The Florida Bar Foundation

Kamesha's story

After bouncing from a relative's home to a foster home and from school to school, Kamesha Grant found herself in danger of not graduating on time. Making her situation even more difficult, the 17-year-old was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

How Legal Aid Helps

Legal Aid fought to make sure Kamesha, now 18, received the mental health treatment and financial benefits required by law, and Kamesha's advocate helped her find stable transitional housing.

Kamesha is now on track to graduate from high school with the rest of her classmates and is successfully transitioning into adulthood.

Kamesha's story is real and not uncommon. Thanks to Legal Aid, it had a positive outcome.

One hundred percent of gifts to the Lawyers' Challenge for Children go directly to Children's Legal Services grants, which are used to provide legal aid:

• for learning disabled children in need of testing and educational services required by law
• for children suspended from school or placed in the hands of juvenile justice authorities or law enforcement for behavior problems directly related to a disability
• for older foster children who do not receive mandated independent living skills training and, at age 18, are simply removed from state care
• for disabled children improperly denied federal disability benefits, or for foster children denied health care or mental health treatment ordered by the courts

Read how the Lawyers' Challenge for Children campaign
helped Xiomara Medrano

Children’s Legal Services Grants

Since 1999, The Florida Bar Foundation has funded special annual grants for legal assistance to children out of IOTA funds. Starting in 2000-01, gifts to the Foundation from The Florida Bar Fee Statement have supported these grants.

The Foundation set several goals for its Children's Legal Services grant initiative, but emphasizes access to special education and health-care services required under law and to engage pro bono attorneys to provide legal assistance for low-income children. Another goal is to create and energize a statewide network of children's legal services advocates. The network also can provide support to the thousands of Florida attorneys involved in Children's Legal Services through guardian ad litem and other pro bono projects.

In 2009, the Foundation gave Children's Legal Services grants totaling more than $2.8 million to 23 local legal aid and legal services programs to help children like Kamesha become productive adults. All funds contributed to the Lawyers' Challenge for Children provide direct support to programs that better the live of Florida's children. No administrative fees are deducted from these contributions.

2010-11 Children’s Legal Services Grants

How to Make a Gift on Your Florida Bar Fee Statement:

1) Fill in the amount of your tax-deductible contribution to The Florida Bar Foundation on the front of the 2009-10 Florida Bar Fee Statement in the box next to the suggested contribution level of $45. (Larger contributions are most welcome!)

2) Add the amount of the gift to the TOTAL PAID box and include it in the check total.

Or to Give Directly to the Foundation:

Donate online or send your tax-deductible gift payable to: The Florida Bar Foundation, P.O. Box 1553, Orlando, Florida 32802-1553. Please earmark your gift for the Lawyers' Challenge for Children.

View the list of Lawyers' Challenge for Children supporters.

For more information:

Annual Giving Manager
Michael Cooper
(407) 843-0045
Or toll free in Florida: (800) 541-2195