It’s summertime at the Flowering Branch Children’s Shelter, and the place is buzzing with activity! Right now there are seven girls and five boys here, ages 9 through 17. Like all kids, they enjoy going to the pool, playing video games and basketball, and all the usual “kid things.” Some have had special experiences at camp, such as the horse camp at Greenridge Stables. They’ve made visits to the Booth Museum, enjoyed special jewelry making classes, and a favorite activity–fishing!

 Recently many of them chose to dress up like cows for Chick Fil A’s “Dress like a cow, get free food” day. Typical kids doing typical stuff, and all thanks to you and your support of Advocates for Children. Our mission is to offer safety, comfort and hope to children who come from sometimes desperate situations, and we couldn’t do it without all of the help from our community. Thanks to you, the children in our care can experience the same things that other kids experience in these summer months-fun, activities, and the peace that comes from being respected and loved, happy and thriving.

We have 28 gorgeous eggs donated by Atlanta area artists, local businesses, and some made by residents here at the Flowering Branch Children’s Shelter. We intended to auction them at our Egg-ceptional evening event in May, but the evening was so action packed and fun-filled, that the eggs were not being given the attention we thought they deserved. As a result, we have held over the auctioning of the eggs, and will present them for sale at Advocates annual meeting on October 16th. The proceeds will go towards helping the children we serve through our many programs such as CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), Rainbows, which serves grieving children, Baby Think It Over, and our newest endeavor-the Chidren’s Advocacy Center.

The eggs are displayed here at the Advocates offices at 49 Monroe Crossing in Cartersville, preview them online.. Read the rest of this entry »

Duck adoptions officially started a few weeks ago, so claim your winning Quacker today. You can adopt one duck for $5, six for $25, 13 for $50 or 50 for $250.  Bear in mind you have a greater chance of winning the grand prize of a Kia Spectra with the more ducks you have in the water. If you choose to become a VID - very important duck - by adopting 50 ducks for $250, then you become Big Kahuna status and benefit from preferred parking at the Duck Derby. Every duck adopted helps Advocates for Children and your chances of becoming a winner. So, don’t just adopt yourself, but spread the word to friends, families, coworkers and strangers you strike up conversations with at the grocery store. We are trying to get 30,000 adopted and every single one is one more towards our goal. We’ll see you at the Duck Derby fundraiser on May 17!

Flammer Relations, Inc. has partnered with Advocates for Children to spread the word about the non-profit organization’s annual Duck Season. Advocates for Children strives to provide safety, comfort and hope to troubled children and youth in Northwest Georgia, and heavily relies on the success of the Duck Season to maintain operations and programming. The team at Flammer Relations, Inc. will use their public relations and social media expertise to help increase sponsorship, donations and attendance at the fundraising events during the Duck Season.
“We are happy to support this extraordinary organization,” said Carol Flammer, President of Flammer Relations, Inc. “We plan to spread the word on the Duck Season to bring awareness to Advocates for Children and the many fundraising events during the Duck season to help them achieve their financial goals.” Read the rest of this entry »

The most fun fundraiser in north Georgia is starting– we need to sell 30,000 ducks to help children feel Safety, Comfort and Hope.  The kickoff is April 1 (no “fooling”) at 5:30 at the Riverside Day Use Area, just south of Cartersville.

Check it out: www.AdvoChild.org

The party is free– and you’ll get all the ducky info you need to get started.  It’s the seventh annual Duck Derby!

Announcing the 2008 Duck Season - this year’s is going to be better than anything you have seen in the past.

To kick off our extravaganza, we are hosting a black-tie-optional “Egg-ceptional Evening.” This is a silent and live auction in which we will have fabulous items to bid on, including a guitar signed by Eric Clapton!! Something unique that we are offering for bidding is one-of-a-kind, hand painted eggs - painted with the personal style of many local artists. Tickets for this formal affair are $50, and we still need more items to bid on! We hope to see everyone at the Cartersville Civic Center from 6 p.m. - 10 p.m. on Friday, May 9.

On May 10 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., we will be hosting our Duck Derby Parade! Come out to the streets of downtown Cartersville and watch local high school bands march through the streets followed by extravagant floats and an inflatable Quacky!

At Plant Bowen on May 15 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., we are hosting our labeling party. This is where all of the ducks get a number to correspond with their adopted owner, so we need all the extra hands we can get.

Friday, May 16 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. we are hosting a FREE concert featuring Atlanta local favorite, Banks and Shane. Read the rest of this entry »

On February 14th, take your date to the  special preview performance of Beast on the Moon at the Legion Theater presented by Pumphouse Players. What makes this particular date special? Well, all of the proceeds from this particular performance will be donated to Advocates for Children, the non-profit organization that helps abused and neglected children of Northwest Georgia. While this particular play is an extremely romantic and passionate play, perfect for love day, to help increase the Valentine’s Day ambiance, there will be a champagne reception, equipped with a chocolate fountain and sparling juice, beginning at 7:00 p.m. There is a suggested donation of $20 per ticket, which includes the champagne. Tickets can be purchased at the door or through Advocates for Children at 770-387-1143. Don’t miss the opportunity to have a truly unique Valentine’s Day date which also benefits a fantastic cause.

Advocates for Children has only one residential facility within the non-profit organization: Flowering Branch. This facility has come to be the pride and joy of the organization and can house six girls and six boys at any given time. This short term facility provides transportation to and from school, basic care, love, attention and friendship to children in need. For many children, this is the most luxurious home that they have ever lived in, as each child has their own private room and bed with linens.

With the winter holidays quickly approaching, the staff at Flowering Branch wants to make the create an atmosphere as magical as possible for its residents. This requires the help of community. Every month Advocates releases a wish list of items that are in desperate need, and December’s list is especially important. However, there are many different ways to donate to Advocates for Children if choosing an item off of the wish list is not possible. Please take a generous moment to help make this holiday season the best it can for the children at Flowering Branch.

Advocates for Children is pleased to welcome its newest member to the team: Nancy Sutton. Sutton will be the new special events coordinator, primarily being in charge of the annual Duck Derby, but will also oversee the production of other events throughout the year. She comes to Advocates from North Metro Technical College, where she spent 5 years as an event coordinator and graphic designer in the Continuing Education department. She is extremely excited to join the team at Advocates and feels that her history in graphic design will enable her to create eye-catching fliers and promotional collateral for any event. She has high hopes for making the 2008 Duck Season the biggest and most successful to date. Well, we welcome Nancy to the challenge and wish her the best of luck. We cannot wait to see her accomplish all of her ambitious goals!