CHS Blog
Pine Forest High School Vice Principal Bakari Franklin is calling all the “dads,” or male community leaders, to volunteer in a pilot mentorship program starting this week. As Pine Forest climbs toward a student population of 2,000 students, Vice Principal Bakari Franklin has noticed disruptions during the school day’s hallway transition times, particularly during the lunch hour. From […]
A seemingly small obstacle can have a big effect on a student’s education. “If you come to school hungry, you can’t focus if your stomach is churning,” said Lauren Fuentes, the regional executive director for Children’s Home Society of Florida. “You can’t focus if you’ve got a toothache, if you’ve got a headache,” she continued. […]
Longtime teachers often say there’s only so much they can do to help kids inside the classroom when there are struggles at home, but a growing program in Manatee County is making a difference in both. Manatee Elementary in Bradenton has been transformed by a new Community Partnership School model that brings together nonprofits to […]
Children’s Home Society of Florida (CHS) is celebrating 120 years of devoted service to children and families. Founded on November 17, 1902, CHS was established as a child welfare society focused on placing children in safe, loving healthy homes. Before the invention of bubble gum or the Model T. Ford, CHS was uniting Florida residents […]
MIAMI — Adopted at birth, Miami Dolphins fullback Alec Ingold believes he would have dedicated his time toward helping children and youth in foster care, no matter where his career took him. He had a plan if football didn’t work out; in fact, you could argue that football was Plan B. Around his junior year at Wisconsin, Ingold was […]
ORANGE PARK – For the past seven weeks, 22 children residing in Orange Park have spent the last seven weeks participating in a special program funded by a grant provided by the United States Tennis Association through Orange Park High. After practicing forehands, backhands, positioning and hand-eye coordination for seven weeks, the crew got together […]
WEST PALM BEACH — The weather outside the Palm Beach County Courthouse was as bleak as the mood often is inside, but the line of families filing through the lobby doors looked like a Christmas parade. Children wore colorful dresses and tiny bow ties while the adults balanced gift bags and fitful toddlers over the crooks of their arms. Many had been there before, often for […]
From inside a holding cell, youth detained at the new Volusia Family Resource Center west of Daytona Beach can read the following message on a wall: “The opportunity to turn your life around begins now!” Beneath the message is the signature of Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood who spoke at the center’s grand opening Thursday at […]
Let us honor the life and legacy of Mary Virginia Terry. Mrs. Terry, or “Miss Ginnie” to the children of Children’s Home Society of Florida, has left a legacy of love in Jacksonville, along with her late husband, Mr. C Herman Terry. Whether Mrs. Terry was giving for the balloons that made little Joseph’s eyes […]
Pine Forest High School is in the final steps of implementing a new clinic in its school and for the community under the umbrella of Community Partnership Schools. In September, the Escambia Children Trust approved $77,658 to support the Children’s Home Society of Florida with a Community Partnership School director and to install a medical clinic at Pine Forest […]
ORANGE PARK – Providing food to hungry families hasn’t been a problem for Orange Park High’s monthly food distribution. The real challenge, said Community Partnership School Director Lauren Pfanenstiel, has been spreading the word about available resources and silencing the stigma that sometimes comes with being needy. The partnership, which is part of the Children’s […]
BRADENTON — Daughtrey Elementary will become the second public school in Manatee County to adopt the innovative Community Partnership Schools model this year. Partners include the Children’s Home Society of Florida, Boys & Girls Club of Manatee County, MCR Health, School District of Manatee County, and the University of South Florida. The Community Partnership Schools […]
Pine Forest High School is on the precipice of becoming the second Community Partnership School in Escambia County. Superintendent Tim Smith told Inweeky that Children’s Home Society of Florida secured grant funding to proceed with plans to transition Pine Forest into a Community Partnership School. Children’s Home Society, Escambia County Public Schools, Community Health Northwest […]
Sometimes the worst brings out the best. But imagine if the best of humanity shone all the time … if the heart of humankind extolled the compassion and generosity we’re seeing now, in the wake of Ian. Earlier this week, I walked into my office to find bags upon bags of diapers, wipes, paper products, […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Six of the nine deadliest U.S. mass shootings since 2018 were committed by people 21 or younger, which according to researchers is a shift from trends in the earlier decades. The shooting in North Carolina Thursday night resulted in the deaths of five people including an off-duty police officer is just the latest in a […]
