August 2019
Congratulations to the 2019
Battle of the Bartender Champions,
Dan Davidowitz and Tyler Ross, the Wayne's World team!

Thank you to all our bartenders for being such great sports, to our sponsors for their generosity, and to everyone who came out to support their favorite bartender, Best Foot Forward, or both!
This year's battle was epic!

 for pictures from the Battle of the Bartenders!
SUMMER BOOK CLUB!
Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty.
It should be offered as a gift. —Kate DiCamillo
Every summer, our students read interesting books and learn valuable life lessons in our book club. This year, we had something extra special in store for our kids! The students read  The Magic Mala,  and the author, Bob Olson, was personally involved with the club! Not only did he send everyone a personalized signed copy of the book, he also offered to answer any questions they had. Our coaches gathered all of their questions, such as, "Was the main character written about your own life?" or "Did you know the ending of the book before you began writing it?" Bob sent us a video recording in which he answered each question, one by one, personally addressing each student who asked the question. We had a viewing party with a wonderful dinner, discussed the responses, and had a great time. The kids really enjoyed the whole experience!
BACK TO SCHOOL PARTIES!
The best part of back to school time is by far our back to school parties!

Our high school and college students enjoyed a "flip-flop" themed party, where we brought the beach indoors for the day!
We began with a motivational welcome from Van Williams, Dean of Student Services at Palm Beach State College. Then, each student created their own special "message in a bottle" keepsake; they wrote a message to themselves, rolled it, tied it, and put it in a bottle, which they then decorated with sand art. They were so creative with their designs, it was impressive! We all had a nice lunch followed by a “shopping spree” where our students picked out school supplies, clothing, books, toiletries and of course, flip-flops!

Our elementary party was nonstop fun! Thanks to Debralyn and Ronnie Belletieri, we celebrated at Strikes@Boca, where our students laced up their bowling shoes and hit the lanes. There were a few strikes and plenty of gutter balls, but most of all, the kids had the best time. After a delicious lunch, we gave them tokens to play in the arcade room. Everyone enjoyed homemade cookies for dessert, and they left with school supplies, books, clothing and more.

Thank you to everyone who made donations towards these wonderful events. Because of your generosity, our students went home with their bags overfilled!

COLLEGE KICKOFF!
How do you counter the 3% college graduation rate for foster youth? You need a plan, and ours includes starting college off on the "best" foot!

We invited all of our college freshman to our College Kickoff so they knew what to expect and were prepared for the first day of school. GL Homes generously sponsored the event, which included a wonderful lunch, a very informative presentation by their VP of Human Resources and other staff members, and a special gift. It wouldn't be a BFF event if they didn't leave with a huge bag filled with supplies and fun surprises!
COMMUNITY GIVING!
Signature Gives Back
We appreciate our partnership with  Signature Gives Back , the charitable arm of  Signature Real Estate Companies . BFF Co-Founders Debbie Ellman and Donna Biase recently judged their company talent show, and proceeds of the event will support a student for one year in our program. They have been so supportive, and we look forward to working closely together in the future!
Taylor & Francis
This local publishing company has very generously connected with us. We had the privilege of attending many of the series of fundraisers they did within the company to benefit the students in our program including a walk-a-thon, a chili and macaroni and cheese cook off, and a fun event at Barrel of Monks. Their employees love participating in their fun activities, and we really appreciate the support!
BASH EVENT PLANNING!
Do you like planning events? We are putting together our BASH committee to help plan our wonderful event, scheduled for April 25, 2020. Whether it is working on decor, collecting items for our silent auction or our grab bags, preparing giveaway bags for the students or just stuffing envelopes...every job is important!

Our kickoff lunch meeting will take place on Thursday, October 3, 2019    from 11:30 -12:30 at Clive Daniel Home, at which time w e will reveal the event theme and discuss all of the different ways to be involved. Please contact Alexandria at aarce@bestfoot.org to RSVP.

We are so proud to announce that our partnership with ChildNet and AT&T has been nominated for the Nonprofits First 2019 Community Collaborators Award. We work alongside the School District of Palm Beach County, and together we are empowering children in foster care to realize and achieve their dreams by graduating from high school and leading successful lives.

WHO WE ARE - | - WHAT WE DO - | - GET INVOLVED - | - DONATE - | - EVENTS - | - NEWS