Maria E. Henderson

Think about what your life would be like if you had not had access to education, health care, and a safe living environment as a child. Now imagine having a serious illness or a disability and being denied health-care services. Perhaps you would have fared poorly in school because no one addressed your learning disabilities and you were presumed to be a disruptive child. Maybe your mother quit her job to help care for you, leaving your family impoverished, and yet you still did not get the health-care services you needed to thrive.

Every day, through its Children’s Legal Services Grant Program, The Florida Bar Foundation is using your gifts and its other funding to help the most vulnerable among us — children — secure the services to which they are legally entitled. A low-income parent juggling jobs and childrearing may not have the time or understanding to navigate the labyrinthine systems to get appropriate education tools, health care, or other support for his or her child. Through our Children’s Legal Services programs thousands of Florida children are helped, children just like Austin, whose story is in this issue.

Remember that Austin’s story is one of many that you have made possible through your contributions and pro bono service. Thank you for that support, and I encourage you to continue it by making another contribution this year on your Florida Bar Fee Statement or by giving online.

Maria E. Henderson, President