Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 2-23-18

State News
One Church One Child Of Florida, Inc. Celebrates 30th Anniversary
Celebrating 30 Years of Service in Child Welfare with a Purpose
TALLAHASSEE – One Church One Child of Florida is hosting a Community Educa- tion/Celebration Event in part- nership with Big Bend Community Based Care and Florida Department of Children and Families. The purpose and intent is to educate communi- ties and build partnerships to identify families and individu- als to foster, adopt and men- tor/support children in foster care and provide assistance to help build and strengthen fam- ilies and youths with opportu- nities for lifetime connections through faith communities.
For 30 years, One Church One Child’s goal has been to help increase awareness of the critical need for families to adopt (provide a permanent home) and/or foster (provide a temporary home) to a child or sibling group of children wait- ing in the child welfare system.
More than 200 leaders from the faith community are ex- pected to attend the 30th An- niversary scheduled for Saturday, March 3, 2018, 6-8 p.
REV. BEVERLY HILLS LANE
m., at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, 224 North Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, in Tallahassee, Florida.
According to the Depart- ment of Children and Families, Florida has over 700 children with no identified family. Of these children, over 50% are minorities, and most are over the age of eight, making them more difficult to place.
The founder of One Church One Child is Father George Clements, Florida’s Founding President is Rev. Dr. R. B. Holmes, and the President of One Church One Child of Florida is Rev. Beverly Hills Lane.
FAMU Alum And Students Visit With State Legislators
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Features Writer
TALLAHASSEE – Hun- dreds of Rattlers traveled to the State Capitol to make the an- nual pilgrimage talk with legis- lators about the university’s priorities.
About 15 alums and sup- porters made the trip from Tampa, said Carolyn Collins, Chair of the FAMU National Alumni Association’s Govern- mental Relations Committee, which organized the visit.
Hundreds attended the event, which started off with a welcome speech from Sen. Perry Thurston, Jr., D-Fort Lauderdale, who is the chair- man of the Florida Caucus of Black Legislators.
The group then traveled to the Capitol, where they met with lawmakers while FAMU staff and students showed off various colleges and schools in the Rotunda area.
Collins, who has headed
CAROLYN HEPBURN COLLINS
the event for the last nine years, said this year’s trip to the Capi- tol was the most successful yet.
A special addition this year was including about 50 stu- dents in meetings with law- makers, giving them the opportunity to share their per- sonal stories, she said.
In their appointments with legislators, alums and adminis- trators shared the university’s legislative budget, she said.
That budget details impor- tant projects like the Center for Access and Student Success which delegates “pushed hard for the money to build,” in their talks with lawmakers, Collins said.
The day culminated with a reception at the Capitol, where President Larry Robinson urged alums and supporters to “dig deeper” to help the 130- year-old school stay competi- tive.
“We’re going to have to do more,” he said. “We’re going to have to hold everybody ac- countable, including our- selves.”
In a separate interview, Collins said the visit to Talla- hassee to meet with legislators has its benefits.
“This is the best thing we can do to let our elected offi- cials understand the magnitude of FAMU to its alums,” she said.
But alums and supporters don’t have to wait for that one
day to make a difference, she said.
“FAMU (Day) is one day,” she said. “We must meet with legislators year-round.”
That means engaging law- makers outside of the annual legislative session, making them aware of university-re- lated events at home, and emailing or calling them to ex- press support for FAMU initia- tives, she said.
If You Go
The Tampa Chapter of the Florida A&M University Alumni Association will host its 2nd Endowed Gala at 6 p. m. on Saturday, April 21, at the DoubleTree Hilton, 4500 W. Cypress St., in Tampa. Presi- dent Larry Robinson is the keynote speaker.
For more information, visit http://famualumnitampabay.o rg.
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