Positive experiences help heal wounds caused by neglect and abuse. These new wheels help.

We are grateful to IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area for providing the Children's Neighborhood with funding for our "Wheels of IMPACT" grant in 2023. Since 2008, Children in Crisis (CIC) has given a loving home to over 1,000 abused children, providing them with the quality care they need while in our Children’s Neighborhood. Our program relies on reliable transportation as these children are required by foster care agencies (Families First Network/Northwest Florida Health Network) to participate in eight off-site visits per month to become better integrated into the community. In addition, we carry children to appointments, school, recreational activities, and cultural enrichment activities.

The funds we received from the IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area grant were used to purchase two new vehicles for Children's Neighborhood, replacing two vans that had become unreliable. Having these new Wheels of IMPACT enables us to seek out fun, educational venues and events throughout the four counties to give our children and youth a variety of positive experiences to help heal negative emotional experiences due to abuse, neglect and abandonment.

We have found that deeper conversations often happen during appointments and even while driving to the store. One of our soon-to-be adopted children asked during transit, “Do you think my new family will let me have a cat?” With tears of joy, the response was, “I certainly hope so!” These conversations matter and are so important. At Children in Crisis, we commit ourselves to family time, every moment of the day, even while driving to the store.

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Not that long ago we received a 16-year-old girl, overwhelmed with being three grades behind while taking care of all of her brothers and sisters. Unfortunately, this happens all of the time, but with the right help, housing, care and transportation, she is now back on track to graduate. It all started with a foster child placed at Children in Crisis who depended on us to safely transport her to her school orientation − sparking her determination to study harder. She is now on track to graduate!

We know from experience that positive communication and affirmation are gamechangers; they instill hope and set the tone to help reverse unfortunate traumatic events. At CIC, we look for intentional moments to impact and navigate our foster children to their next destination − and Wheels of IMPACT has helped us do just that! We are looking forward to more success stories like these because Children in Crisis was able to provide total care for our foster children at The Children’s Neighborhood. We know that our Wheels of IMPACT aren't simply two new vehicles. We think of them as two time capsules, where moments are treasured and later fondly remembered as Children in Crisis provided total care for these children.

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We leave you with the words of Judith Rodin − "Without impact, innovation is just an idea with promise." With the help of IMPACT 100, The Children's Neighborhood will continue to stand by our promise to impact children in the most innovative ways. We are grateful to IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area for answering our cry for help on “Million Dollar Sunday.” Our Wheels of IMPACT will continue to help us heal trauma-related experiences while transporting our children to appointments, school activities, and community events for normalcy.

Thank you, IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area, for standing behind your ethics for 20 years, for being women committed to improving your community, and for providing substantial grants to nonprofit organizations in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties.

Kevin Maloney is president and CEO of Children in Crisis.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Children in Crisis van possible thanks to Pensacola Bay IMPACT 100