The Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey “Be Amazed” Circus was recently in town, and with them came dazzling performances truly meant to amaze! EU Jacksonville was on hand to host 36 foster children and their chaperones to a performance on Martin Luther King Day. These children were part of the Guardian ad Litem program, whose responsibility it is to represent the best interest of children who are alleged to have been abused, abandoned or neglected because their parents cannot – or will not – take care of them. Many of these children had never had an opportunity to take part in an activity such as the circus, and all of them were excited and overwhelmed that an organization would treat them to such a great outing.
In addition to seeing all of the animals up close, there were clowns, acrobats and tight rope walkers.
Lucy loved the elephants and the way they could just use their trunks to lift the show girls onto their backs. Trey was so enthralled with the acrobats that he told his chaperone he wanted to join the circus when he grew up. Tonisha squealed with laughter at the humorous antics of the French poodles, and loved the fact that they ranged in size from mini to large.
EU Jacksonville has partnered with the Guardian ad Litem Program to support these children through activities that are fun, educational and promote normalcy. “We cannot thank EU Magazine enough for assisting us in making sure these children have the opportunity to do activities that are considered “normal” for other children”, said Melinda Brown, Circuit Director for the GAL Program. “While these children are in foster care it is sometimes difficult for their caregivers to provide many of the activities children would enjoy while living at home.”
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