Schulze Family Foundation provides $30,000 grant to Guardian ad Litem Foundation

The Guardian ad Litem Foundation, 20th Judicial Circuit, has received a $30,000 grant from the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation to support vulnerable children in Southwest Florida.
The grant will supplement the foundation’s Children’s Needs Program, which provides critically important funding for “extras” like birthday parties, tutoring, summer camp programs, movie tickets and registration fees for clubs and sports.
“When children and teens are placed into a foster home or temporary shelter, it’s an incredibly emotional time in their lives,” said Jessica Stanfield, executive director of the Guardian ad Litem Foundation. “Giving them a stuff animal, treating them to ice cream, registering them for Little League or taking them to a theme park goes a long way in helping them feel ‘normal’ despite their circumstances. Thanks to this generous grant from the Schulze Family Foundation, children in Southwest Florida will continue to feel loved even as their surroundings change.”
Created in 2004 by Best Buy Founder Dick Schulze, the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation primarily serves communities in Florida and Minnesota, awarding grants to nonprofits in the areas of human and social services, education, and health and medicine.
The Guardian ad Litem Foundation supports children and teens who have been abused, neglected or abandoned as they navigate the judicial and child welfare systems. Court-appointed volunteer child advocates can request funds through the Children’s Needs Program to cover expenses that foster parents and guardians are unable or unwilling to cover.
The Children’s Needs Program is one of the Guardian ad Litem Foundation’s two primary initiatives. The other is Beds for Kids, which provides bed frames, mattresses, pillows, linens and stuffed animals so caregivers can offer a safe, comfortable home for children.
More information about the Children’s Needs Program and Beds for Kids is available online at VoicesForKids.org.
About the Guardian ad Litem Foundation
The Guardian ad Litem Foundation, 20th Judicial Circuit, was established in 1984 and is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports Guardian ad Litem programs in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties. The Foundation, a United Way Partner Agency, has a mission of ensuring that every abused, neglected or abandoned youth in Southwest Florida has a voice as they navigate the judicial, education and child welfare system. The Foundation raises funds that help meet a child’s health, educational and social needs, as well as provides support for highly trained volunteer advocates who represent the best interests of a child until a safe, permanent placement is established. For additional information, visit VoicesForKids.org or call 239-533-1435.
About the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation
The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation was created in 2004 by Best Buy founder, Dick Schulze, to give back to communities where he and his family live and work. The Foundation looks for meaningful investments that produce specific and measurable outcomes with a focus on human & social services, education, and health & medicine within the Twin Cities seven county metropolitan area in Minnesota and the five counties of Southwest Florida which includes Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry, and Glades counties. In all of its activities, the Foundation embraces its founder’s vision to strengthen and support initiatives that lead to transformational change within our communities. For more information about the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation, please visit SchulzeFamilyFoundation.org.