Hero and
build a “virtual” house before the
night was over. Each Havana Hero
donated $500, which represented a
new building block toward our effort.
A puzzle board of our Safe Home and
corresponding puzzle pieces were
donated by our good friend, Larry, at
Fast Signs.
Before the night was out, each
piece had been purchased and our
Safe Home was completed – representing
$8,000 in donations that will
bring us closer to achieving our goal
for our kids. Please join us in thanking
our Havana Heroes!
Kudos to the Fuente Family for
their generous donation of cigars for
our guests. The cigar sleeve was
printed with the Voices for Children
logo and almost the entire Fuente
family turned out for the event to
show their support for our cause.
The generous donation of
Havana Heroes Charlie &
Melanie McShane helps to
“build a safe home” for our
children.
In Loving
Memory
Margaret “Margie” Wynn, a
prominent realtor in Brandon and a
Guardian ad Litem since 1997,
passed away on Sunday,
December 31, 2006, after a
courageous battle with cancer. Ms.
Wynn was a special person and a
special part of our program. She
served 10 years as a Guardian ad
Litem here in Hillsborough County.
Ms. Wynn would hold “support
meetings” for other Guardians at
her home. She would fire up the
BBQ grill and open her home to all.
Anyone who knew her knows that
she just had a special zest for life,
and if you were close to her, she
made sure that the zest rubbed off
on you. Marilyn Warner, Volunteer
Supervisor to Ms. Wynn stated,
“Margie was such a fierce advocate
for her kids. She always went
the extra mile, sometimes at great
cost to herself. She was one
dynamic person and has left lifelong
lasting impressions on all of
the people she touched.”
Art Lowrie passed away on
September 20, 2006, after a year
long illness. Art began his training
to become a Guardian ad Litem
volunteer in 2000. He served for
over six years as a certified
guardian ad litem. He stayed on
one case for nearly fours years –
seeing the children at least once a
month. For children caught up in
the dependency system, the consistency
and familiarity of one
adult advocate does a tremendous
amount of good. Art was gentle
and empathetic, “a true gentleman”
stated Suzanne Parker, GAL
Assistant Director, after learning of
his passing.
We mourn his loss, and though
his days with the program were
shortened by his illness, we are so
thankful for his tremendous passion
for the abused and neglected
children in our system.
Voices for Children and the
Guardian ad Litem program would
like to extend our deepest sympathies
to their families and thank
them for sharing these two special
people with us.

A Holiday Party for
our Volunteers
Voices for Children sponsored a Holiday Party for
the Guardian ad Litem Program and its amazing volunteers
on Thursday, December 14th, at K-Force in Ybor
City. Our volunteers and their guests were in high spirits
as they enjoyed holiday
music, entertainment, door
prizes, and great food and drink.
This year the food was an especially
big hit. It was also particularly
wonderful because
Outback Catering donated the
food and their staff donated their
time to serve our important
guests.
Voices for Children presented
the program with a surprise gift
of a second parking space for
volunteers to utilize
when coming down to
the program office or to
court. Voices had
already been paying for
one spot, but managed
to get the program
another one and purchased
signs for the
spots to make sure that
our GAL volunteers
know that Voices is there
to support them however
possible.
New Volunteers
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR
NEWEST GAL VOLUNTEERS
Please join Voices for Children and the
Guardian ad Litem Program in welcoming these
newly trained GAL volunteers. We would like to
thank each of them for taking the time to care
about our children. These innocent victims of
child abuse and neglect desperately need
someone to look out for their interests and,
thanks to these wonderful new volunteers, at
least 25 more children will now have a VOICE!
Rebekah Bickling
Kathy Carr
Sarah Deutschmann
Rachel Fetner
Francheska Grenada
Dana Gruman
Stacia Hepburn
Dawn Hollinger
Jan Holmes
Jodi Johnson
Angie Landers
Judy Mohl
Karen Pena
The 2nd
Annual USF Idol
singing competition
was held on
October 9, 2006 at
the University Area
Community
Development Center
at the University of
South Florida.
Hundreds of students
attended this
unique fundraiser,
established to
benefit Voices for
Christina Roach
Pat Robinson
Sirreta Roundtree
Katherine Salomonson
Gloria Schneider
Ginger Singletary
Marlo Smith
Zonald Spinks
Kristin Vukelja
Robert Weisman
Susan Whitaker
Molly Zawacki
Idol:
USF Idol:
Raising their VOICES once
again for our Children
USF Idol Judges: Lisa
Semeyn (VFC Executive
Director), Mark Ober, Esq.
(Hillsborough County State
Attorney), Joe Monte (Beta
Theta Pi), Dr. Kevin Banks
and Megan Vadnais.
Children and the Guardian ad Litem Program.
Joe Monte of Beta Theta Pi organized this
huge event again this year.
11

OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, INC.
4326 El Prado Blvd. Suite 7
Tampa, FL 33629
(813) 902-9300
Support and advocacy for the
abused, neglected and abandoned
children of Hillsborough County for
the purpose of achieving
100% representation for those
children in partnership with
the Guardian ad Litem Program.
Mark Your Calendars!
Please Join Us April 10th
Benefiting the GAL Program –
A National Child Abuse
Prevention Month Event
3rd Annual
“Q for Kids”
Fundraiser
Barbecue
April 10th
11:00AM - 2:00PM
in Lykes Gaslight Park,
Downtown Tampa
NONPROFIT ORG.
US POSTAGE
PAID
TAMPA, FL
PERMIT NO. # 316