Join Us in Making a Difference This Summer - Your Support Matters!
Summer is in full swing here, and while the days are hot, our hearts are even warmer with all the exciting things happening across our community! As we move through the season of sunshine, celebration, and connection, we’re thrilled to share some of the highlights from the past few months.
🌐 The Launch of Our New Website – redesigned to better serve families, partners, and supporters
✏️ Celebrating a Successful 2025 Back-to-School Bash
🎄 Rudolph in July - help make spirits bright for children in foster care
💙 Inspiring Success Stories that continue to remind us why we do this work
Thank you for being part of our Heartland family. Let’s keep the momentum going as we continue building brighter futures—together!
HFC's 2024-2025 Impact Report
This past year, Heartland for Children remained committed to building brighter futures for children and families across our community. Together, we are making a difference—one child at a time.
Help brighten the holidays for over 1,500 children who have experienced abuse or neglect in Polk, Highlands & Hardee Counties through our 21st Annual Rudolph Round-Up Toy Drive! Get involved:
💞Do you have the heart to care + home to share? 🏡 Learn how you can make a lasting impact in the lives of children in foster care. Together, we can give them the love and support they deserve.
CarePortal is connecting technology that drives action for local children and families in crisis. Join the network and instantly connect with urgent, real-time needs such as a bed, a car seat, rent assistance, and more can provide critical, immediate relief and restore a family back to a strong and healthy state.
Last week, we had the joy of serving over 200 children and blessing our incredible foster and adoptive families as they get ready for a brand-new school year. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support and generosity of our amazing community!
🎉Congratulations Crystal Lake Elementary, A Community Partnership School!
🎉Big congratulations to our partners at Crystal Lake Elementary on improving their school grade to a “C” for the 2024-2025 school year! 📚💙💛
We’re so proud to stand alongside CLE and their incredible staff, students, and community partners who have worked tirelessly to support student success through onsite programs and services. This is what collaboration looks like—and we can't wait to see them SOAR even higher in 2025-2026!
Terrence's Reunification Story
After losing his children’s mother, Terrence moved from New York to Polk County with nothing but determination. With support from our Fatherhood Specialist, Reginald, he overcame homelessness, strengthened his parenting, and reunited with his kids. Now, they’re together and healing. 💖👨👧👦
We celebrate the Ruiz family and their incredible journey to adopting three beautiful sisters! "From the very beginning, they just blended in with us, and to the point that if you didn’t know our story, you’d think they were biologically ours. We are beyond grateful for them and the blessing they are in our lives."
Even on a mild day, a parked car can become dangerously hot in just minutes—rising 20 degrees in 10 minutes—putting children at serious risk. Because kids’ body temperatures rise five times faster than adults', even a quick errand can turn tragic. Always check the back seat, set reminders, and communicate clearly with anyone caring for your child to prevent a heartbreaking mistake.
Drowning is 100% preventable—yet in Florida, it remains the leading cause of child deaths. As we dive back into swimming season, let’s take action to keep kids safe! Supervision, barriers, and swim lessons can make all the difference.
