American Red Cross (386) 752-0650 or (850) 878-6080 www.redcross.org Provides: emergency services to disaster victims and members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Teaches lifesaving skills in CPR, first aid, water safety, and health courses; emergency disaster shelter.

Boy Scouts of America: North Florida Council: (800) 232-0845 – www.nfcscouting.org Youth development program for young men ages seven to 18 years focusing on character development, citizenship, and fitness. Co-ed program for ages 14-20.

* CDS Family and Behavioral Health Services, Interface N.W. www.cdsfl.org Strengthens communities by building strong families through counseling, education, prevention activities, and community partnership efforts. Provides temporary shelter, time out, and counseling for youth ages 10-17 who are ungovernable, truant, or runaways. Family Action Counseling offers short-term counseling for families with youth 6 to 17 who are having trouble following rules, are truant from school, have run away, or are threatening to run away. The Independent Living Program assists youth departing or aging out of foster care.

Catholic Charities Bureau: (386) 754-9180 – www.catholiccharitieslakecity.org Emergency assistance with utility, rent, and sustaining food pantry. Feed-A-Family mobile outreach unit, gas vouchers for medical appointments or new employment. SNAP access Center for applications. Florida Gateway Food Bank, 553 NW Railroad Street, Lake City FL 386-755-5683 provides agencies, group homes, and church food pantries with USDA food and sharable food to alleviate hunger. Services are available at 553 NW Railroad Street, Lake City, FL

Columbia County Senior Services: (386) 755-0235 – www.ccseniors.com Provides services that help senior adults maintain their independence: housekeeping, bathing assistance, respite care, emergency alert, and home-delivered meals for homebound senior adults. Dementia daycare is also available.

*Early Learning Coalition of Florida’s Gateway: (386) 752-9770 – www.elcgateway.org The Early Learning Coalition of Florida’s Gateway (ELCFG) is committed to supporting parents and quality early learning programs that lead to children’s educational success. Current research shows that early learning programs increase children’s chances of achieving future educational success and becoming productive members of society.

ELCFG Offers:

Child Care Resource & Referral – this service is FREE to families seeking information on quality early care and education programs, regardless of their income.

School Readiness Programs – this program provides quality early learning services for children ages birth to 12 and is based on a family’s income. Parents are responsible for a portion of child care costs. Each early learning provider is entrusted to provide developmentally appropriate child care services, involve parents as their child’s first teacher, engage and support preventive measures for children at risk of school failure, enhance the readiness of children and support family engagement.

Voluntary Prekindergarten – VPK is a FREE educational program that prepares 4-year-old children for success in kindergarten and beyond. Children must reside in Florida and turn 4 on or before September 1 of the school year they enroll. Parents whose children are born between February 2 and September 1 of the calendar year may postpone enrolling their 4-year-old until the following year when the child is 5.

Early Learning Performance Funding Project – The project gives eligible, selected child care providers and their instructors an opportunity to earn additional compensation for improving school readiness program outcomes.

Professional Development Opportunities – The ELC of Florida’s Gateway provides opportunities for early learning educators to attend a variety of high-quality training opportunities throughout the year.

Girl Scouts of Gateway Council: (904) 388-4653 – www.girlscouts-gateway.org Provides an environment where girls ages five to 17 develop leadership and decision-making skills, a positive self-esteem and social conscience through community service and activities that are personally challenging. The result is girls becoming leaders who take action and make the world a better place – all in an atmosphere of fun and friendship.

Happy House: (386) 752-4736 – www.happyhouselc.columbia21stcclc.com Provides low-cost, high-quality early childhood program for children six weeks to 5 years of age. Scholarships may be available for qualifying families who are working, or seeking employment and/or educational opportunities.

The After-School program offers free services for children from Kindergarten to 5th grade. Bus transportation is provided.

Love INC. of Suwannee County: (386) 364-4673 – www.loveinc-suwanneecounty.org Love INC. aids the community with food, clothing, gas vouchers, prescriptions, utilities, budgeting and spiritual counseling. Bread is available. DCF representative in our office.

Suwannee County Police Athletic League: (386) 208-1494 Provides safe, adult supervised after-school programs for local youth ages 7 to 17. Programs include: sports; summer camp; arts and crafts; swimming; and tutoring in math, writing and reading.

*Suwannee River Area Health Education Center: (386) 462-1551 – www.srahec.org Provides services that promote health and wellness, prevent disease, and build capacity through professional and community level education. Services include Meeting & Association Services, CE/CME certification, training for healthcare professional, healthcare students, and community members. Healthy Community programs include Health Insurance Enrollment Assistance, FLAHEC Scholars program and Tobacco Cessation through Tobacco Free Florida AHEC Cessation program.

*Suwannee Valley 4Cs Head Start / Early Head Start: (386) 754-2222 – www.sv4cs.org  provides free early childhood services through Head Start (ages three to five) and Early Head Start (birth to age three and pregnant women) programs to low income families. Suwannee Valley 4Cs services include education, health, dental, disabilities, nutrition, social services, mental health and parent engagement. Each family must meet certain age and income eligibility requirements. Families receiving public assistance, homeless children, children in foster care and children with a disability (regardless of family income level) are automatically eligible.

*Three Rivers Legal Services: (386) 752-5960 – www.trls.org Provides free civil legal assistance to low-income individuals with family, housing, probate, consumer, guardian advocacy and elder law issues.

Vivid Visions: Hotline (386) 364-2100 or (800) 500-1119 – www.vividvisionsinc.org Assistance to victims of domestic violence that includes shelter, crisis hotline, counseling, advocacy, court advocacy, support groups, information, referrals and other services as needed.

Voices for Children of the Suwannee Valley is a non-profit organization that directly supports the 3rd Judicial Circuit Guardian ad Litem. The Guardian ad Litem is appointed by the court to represents the best interest of children that have been abused, abandoned or neglected. The mission of the Guardian ad Litem is to provide the most vulnerable children in Florida with an adult from their community who will be a consistent, positive presence in the child’s life as part of a multi-disciplinary team with trained volunteers, staff attorneys, and child welfare professionals providing the highest quality community advocacy and legal representation to protect each child’s rights and best interests

* Affiliated, non-funded agencies.