**Court-Appointed Volunteer Advocate** I am a trained and certified court-appointed volunteer dedicated to representing abused, neglected, and abandoned in dependency court. With fifteen training certificates to my name including two that focus on sexual abuse, I bring a wealth of knowledge to role. I strive to connect children with relatives and friends for placement, helping to ease the trauma of adapting to new environments. I advocate for keeping together and ensure they have regular visitations and phone contact with supportive family members. My responsibilities include investigating and advocating for the children’s medical and educational needs, ensuring they receive timely support. I prioritize normalcy in the lives of the children by focusing on their social and emotional well-being, encouraging their involvement in recreational activities like music and sports that empower them to realize their full potential. I also submit best interest recommendations (briefs) to the court to support the children's welfare.
**Animal Rescue Volunteer** I volunteer at an animal rescue, where I manage application processing. I conduct thorough background checks and interviews with veterinarians, homeowners associations, employers, and references. I have tried fostering dogs, I often find myself adopting them instead. ---
**Community Advocacy** As a board member of Margate Neighbors Corp, I am committed to enhancing the quality of life for socio-economically disadvantaged and families. Through initiatives focused on supporting children's education, school readiness, and access to healthy food in underserved communities, I work to strengthen our community. I also serve as a board member and community advocate for Oceans Charter School, a tuition-free public charter school dedicated to academic excellence and student success through marine studies. In this role, I help steer the school's mission, ensuring it provides innovative educational opportunities and fosters strong community engagement for the benefit of students and their families.
***How I Serve Our Community***
I volunteer in community building and created the "Margate Neighbors" Facebook group. I dig deep local issues and come up with practical solutions to our community. I successfully collaborate with other groups and other 501(c)(3) to organize a large-scale toy drive in just three months, benefiting 900 children and their families. With the support of our community, I've grown the group to nearly 21,000 local in 5 years, encouraging everyone to make a difference. I continually take part in food drives, community cleanups, and provide school supplies to five schools, as well backpacks for first responders helping children in crisis across 6 cities. I also support our local businesses by promoting their events, advertising, volunteering whenever needed.
"Everyone has 'heart tug' for something, a passion Start volunteering there." - Nina Culver