Foster, Adopted Children Gather for Holiday Celebration

Santa hitched up his sleigh a little early to deliver Christmas to some Pasco County adoptive and foster families.

The special delivery on Tuesday, Dec. 20, came courtesy of Alli Gators Florida Bar and Grill in Trinity and a number of volunteer donors. The restaurant hosted the party for members of the Pasco County Foster/Adoptive Parent Association. The association supports and trains parents of adoptive children and people who run foster care homes.

This is the second year the business has put on a party for the association, said Alli Gators' founder Warren Dunphy, and the celebration was larger than last year’s.

“It’s the least we can do for someone who may not have a Christmas,” Dunphy said. “And it’s an honest thing."

There were 113 people at the party. Families supped on free food. Kids got stockings or bags stuffed with gifts. They rode the mechanical bull and played with balloon creations.

Gifts in the stockings or bags had been accumulated by Dunphy’s wife of 40 years prior to her death. Carol Dunphy died of a heart attack three weeks before the party, Warren Dunphy said. 

“It’s good that all that stuff that she bought is going to be appreciated,” Dunphy said.

Twenty families with adopted or foster children got $50 Publix gift certificates donated by a group of people that wished to remain anonymous, Dunphy said.

Another group donated gift certificates to Forever 21 to seven teenagers.

Fourteen donated Radio Flyer tricycles were also given out at the party. 

Lora Diaz, president of the association, said Alli Gators  goes “over and above” when throwing the party. It’s a chance for foster and adopted kids to play with each other, she said.

"It's wonderful when we get support from the community like this," Diaz said.

Currently, there are 304 children in Pasco County who have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect and are residing in foster care, according to April Putzulu, spokeswoman for Eckerd, which licenses foster care parents in Pinellas and Pasco counties and supports people seeking to adopt children.

"At this time, approximately 30% of total removals of children from their homes in Pasco County are related to abuses of prescription drugs," Putzulu wrote in an email.

There is a need for foster parents for kids in the county. If interested, you can contact Eckerd’s Foster and Adoptive Parent Recruitment Line at 1-866-233-0790 or visit www.EckerdCBC.org