Fostering Connections St. John’s raises over $18k at fundraiser

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On Saturday, May 1st, local non-profit organization Fostering Connections St. John’s hosted their Night of the Arts fundraiser benefit at Fantasy Farms in Ponte Vedra. 

The goal? Raising funds to benefit their mission of providing better educational programming for youth in foster care in the St. John’s, Putnam, Flagler, and Volusia county areas.

The organization was founded in 2019 by Aubrie Simpson-Gotham, a local educator with a passion for helping foster youth reach their full potential and connecting volunteers/community leaders to opportunities to assist foster families in providing stable, loving homes for children in transition. The funds they raise through these events goes directly towards providing support and comforts for youth in foster care, giving foster parents the supports and resources they need, and connecting the community around this multifaceted issue.

Night of the Arts is not the organization’s first event at Fantasy Farms, but it is the first event with this particular goal of arts and educational programming in mind.

“We created this event to showcase our arts program and to bring the community together to support children in case,” said Simpson-Gotham.

The outdoor event featured a plethora of foods, desserts, and cocktails for guests, as well as a photobooth, live entertainment from Parker Urban Band, and a performance from the St. Augustine Ballet.

Ten pieces of artwork created by some of the children they assist were displayed at the event, while the full collection will be available for viewing at the rotunda of the St. John’s County Administration Building starting May 4th. A live auction of hand painted bicycles donated by local artists was also part of the fundraising efforts of the night.

One of the event’s main sponsors, Flagler Health +, sent their representative Melissa Cecil to speak to the small crowd about Flagler Health +’s work in the community and support of Fostering Connections. Simpson-Gotham gave a short speech thanking guests and sponsors for their support, and afterwards the organization’s Board Chair Amanda Davis gave a rousing call to action with current statistics of children in foster care.

Fostering Connections St. John’s rounded out the night with over $18,000 in fundraising, all of which will be used to help fill the gaps for educational programs for local children in the foster care system.