13-Year-Old Thrilled To Get 1st Pair Of New Shoes For Christmas

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — It's the most magical time of the year — unless you're a child who has been removed from the custody of his or her parents due to negligence, abuse and family violence.

For hundreds of Tampa Bay children, there will be no visits with Santa, no festive family dinners and no gifts beneath the tree to rip open on Christmas morning.

But, thanks to the kindness of members of the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer's Training Corps Cadets from F.W. Springstead High School in Spring Hill, more than 25 children in the foster care system will be able to celebrate the holidays.

The Springstead students raised $1,800 to purchase gifts for the children in the Guardian Ad Litem program through Voices for Children, and presented them Saturday at the Hillsborough County Courthouse.

This is the second year the cadets have raised money for gifts for the foster children. Last year they raised $800. This year, they more than doubled that amount.

According to the latest statistics from the Florida Department of Children and Families, there are currently 2,483 children age newborn to 17 years old in foster care in Hillsborough County, 964 in Pasco County and 1,660 in Pinellas County. Volunteers with the Guardian Ad Litem program serve as the voices for 2,700 of these children in court.

For more than 20 years, the Guardian Ad Litem Program has been the beneficiary of a Christmas toy drive hosted by the nonprofit Voices for Children.

“More than 2,700 children are represented by the Guardian Ad Litem Program currently and Santa would never want a child to not have a toy for Christmas,” said community outreach coordinator Sharon Beningfield. “Over the years, there have been thousands of children who have received gifts through the generosity of our community. It takes a village to raise children and a whole community to keep the magic in Christmas.”

Sheila DelCastillo, Guardian Ad Litem trainer and toy drive coordinator, said organizations like Voices for Children, which hosts a toy shop the first weekend of December at Hyde Park United Methodist Church attended by Guardian Ad Litem volunteers who select toys for the 2,700 children served by the program.

“One of my favorite memories from about seven years ago is of a 13-year-old boy that had asked for a pair of Nike tennis shoes for Christmas," DelCastillo said. "We were able to find a donor to provide them. When he opened the box, the young man joyfully shouted, ‘Wow, a real pair of Nikes that weren’t someone else’s first.’ He had been in foster care for about three years and had not had a new pair of shoes in his 13 years that he could remember.”

Others helping to make Christmas brighter for children in foster care include the Arians Family Foundation and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tony and Lauren Dungy, the Lightning Foundation, The Junior League of Tampa, The Mabel & Ellsworth Simmons Charitable Foundation, The Rays/Rowdies Foundation, the Mielke Foundation, The Spurlino Foundation, Rooms to Go Foundation, The Saunders Foundation, Greater Tampa Realtors, Quarles & Brady, Carmax Cares, J.C. Newman Cigar Co., Pollo Tropical, Wright's Gourmet House, The DeBartolo Family Foundation, Suncoast Credit Union Foundation, Hillsborough County Bar Association, Open Hearts Foundation, World of Beer, Bally Who, Tampa Tarpons, Divine Helping Hands, Akerman, Mary Lee's House and more. Click here for a complete list of sponsors.

Guardian Ad Litem is seeking donations of new gifts for all ages including gift cards, earbuds, watches and hoodies.

“While many people see gift cards as impersonal, they actually give a child a chance to make a choice of their own, maybe eat a meal they wouldn’t normally get to choose or join a friend for a snack after school when they might otherwise have to decline,” Beningfield said. “Those who would like to donate financially can do so through Voices for Children at www.vfcgal.org.”

To donate to Guardian Ad Litem, click here.