|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
A Point of Light
Governor Crist honors Pandora de Balthazar for her efforts to help foster families
The party inspired her to learn as much as she could about the needs and helping children in foster care. Last week, she was recognized by Gov. Charlie Crist as a Point of Light in honor of Foster Parenting Awareness Month. "Pandora's commitment to serving the needs of children in foster care is raising the Gulf Breeze community's awareness of children and families in need," Crist said in a statement. "She is setting a lasting example by making an effort every day to brighten the lives of everyone she meets." In the past two years, Balthazar has worked tirelessly and unselfishly to meet the needs of children in foster care. She has worked closely with dentists who volunteer their services to children whose dental needs otherwise would not be met.
Inspired in part by author Marian Edelman's book 'I Can Make a Difference,' Balthazar strives to help foster children and foster families whenever the opportunity arises. "I've been a proponent of children for a long time," Balthazar, 57, said. "As I began to work with local projects, primarily in Santa Rosa and Escambia counties, I began to see there were instant things that could be done that were small investments in time and money that could answer immediate needs and create immediate benefits. It was simple things." Balthazar referenced two foster children who were adopted by a family in Gulf Breeze. Neither the children nor the family had the financial means to outfit the two boys for school and athletics. Balthazar solicited donations from friends and was able to purchase several hundred dollars worth of clothing and athletic equipment for the former foster children. "I got a note back from those two young men, and one said: 'You just don't know how much better you made me feel when I went to school. I didn't know people like you cared about people like me,' " Balthazar said, her voice cracking. Balthazar credits the support she gets from her church - Pensacola Beach Community Church - and area child advocacy organizations such as the Families First Network. "We have formed a group of about 1,000 people who stand behind me, beside me and with me as first responders for the needs of foster children," she said. "We serve more than 5,600 kids. Those are just the ones we know about. It's estimated that there is an average of three times more (needy children) than what is reported out there in our community." Balthazar, who owns a successful fine linen business with locations in Pensacola and Texas, said children are a natural resource that must be nurtured. "They provide loving happiness and joy, and their very being provides a bright future. Without children, we simply would be old, aging people. But with children, we are invigorated, delighted and challenged. They bring challenge to our lives. They open doors. They educate us. We don't know it all. "With a child, we discover often how little we know and how much we have to look forward to." Balthazar said her goal is "to crosspollinate culture and education in such a way that every child gets a great education and has the opportunity to enjoy the brightest future. "We need to protect the children. Then we need to invest in making sure parents know how to be responsible parents," she continued. "We need to help parents keep the promises they've made when their child was born. "We need to help the child grow into the most responsible parent possible and break the cycle of negative abuse and neglect. We can do that. It's not going to happen overnight, but child by child it can happen in a generation." |
      |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
