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Ninth Annual Light of Hope Breakfast
Friends of Iowa CASA & ICFCRB announces its Ninth Annual Light of Hope breakfast, which will take place from 7:30 - 9 a.m. on April 8 at Embassy Club West (520 Market St., West Des Moines). This annual breakfast fundraiser is free to attend and all are welcome.
Friends of Iowa CASA and ICFCRB is a non-profit organization that supports volunteer advocacy programs for children who experience abuse and neglect. Since 1998, Friends has served as the non-profit partner for the Iowa Child Advocacy Board and aided in sustaining and growing Iowa’s court-appointed special advocate (CASA) and foster care review board (FCRB) programs, which are comprised of 640 volunteers.
Light of Hope is an opportunity for everyday Iowans to learn how they may advocate for children in foster care placement and invest in the future well-being of all children determined to be in need of assistance,” Meghan Malloy, Executive Director, said. There are 1,761 Iowa children in a foster care placement, with another 2,082 children residing in an out-of-home placement with a relative or family friend.
“Light of Hope is more than a fundraiser, it is a time-honored tradition for champions of children,” Malloy said.
This year’s Light of Hope keynote speaker is attorney and author Andrew Bridge. Mr. Bridge grew up in foster care for 11 years in Los Angeles County, California. After aging out, he attended Wesleyan, and graduated from Harvard Law School. He received many academic awards and recognitions, including a Fulbright Fellowship and Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Residency.
Mr. Bridge’s career has nationwide impact: he started in Alabama, where his legal work resulted in the closure of one of the country’s most notorious psychiatric institutions, the Eufaula Adolescent Center. He returned to Los Angeles as CEO of The Alliance for Children’s Rights and chair of the county’s Blue Ribbon Task Force. Most recently, he was a member of the executive management team for Illinois DCFS, and currently serves on his home state’s Arizona Foster Care Review Board.
His memoir, Hope’s Boy, was a New York Times Bestseller and honored as a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post. His latest book, The Child Catcher, released in September, is also a National Bestseller, earning numerous accolades.
Event Links
Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/2963011-0
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/2963011-2
