Heart to Heart: Sept Newsletter

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Dear Friends of the Heart Gallery, 

 

We are excited to have revealed this quarter our new tagline and brand, "Finding Forever for Foster Youth". We want to thank AGA+Spangler for being a pivotal partner in our rebrand and donating our brand reveal video as part of our launch. Our brand refresh showcases a new beginning, where we look at not just how we find our youth a loving home, but how we truly make sure it lasts forever. We also acknowledge that for each of our youth, forever may look different. Whatever their forever looks like, we will be here to guide them along the way. We look forward to sharing more about how we will make this happen in the coming months. In the meantime, here's what's been happening since our last newsletter!

 

  • In July, we were honored to have been selected as a recipient of the Community Foundation of Broward's 'Small Grants' program
  • We held an incredible two-part Back-to-School event series for our foster youth, bringing a dream of mine to reality thanks to so many community partners.
  • Tickets are on sale now for our 10th Annual Eat Your Heart Out Event on October 12th, we hope you can join us!
  • In November, we will also be celebrating National Adoption Day, where we will see Broward families become complete with their adoptions finalized. We look forward to sharing more about this event in the future.

 

Thank you for reading our Heart to Heart update, and we look forward to delivering more amazing news at the end of the year.

 

With Heart, 

Dr. Mary Kinirons 

Executive Director, Heart Gallery of Broward County 

Heart Days

Back-To-School Events

On August 5th, we hosted our first annual Back-to-School Shopping Spree funded by the Children's Opportunity Group of Broward at the Galleria Fort Lauderdale! We had 15 of our youth come out, and they were each given a $500 Amex gift card to spend at any of the stores in the mall. The Galleria Fort Lauderdale donated the space, tables, and linens. Dillard's extended 15% discounts to our youth, and their makeup department gave them free makeovers! Press & Grind Cafe generously donated boxed lunches for our youth and volunteers, who all helped make this day happen. These partners helped ensure that the money from the Children's Opportunity Group went to our youth!

 

Michael Murphy Photographic Studio & Gallery, Inc. came and took beautiful event photos before they were set loose to shop, and Little's Photography held a fun-filled portrait session so our kids could have some photos to take home from the day. All photos were also generously donated in support of our youth.

 

On August 19th, we help a Back-To-School Day of Beauty, part 2 for our back-to-school events for our foster youth. World of Nails & Hair Beauty Lounge opened its doors to welcome our youth and offer premier services, including manicures, pedicures, hair cuts and styling, fresh braids, eyebrow waxing, and face masks. The weekend before school started, 10 youth came out and got to feel that extra bit of love and confidence with a fun day at the salon before starting the new school year on Monday. 

 

We are incredibly grateful to our sponsors/partners, Children's Opportunity Group of Broward, Children's Services Council of Broward County Florida, Galleria Fort Lauderdale, Dillard's, Littles Photography, Michael Murphy Photography, Press & Grind Cafe, Kiwanis Club of Hollywood, Greater Hollywood Junior Chamber- Jaycees, and our partners World of Nails and Hair Beauty Lounge and ChildNet. We couldn't have done it without you!

 

View more photos on Facebook here.

10th Annual Eat Your Heart Out

Join us on October 12th

MOSS Foundation's “Eat Your Heart Out” event presented by BBI and benefiting the Heart Gallery of Broward, is Fort Lauderdale’s favorite food and “fun”raiser featuring gourmet creations, fresh libations and live entertainment, is proud to welcome new restaurants and accompaniments to its 10th-anniversary event on Thursday, October 12, from 6 – 8:30 p.m., at Galleria Fort Lauderdale.

 

The spirited culinary soiree, hosted by Eric Yutzy, WPLG Local 10 morning news anchor, benefits Heart Gallery of Broward County, an esteemed nonprofit organization dedicated to finding loving families for foster youth facing placement challenges.

 

Michael Goodman, founder of GPR | Goodman Public Relations, will be honored as Heart Gallery of Broward County’s Child Advocate of the Year during the signature event.

 

Reserve your tickets here or click the button below:

Purchase Tickets

$25,000 Grant Recipient for the Community Foundation of Broward's 'Small Grants' program.

We are honored to have been selected as a recipient of the Community Foundation of Broward's 'Small Grants' program, meant to boost support for small nonprofits here in Broward through targeted capacity building. These funds will be vital in supporting our future growth. We are grateful to have their faith in our programs and future growth!

 

You can learn more about this new community program and its impact by clicking below.

Learn More

Meet Breanna!

Meet Breanna! Breanna is a very determined young lady. ❤️

 

She does not let anything get in her way. Breanna is always smiling, cheerful, upbeat and can light up the room when she walks in.✨ She loves to make people laugh, and she is charismatic, genuine, and can be chatty at times.🤩

 

She is articulate and loves to communicate when the environment is right. Breanna loves to sing, dance, color, and do arts and crafts. 🎤💃🎨 She loves to play with other kids. Breanna is on grade level; however, she sometimes struggles in reading and math. Her favorite subject is Science because she likes to learn how things work and do experiments. 🔭👩‍🔬 Breanna would benefit best from a family that could love and give her a lot of love and attention.

Meet Breanna

Our mission is to provide innovative programs that help to promote the adoption and enrichment of Broward's foster youth.

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Unveiling Our New Look!

 
I am thrilled to announce some exciting news – the Heart Gallery of Broward County has a fresh new look! While our appearance may have changed, I want to assure you that our mission remains steadfast.
Since the inception of the Heart Gallery of Broward County in 2006, we have successfully found loving families for over 500 foster youth. This is no small feat, and we couldn’t have done it without your unwavering support.
In fact, I am happy to share that since January alone, we have matched 12 foster youth with their forever homes. Each of these matches brings us great joy and reinforces our commitment to finding forever for foster youth.
As we embark on this new phase of our journey, we are eagerly anticipating what the future holds. With your continued dedication and generosity, we are confident that we will make an even greater impact in the lives of foster youth in Broward County.
Thank you for helping us shape a brighter future for these deserving youth. 
 
With Heart,
 
Dr. Mary Kinirons

Heart to Heart: June Newsletter

 

 

Dear Friends of the Heart Gallery, 

 

My heart is full as my husband and I finalized the adoption of our three beautiful children Kadence, David, and Brody on March 17th. We found our family through a tremendous partnership between the Heart Gallery of Tampa and Forever Family before I came to the Heart Gallery of Broward. They told the story of these extraordinary siblings in a way that captured both of our hearts. This shows the power of the Heart Gallery and Forever Family missions and how they change the lives of our youth and our families, and I am thrilled that we have this same unique partnership locally.  

 

 

While this news is a personal highlight of 2023 for me, the Heart Gallery of Broward has had an amazing year so far. We have held meaningful Heart Days that allow the youth we represent to go out together and enjoy a day of fun in the community. We have helped facilitate the match of 13 youths with prospective adoptive families since the year began, which includes two sibling groups and two teenagers. We are hopeful to see adoptions finalized by the end of the year.  

 

 

We also started our new birthday buddy program and have many new plans in the works. I invite you to read our kick-off to our new Heart to Heart Newsletter below to learn about all that is happening in our community!  

 

 

Thank you for your continued support of our organization and for joining us on this incredible journey. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of children and build a brighter future for all. 

 

Regards, 

 

Dr. Mary Kinirons 

Executive Director, Heart Gallery of Broward County 

Board Retreat

The Heart Gallery of Broward Board of Directors and staff kicked off the year by coming together for a highly engaging and future-focused board retreat.

 

We have big plans in the works to further our mission and enhance our programs.

 

A big thank you to Cloud Nine Nonprofit Advisors for facilitating!

Our Annual TruHearts Event Raises Over $73,000

& Awareness for Adoption from Foster Care

Heart Gallery of Broward County's annual TruHearts event presented by Lago Mar Beach Resort & Club was a night to remember, honoring Stephanie Toothaker for her unwavering commitment to the organization and the Fort Lauderdale community. The event, in its 5th year, successfully raised over $73,000 and shed light on the Heart Gallery's mission to find forever homes for youth in foster care.

 

Stephanie Toothaker has been a steadfast supporter of the Heart Gallery of Broward and an advocate for our communities most vulnerable youth. She was recently recognized as a 2023 Women Trailblazer and uses her voice and connections to give back to the community. Her longtime friend Sigrid McCawley presented Stephanie with her award saying, “...what makes Stephanie really special is her ability to connect with people – Stephanie has a unique talent for relationship building and she is always willing to help someone in need. That is why it is really fitting that tonight we are honoring her as the True Heart of our Community.

 

A heartfelt thank you to our event chairs Sigrid McCawley, Lisa Duke, and Debbie Banks-Snyder, and all of our generous sponsors!

Meet Folashade aka Lala!

Meet Folashade aka Lala!

 

Folashade enjoys coloring 🖍 listening to music 🎶 watching movies🍿 being outside in the playground 🛝and playing basketball🏀. Folashade enjoys tickles and patty cake handshakes.

 

She is a sweetheart who will need lots of love and attention to get through daily challenges.

Meet Lala

Thank You, True Hearts Giving Circle Founding Members

KC & Tabatha Cross

Mike Robbins

Joe & Barbara Sloboda

Ben & Anna Sorensen

Click the button below to learn more about the True Hearts Giving Circle and how you can make a lasting impact in the lives of foster youth.

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Youth Events and Heart Days

In February, the Young Lawyers Section of the Broward County Bar held their annual YLS Holiday in February event at the Museum of Science and Discovery. On this day approximately 40 foster youth attended along with 6 prospective adoptive families and 15 volunteers from the YLS/Broward Bar, Heart Gallery of Broward, and ChildNet. The youth that attended had a wonderful time decorating gingerbread houses, meeting Santa, and receiving gifts collected by the YLS team. We are so grateful for their continued partnership and the joy they bring our youth year after year.

 

In April, the Heart Gallery of Broward sponsored and produced a Heart Day at Xtreme Action Park in partnership with ChildNet. We had 10 foster youth attend along with 4 prospective adoptive families. The foster youth had a blast competing against each other in Mini Golf, posing for fun headshots for our gallery with volunteer photographer Jorge Parra, and playing arcade games.

Announcing our Birthday Buddy Program!

The Heart Gallery of Broward County launched its new Birthday Buddy program in January. This program is focused on celebrating our youth while in care by sending them birthday cards with Visa gift cards giving them the unique experience of shopping for whatever their heart desires. One such card delivery was made by a ChildNet caseworker and she shared with us the following message.

 

 “Bianza was very thankful for the gift card ❤️.. she did a little dance while she read the card and saw how much money she had.”

 

To date, we have purchased 25 gift cards for youth in care, gifting them the ability to ‘treat themselves’ as they celebrate this key milestone in their lives.

 

Learn how you can support a child's birthday by clicking the button below!

Learn More

Our mission is to provide innovative programs that help to promote the adoption and enrichment of Broward's foster youth.

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Heart Gallery of Broward County Names Dr. Mary Kinirons as Executive Director

MEDIA CONTACT:
Michael Goodman
GPR | Goodman Public Relations
(954) 446-0806
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For Immediate Release

HEART GALLERY OF BROWARD COUNTY NAMES DR. MARY KINIRONS AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (June 29, 2022)Heart Gallery of Broward County, a nonprofit organization committed to finding loving families for the hardest to place foster children, has named Dr. Mary Kinirons as executive director. Kinirons will be responsible for overseeing the administration, programs and strategic plan of the organization as well as fundraising, marketing, and community outreach. The announcement was made by Eleni Varvoutis, board chair president for Heart Gallery of Broward County

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