VERO BEACH — Marine Bank employees and customers joined together to make the holiday season brighter for foster children in Indian River County through their donations for the Children’s Home Society Annual Toy Drive, which matches foster children’s holiday gift wishes with donors who turn those wishes into reality. In addition to hosting the annual toy drive, Marine Bank has sponsored many events and is a sponsor of the upcoming Tumba La Casa event slated for April 16 to benefit Children’s Home Society programs and services, including Baines Hall Girls Group Home, Youth Transition Center and Transitional Living Program. The bank also spearheaded a recent initiative through the Treasure Coast Exchange Club to supply educational media materials including books, CDs, and magazines for the Transitional Living Program.
“This was our first year participating in the toy drive,” explained Georgia Irish, Vice President and Manager at Marine Bank’s Beachland Boulevard location and member of Children’s Home Society Indian River County board of directors. “We began supporting Children’s Home Society three years ago when they were raising the funds to build the Youth Transition Center. It’s heartbreaking to think of these young adults being on their own and facing the early years of adulthood without the support of a family.”
The Youth Transition Center and Baines Hall Girls Group Home are located on the Vero Beach Campus. The Youth Transition Center provides independent living apartments and case management services for young adults, ages 18-23, who are transitioning into adulthood out of the foster care system and enrolled in the Treasure Coast Division’s Transitional Living Program. Baines Hall, located adjacent to the Youth Transition Center, provides a home for girls, ages 12-17, that are currently in the foster care program through no fault of their own as a result of abuse, neglect and abandonment.
The Children’s Home Society of Florida Treasure Coast Division, which is one of 14 divisions in Florida, serves more than 9,000 children and their families each year in Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee and St. Lucie counties. Children’s Home Society is not a government agency and must rely on the support of individuals, civic groups, foundations and businesses for the funds to give children and young adults the opportunity to be safe, healthy and prepared for life. For more information, visit www.chsfl.org or call 772-344-4020.
