The Tallahassee Police Departments SHOCAP Unit and the members of its Inter-agency work group collected 400 pieces of luggage during the month of January for kids who are in foster care. The goal was to ensure that by the end of the project every kid in circuit 2 would have a piece of luggage to call their own. The SHOCAP Unit and members of the Inter-agency workgroup the entire Tallahassee Police Department are proud to say we exceeded expectations. We feel that this addition to their lives will give them a sense of ownership as well as belonging. Our hope is that their transitions will be a lot better with a piece of luggage for their personal belongings.

Westgate Resports in Orlando is currently working on a program to provide homeless families housing and employment. Since November 2011, three families with a total of 17 people have moved into Westgate properties and started jobs with the corporation. Westgate is asking partners in the community to join them in a similar endeavor and is partnering with DCF to coordinate a Central Florida meeting to bring corporate, government, and nonprofit entities together to discuss collaborative opportunities.

The Sports Medicine Outreach Program of Baptist Health Care and the Andrews Institute annually provides close to 2500 sports physicals, free of charge, for area high school athletes. The physicals include height and weight measurements, vision screenings, blood pressure checks, orthopedic screenings and medical examinations. Baptist Health Care and the Andrews Institute provide comprehensive sports medicine services year round, both on and off the playing field. Certified athletic trainers (ATCs) are assigned to each school in the county as well as physicians who volunteer their time and services.They provide coverage at practices and home games for injury evaluation and management, plus follow-up care.

Each month Joe's Place Restaurant in Gainesville, FL hosts a charitable fundraising dinner for a local non-profit organization. They invest their time, staff and resources at no cost to the non-profit. On March 30th, Joe's Place partnered with the Alachua County Child Abuse Prevention Task Force to host a night of fun to help the community kick of Child Abuse Prevention Month. From the pinwheel garden outside of the restaurant, to the prevention materials displayed inside, the message for the evening was clear. A total of $600.00 was raised from that event, which went to purchase "Pack N Play" safe sleeping environments for infants who do not have one available to them.

The Renaissance Community Center will offer a comfortable and welcoming environment where homeless individuals and families can easily access an array of services provided by the numerous agencies and organizations in this area. The collective hope of all partners is that the new Center will directly reduce the number of homeless currently residing in local emergency shelters by providing tools and resources to help people get out of homelessness and into prosperity. More than 40 organizations, businesses and foundations contributed in some meaningful way to the construction and development of this more than $750,000 project. See the list of all the contributors here.

At JM Family, philanthropy extends well beyond financial contributions. They also offer in-kind support such as video production, marketing and awareness campaigns and technology assistance, as well as extensive volunteer opportunities for associates and their families to lend a hand and make a difference. In South Florida, where JM Family is headquartered, they maintain strategic partnerships with organizations that provide services to children and families including a long-term commitment with Kids In Distress. With significant business operations in Jacksonville, Fla., they regularly partner with nonprofits that drive stronger families and make our community a better place.

Dr. Lucas Stevens and the staff of Stevens Orthodonics, in Tallahassee, provide free braces and orthodontic services to foster and adopted children and youth, and to children served by the Boys and Girls Club of the Big Bend.

Mad Dog Construction of Tallahassee donated their fee and helped bring in other donations for the construction of the headquarters of the Children's Home Society of North Florida. They are also currently supporting the Renaissance Community Center by donating fees and consulting services for the project. This community-conscious organization has provided significant construction consulting services to and donated profits from their renovation services at Refuge House. Mad Dog was instrumental in providing support for the establishment of the HOPE Community, a project of the Big Bend Homeless Coalition offering housing and life skills as well as job training for homeless families.

Century Link sponsored a Technology Camp for 25 foster youth during their spring break. At this camp, the youth had presentations from experts in the field talk to them about their jobs, education, salary and answered many questions. They created a marketing plan to help market a "cloud-based" virutal valut to others in foster care as well as other Community Based Care Providers. Other supporters of the Technology Camp were BowStern Marketing Communications, Five Points, and Think Creative.

The Junior League of Clearwater-Dunedin, Inc. held their 4th Annual Foster Youth Summit and Life Skills Training to benefit over 50 area foster teens who receive services and support through Eckerd and Camelot Community Care. The Summit is designed to provide foster teens the opportunity to visualize their success, become inspired and learn life's valuable skills through hands on workshops. In addition to sponsoring an annual summit and life skills training for foster youth, other successful foster care support initiatives of the League include apartment starter kits for foster youth aging out of foster care and "Done in a Day" projects to provide resources and support to foster families, just to name a few.