The Heart Gallery of Broward is committed to showing our foster youth are not forgotten as they await a forever home. Our youth enrichment programs are designed to help our youth gain experiences that their peers have daily in their lives. It is through generous donations and our funders that these programs are made possible.
Birthday Buddy
The Birthday Buddy program encourages anyone to get involved in foster care by giving a birthday gift to a child in our gallery. Support a child's birthday by either contributing to our Birthday Buddy fund or by donating gift cards. This will allow them the power and choice to select gifts they want based on their interests and passions.
Heart Days
While our children are waiting for their forever homes we work to support them through outings and experiences in collaboration with ChildNet and community partners. These events help show them they are not forgotten while also allowing potential adoptive families a way to interact with the children in a low-pressure and fun-filled environment.
Peer-to-Peer Teen Group
A peer-to-peer group for Heart Gallery teens that is youth-led and facilitated by both a Heart Gallery young adult adoptee and a previous Heart Gallery youth who aged out of care. We aim to create a safe space for our foster teens to navigate the complex decisions they face on choosing to either pursue adoption or age out of the system. We also believe this will help youth be more successful in their matches as it will help them prepare for adoption if that is their chosen path. This program is funded by FPL.
Back-to-School
We host two Back-to-School events before school start. The first event is a day when our youth come out to shop at Galleria Fort Lauderdale with $500 Amex gift cards and volunteer personal shoppers escorting them throughout the mall, helping them budget and pick out outfits. Our second event arranges salon days for haircuts and styles, manicures, and pedicures.
Holiday Party
Our Heart Gallery Holiday Party takes place every December. We pick unique outing experiences combined with holiday activities, Santa, and gifts. Our gifts are specially curated to our youth's interests to show them that they are seen and loved as the unique individuals they are. Each youth also receives an Amazon gift card to select their own gifts to celebrate the holiday season for themselves or their friends.
