Before the invention of the Model T. Ford, bubble gum or the Band-Aid, Children’s Home Society of Florida (CHS) was creating brighter futures for kids.

Now celebrating its 120^th year of service to children and families, CHS has created a ripple effect of positive change that has influenced us all.

Twelve decades ago, the trailblazing child advocates who took action to care for Florida’s most vulnerable citizens couldn’t have known the generational impact their work would have.

Throughout its first two decades, CHS became a foremost leader in children’s issues, leveraging influence to secure rights and welfare laws for children nationwide, including the development of U.S. compulsory education and child labor laws.

I shudder to think of what our community would look like today if, at the turn of century, those leaders hadn’t come together to demand a better future for Florida’s children.

Without CHS, would your child have the opportunities they do now? Would our community be as vibrant as it is today? Thankfully, we don’t have to know a world without CHS.

Focused on meeting the greatest needs facing children, families, and communities, CHS is working to break generational chains of poverty by helping children and families pursue educational and lifelong success. One impactful initiative the organization leads in pursuit of this goal is the Community Partnership Schools™ movement, along with the movement’s strategic and co-founding partner, the University of Central Florida.

Here in Tallahassee, kids reap the benefits daily. Leon County’s Sabal Palm Elementary – located in the 32304 zip code, the poorest in Florida – is the first in the area to implement the Community Partnership Schools model, which has been replicated nearly three dozen times throughout Florida.

The Community Partnership School at Sabal Palm is a long-term commitment among Children’s Home Society of Florida, Leon County Schools, Florida A&M University, and FSU Primary Health, bringing together high-quality academics, health care, counseling, mentoring and more — right at the school where students and families are comfortable.

One illustration of success: historically, students in areas of concentrated poverty struggle academically and experience access barriers to after-school programs that can increase academic success. Yet, during the 2021-2022 school year, Sabal Palm Elementary students participated in 18,554 hours of after-school enrichment and tutoring – shattering odds stacked against them.

Such successes have led to the adoption of the model at Jefferson County K-12, too.

But it takes solid commitment from the community and our state’s leaders to continue this success. As there is no greater investment than the future of our children, we’re asking the legislature for an $11 million appropriation to sustain and expand Community Partnership Schools.

The goal of this bipartisan legislation: help more children realize their full potential and become successful adults in a flourishing society. The Florida Senate is in support of the funding request and as the House takes it under consideration, your voice matters.

Please join us – take action at chsfl.org/advocate.

Originally posted by Tallahassee Democrat