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One Liners for Voices for Children
Do you ever get stumped when people ask you to explain your role in the life of the children you represent? If so, you are not alone. It is often difficult, even for the most experienced of volunteers, to explain our unique position to doctors, caregivers, or even to our own friends.
Here are a few suggested one-liners that you may find helpful:
- I represent children in juvenile court who have been abused or neglected. I make recommendations to a judge regarding what is in the best interests of these children based upon my investigation of the case.
- Voices for Children volunteers are ordinary people who are appointed by a judge to be a voice in court for children who have either been abused or neglected.
- I am an advocate for a child who has been abused or neglected. I help the court see the child in the midst of an often complicated legal battle.
- I promote and protect the interests of an abused or neglected child involved in juvenile court.
- I represent the voices of foster children. The judge listens to me because he knows that I have the best interests of the child in mind.
As you know, your objective is to ensure that our children are placed in safe, loving, permanent homes. The above suggestions may be helpful when explaining to others your role in making this a reality.
Volunteer Spotlight: Jean Zaleski
Picture Jean Zaleski surrounded by children, for so it has nearly always been. Jean has been a Voices for Children volunteer guardian ad litem for 14 years, claiming a place as one of our oldest Voices for Childrens in length of service. She became a Voices for Children under the former system of monthly representation at foster care reviews, averaging 12 children a month. Imagine speaking for 144 children each year! Many of these children, says Jean, remained in foster care for years, and she would review their cases annually.
Now, under the new system required by ASFA and our own Court Improvement Project, Jean represents only one child in a very different way. She will stay with the case until "her child" is returned home or adopted. This is all well and good, but Jean, being accustomed to larger numbers, says she is ready to take on a second case and more children.
Still, Jean is not exactly without children in her life. Years ago, she and her late husband adopted six children (four as infants, a 10 year old and an 11 year old)--but not all at once, of course. And that’s not all: Jean is now grandmother to 19 children, aged 8 months to 31 years. The whole family gets together several times a year, most recently at Thanksgiving, when 34 of them sat around one very large table.
For Jean Zaleski, the most natural thing to do when her children were grown was to take on more children by speaking up for children in court. "It has been very good for me," she says about adopting her own children, and she might say the same about advocating for children. To her words we add these: Jean Zaleski’s attention, devotion and passion for children has been very good for Voices for Children and the children we serve.
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Kudos to the Kappa Alpha Thetas for a very successful Kilometers for Kids 5K Run/Walk event on October 28, 2000. Special thanks to Sharon Blaine and her leadership committee as well as to Voices for Childrens Christine Lutz and Katherine Jecklin, Voices for Children Board member Christine Bertelson, and volunteer Kent Hornberger who worked at the Voices for Children booth with Development Director Mary Murawski, selling our wares and explaining just what we do. The Run netted over $4,000 for Voices for Children. While there were winning runners in all the various categories, the real winners were the kids served by Voices for Children—because nearly 200 people were exposed to the Voices for Children message, name and logo! Voices for Children is grateful to all the Thetas for their ongoing support!
Volunteer Recognition Evening a Success
On Friday evening, January 5, 2001, the rescheduled Voices for Children Volunteer Recognition was held, a fitting beginning to the new year. The Salmons home was beautiful and welcoming, the food and drink were tasty and abundant, and the companionship and goodwill were palpable. In short, the evening was pronounced warm and wonderful by the honorees, our Voices for Children volunteers.
A pianist played the Steinway, introducing with a fanfare the short program of awards and gifts to all Voices for Childrens. Nova Felton was recognized for her more than 10 years of service, and others were honored for above-and-beyond service, including speaking engagements. All Voices for Childrens were given one of our new Voices for Children mugs, elegantly wrapped for the occasion.
Judge Frawley, Voices for Children board members, friends, donors and staff joined in a rousing round of applause for all volunteer Voices for Childrens, people with the heart and determination to advocate for City children. Congratulations, Voices for Childrens. We celebrate your accomplishments.
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched…but are felt in the heart.
Helen Keller
Announcing Voices for Children's New Web Site
Voices for Children’s very own web site is now up and running! Find out everything you need to know about who we are, what we do and why we do it. Download an application form. Sign up to help in the office. Read our newsletter. Find out what’s on Voices for Children’s wish list. Check it out at www.stlcityVoices for Children.org. We’re excited about this beginning and promise that it will be even better before long. Tell your friends, and spread the word!
More Volunteer Opportunities
If you are seeking other ways to become involved on behalf of the children, we have some ideas. We invite you to help with our Hand Hope to a Child Book Project, to volunteer for clerical duties in our office, to organize the children’s waiting area, to be part of the Voices for Children Marketplace or Speakers Bureau. Please contact Shirley Bynum Smith (314-552-2121, sbsmith@stlcityVoices for Children.org) or
Mary Murawski (314-552-2356, mamurawski@stlcityVoices for Children.org) to find out more.
WANTED: PI PHI - Voices for Children would like to pursue a joint opportunity with the Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women. In order to proceed, we need a Pi Phi dues-paying member or alum or Sign of the Arrow volunteer who is also involved with Voices for Children. If you are such a person, or know one, please tell us and we’ll work on a link. Contact Mary Murawski at (314) 552-2356 or -Mamurawski@stlcityVoices for Children.org.
Voices for Children Training Notes
Our training is on "Winter Break" now but will be starting again on January 27 (an extended Saturday class), followed by Tuesday evening classes (January 30, all of February), and an extended Saturday class on February 24. Course content will be the same, just crunched into a slightly different time frame. We hope that you'll tell all your friends and neighbors to join us for the next training. (Contact Shirley Bynum Smith, Volunteer Coordinator, 314-552-2121 or sbsmith@stlcityVoices for Children.org, for application information.)
Several new and wonderful Voices for Childrens have been sworn in, with many of them already working on their first case—and in order to achieve our lofty goal of serving every child who needs a Voices for Children, we need more! We count on you to help us identify good people for this good work.
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From the Development Director
Greetings from the "Development Office"! What an honor and a privilege to be the newest part of the Voices for Children staff, serving as your very first Development Director. First let me express my gratitude to the board of directors, staff, Voices for Childrens and Juvenile Court employees for welcoming me so warmly and teaching me so willingly.
I am here so that we will not have to say no to a powerless child who needs the power of a Voices for Children voice. The truth is that we cannot serve more children unless we train and supervise more volunteer Voices for Childrens, those people who are the heart of Voices for Children, the ones who know the children and speak for their best interests above all else. To reach our goal of speaking for nearly 4,000 City children, we must have not only financial support but also public awareness of the children’s very real needs. That is where development comes in. My job is to tell the Voices for Children story far and wide in order to increase public support for our mission of ensuring that each child we represent has a safe, permanent and loving home.
Much has happened since I came to Voices for Children. Right now, I am completing my own Voices for Children training so as to experience firsthand what every Voices for Children learns. Hard at work is a new Development & Communications Committee comprised of board members, Voices for Childrens and Voices for Children friends. We have sent year-end gift appeals to friends and donors, with encouraging results. We have held many Voices for Children Community Information Sessions here and elsewhere. Because of all this, I have witnessed the dedication and focus of our volunteers and the many others who support Voices for Children, and I see the urgency of our mission. Moreover, I see the power and great potential we have in working together.
I am excited about serving as ambassador for St. Louis Voices for Children and, with your participation, helping abused and neglected children to have the safe, permanent homes they truly deserve. I look forward to working with all of you, for the sake of the children.
Mary A. Murawski
Development Director
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| Foundations and Organizations
Alpha Epsilon
Daughters of Charity Healthcare
Foundation of St. Louis
Deaconess Foundation
Des Lee Foundation
Employees Community Fund of
Boeing-St. Louis
Enterprise Rent-a-Car Foundation
Heart of Oak Foundation
Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity
Foundation
Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity for
Women – St. Louis Alumnae Chapter
Lutheran Charities Foundation
National Voices for Children Association
Pershing Charitable Trust
Roblee Foundation
St. Louis Community Foundation
St. Louis Family Court –
Juvenile Division
St. Louis Philanthropic Organization
State Street Foundation
Sunnen Foundation
Tronvold Foundation
United Way of Greater St. Louis
Corporations and Businesses
Ameren UE
Anheuser Busch Companies
Bank of America
Bedford Falls Corporation
Daniel & Henry Company
Equality Savings & Loan
International Lighting Manufacturing
Company
Jane Jordan Black and Co.
The Lipton Group
Lockton Companies
Mercantile Bank
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
Plaza Motor Company
Ralston Purina
Rudivani Precision Motorworks, Inc.
(RPM)
SAFECO Corporation
St. Louis Parking
Sinclair Communications Inc.
Stolar Partnership
Southwest Bank
UMB Bank of St. Louis
In-Kind Donations
Adamson Advertising
Audubon Village Book Club
Nanci Bobrow*
Commercial Letter, Inc.
Kelly Cowlen
Georganne and Baker Cunningham**
Directions in Design, Inc.
Chris Herrington**
Joan Kelly Horn*
Ivy Chapel Preschool
Family Court – Juvenile Division
Kappa Alpha Theta – Washington University Chapter
Left Bank Books
Beverly Machin**
Mary A. Murawski***
Pastasa Interactive
Scott Smith Photography
Brian Abel Ragen
Sherwin-Williams Company
Shirley Bynum Smith***
St. Louis Family Court – Juvenile Division
Gifts In Honor of
Jennie Dodson, In Appreciation for PR Expertise
Mary Louise Graw by Susan Gallagher
Scott Levine, DCC Co-Chair
Christine Lutz, Voices for Children Marketplace Coordinator
Sarah L. and Wesley W. Measel by Mary Murawski
Judy Miniace, DCC Co-Chair
Mary A. Murawski by Kent Hornberger
Rebecca Ries by Jonathan and Mary Ries
Mary Z. Taylor by Anita & John O’Connell,
Jean M. Pennington, Brian Abel Ragen
* Board Member
** Voices for Children Guardian
*** Voices for Children Staff
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Individuals
Anonymous
Mark and Kris Arneson
Barry Beracha
Charles and Katherine Betz
Sharon Blaine
Charles W. Bobinette*
Nanci A. Bobrow, PhD*
Mark and Ingrid Bremer
Honorable Julian Bush
John R. Capps
Charmaine Chapman
Marie Clark*
Kelly Cowlen
Eleanor Coyle
James R. and Victoria L. Dankenbring
Representative Patrick Dougherty*
Jan Druyvesteyn
Brooke Fisher
Ann Lieb Frawley
Allan D. Friedman, MD*
Susan and James Gallagher
Micael and Betty Graven
Gerald Greiman and Susan Carlson
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Gunn
Charles and Kathleen Hartman
Jordan and Connie Heiman
Kathryn Herman
R. Chris Herrington**
Joan Kelly Horn*
Kent Hornberger
Steve Houston
Nancy P. Inman***
Deanna S. Johnson*
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Jones
J. Christopher Kerckhoff
Richard B. Lange*
Mr. and Mrs. Oliver M. Langenberg
Scott and Paula Levine*
Kenneth W. Martz*
Virginia K. McGhee
Sheryl L. Meyering and Wesley
Westmaas
Sheila Michaels
Jefferson L. Miller Jr.
Judith C. Miniace*
Ms. Susan Mucklow
Mary A. Murawski***
Dr. Richard Nissen
Anita and John O’Connell
Ms. Valerie Patton
Bud Pennington*
Jean M. Pennington
Rachel Phillips
Brian Abel Ragen
Lynn Raney
Jim Rice
Jonathan and Mary Ries
Armentha Russell
Mr. and Mrs. W. Bevis Schock
Mary and Ken Schuman
Lewis B. Shepley
Shirley and Gary Smith***
Jan and Bill Taylor
Mary Z. Taylor***
Tom and Leslie Tupper**
Ben and Susan Uchitelle
Elsie B. Valier
Andrea and Peter Van Cleve
Ms. Amy Wachs
Ms. Rhonda White
Kathleen M. (Kay) Wiese
Jack and Bonnie Wilcox*
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Woods`
* Board Member
** Voices for Children Guardian
*** Voices for Children Staff
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| Thanks to Voices for Children Georganne Cunningham and her husband Baker for graciously hosting a "Reconnect" evening for members of the Church of St. Michael and St. George, who have been faithful supporters of Voices for Children. Georganne, Mary Taylor, and Shirley Bynum Smith presented a well-received overview of projects and programs at Voices for Children, including stories of the kids we serve. As part of our ongoing effort to educate the community, the Voices for Children staff and Board are always ready and willing to bring the Voices for Children message to your group. Please call.
Shop the Voices for Children Marketplace!
The whole town is humming about the new Voices for Children merchandise. Drop by and shop for Voices for Children thermal mugs, note cards, and posters featuring kid's artwork. Come choose from the wildly popular Voices for Children kids' pins--they are charming and make great gifts for teachers, neighbors, co-workers, or yourself. Proceeds benefit the Children's Fund, used for the purchase of children's books and emergency clothing needs.
The Marketplace is also seeking volunteers interested in selling Voices for Children wares at community fairs and conferences. Contact Christine Lutz, Voices for Children-in-Charge, at (314) 862-7565.
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January Voices for Children
Community Information Sessions
Here are two opportunities for you to invite friends and colleagues to hear the Voices for Children story:
Tuesday, January 23,7:30 a.m.
Wednesday, January 31,5:00 p.m.
Both sessions will take place at court and will begin in the large family waiting room before moving across the hall to Courtroom #1. If the dates don't work for you, please call or e-mail Mary Murawski at (314) 552-2356 or Mamurawski@stlcityVoices for Children.org to arrange for another place/and or time. We're willing, able and eager to come to your workplace or home or wherever!
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