Change Their Story

I met Elena (then named Mariah) as a GAL volunteer during her senior year of high school. She had been in and out of care since she was 2 years old and had faced many challenges. She made good grades but was struggling with graduation requirements because her FCAT reading scores were too low. As her GAL, I researched options and discovered she could use her ACT scores instead of the FCAT. When I looked at her past testing history, her ACT scores consistently went up, but her FCAT scores were all over the place. The Foundation covered an ACT bootcamp and Elena was able to raise her score by 6 points in less than 2 months. Elena graduated high school and I later adopted her as my daughter. Elena turned 21 this year and is thriving as an independent young woman. I know all too well many of our children's stories don't have happy endings like Elena's. The statistics for youth who age out of care are shocking. The Guardian ad Litem Foundation of Tampa Bay is working to change that. We offer life skills classes, support educational needs, and offer assistance for youth to move in to their first apartment. I support GALF because I believe they can change more stories. Will you join me?