Better Together

The gift of community 🎁 In the ER, her body in pain, Amber feared she couldn’t have the emergency surgery she needed because she had no one to watch her baby girls. “In that moment, I felt really helpless,” Amber says. If she had delayed care much longer, she might not be with us today. Instead, she connected to Better Together. A volunteer host family cared for her girls so she could get the care she needed. Amber didn’t need foster care. She needed someone to walk alongside her, to care for her girls short-term so she could heal and get back to being mom. After all was said and done, Amber gained more than a short-term solution. She gained a long-term support system. “It takes a village to raise a kid, and Better Together is that village for me,” Amber says. Help us keep families like Amber and her girls together. Give the gift of time, talent, or treasure: www.bettertogetherus.org.

A heartfelt thank you to Lindsay Peragallo and the amazing team at Beauty Holiday Inc. for their generosity and support! On Dec 1, they hosted a beautiful event at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, collecting gifts and organizing donated beauty products for the children and families we serve at Better Together. Your efforts make such a meaningful impact in the lives of families in our community, especially during the holiday season. #BetterTogether #CommunitySupport #ThankYou #HolidayKindness

💜Be the Support a Family Needs 💜 Join us for a Virtual Volunteer Training on Thursday, December 19, from 6–8 PM, hosted by our CEO, Megan Rose. This is your chance to learn how you can walk alongside families in your community, offering support that prevents the need for foster care. We’re looking for 49 mentors and 11 host families across the state to meet real needs—families like a mom in Port Charlotte who is navigating an incredibly tough season. Her 2-year-old son lost his father earlier this year, and she’s working hard to rebuild stability. Having grown up in foster care, she’s determined to create a different future for her son: 💜Finding a home of her own 💜Returning to school 💜Creating a will to ensure her son is cared for She’s kind, motivated, and open to support—but she can’t do it alone. This training is an opportunity to learn how you can make a lasting impact in the lives of families like hers. Whether you can mentor or open your home, every small act of care makes a difference. 🔗 Sign up today: https://ow.ly/pqk050UqzEB Together, we can build a community where families feel supported and children thrive. #BetterTogether #Volunteer #CommunitySupport

2 Ways to help families in need this Christmas! 🎁 1️⃣ Adopt a Family: Fulfill a family’s wish list and deliver their gifts. 2️⃣ Donate Toys: Provide new, unwrapped toys for kids ages 0-17. Key deadlines: • Toy Donations: December 10. • Adopt a Family: December 15. No matter how you choose to help, your involvement will deeply bless the families in our community this holiday season. Learn more and sign up at https://lnkd.in/eXApdfNc. #HolidayGiving #CommunitySupport #BetterTogether

Can you be a friend? 🫶 That’s what it means to volunteer as a mentor with Better Together. You meet with a parent who wants support, encourage them, and help them navigate challenges. All the while, we walk alongside you both. As mentor Sahara Hines so beautifully explains: “She was the driver. I was just holding the map.” This giving season, consider giving the gift of time as a mentor through Better Together. Connect with us to learn more: https://lnkd.in/g9xTarnv #Mentorship #Volunteer #GivingBack

CEO Megan Rose got to share our mission with philanthropists across the U.S. this week. In the Free to Give campaign, Philanthropy Roundtable featured Better Together and an interview with Megan, where she spoke in depth about how we help families through crises and prevent the need for foster care, how we work with churches to connect job seekers to meaningful work, and how private funding helps us build trust and create individualized solutions for families. “We are making families stronger, and strong families make strong communities.” — Megan Rose Thank you, Philanthropy Roundtable, for this impactful opportunity! Read more: https://lnkd.in/e9SSnS8d #FreetoGive #BetterTogether

A Night to Reignite… ✨ Osayamen shared her impactful story while holding her boys Zenai and Zaire close to her sides. An art wall featured the moments and stories of our families, volunteers, and supporters. Generous donors added their mark in pink and purple paints. A live auctioneer entertained and brought home the final mile to our fundraising goal. Thank you, all, for a wonderful A Night to Reignite fundraiser at the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala. Your generosity raised $53,190 to help families through our programs. See more moments in our blog: https://lnkd.in/eYGJCeb8 #BetterTogether #Night2Reignite

Make a difference this holiday season 🎁 Your help can bring joy to families in need! Today is the last day to sign up as a volunteer for our Christmas Toy Drive. We need dedicated individuals to help pick up and deliver toys to our drop-off locations. 🚚 Not able to volunteer? You can still support families by donating toys or adopting a family. Every action counts! 👉 Sign up or learn more: https://lnkd.in/eXApdfNc Together, we can make this season a little brighter for children in need. ✨ #VolunteerOpportunity #CommunityImpact #BetterTogether

This Giving Tuesday, you can make a real difference! 💜 Thanks to our generous friends at Grace Community Church, every dollar you give will be matched up to $5,000—doubling your impact for families in need. That means together, we can raise $10,000 to strengthen families, prevent the need for foster care, and build stronger communities. Your support makes all the difference, and this is a beautiful opportunity to help even more families thrive. 📅 Save the date: Dec. 3 💌 Give today: gracesarasota.com/give Let’s come together to spread love and hope this Giving Tuesday. With your help, we’re truly Better Together! #GivingTuesday #GraceGives #BetterTogether #SupportFamilies #StrongerTogether

Lives changed 🔔 When 16 job offers are made on the spot, that’s 16 life-changing opportunities. Even more, our pop-up job fair at King Solomon United Baptist Church in Jacksonville connected 95 job seekers with work opportunities and resources, like the TRIO Educational Opportunity Center or Fatherhood P.R.I.D.E. In addition to job offers, 40 interviews were conducted or scheduled, and 25 people took advantage of free job coaching. Lives are indeed changing, and together, we’re building stronger communities. Thank you to all the volunteers and supporters who made this day possible! Find more job fairs coming up in Lakeland, Fort Pierce, and Bradenton: https://lnkd.in/edTVRmYM #BetterTogether