Celebrating the faith-based community’s devotion to distressed communities

BY APRIL PUTZULU, Juvenile Welfare Board

ST. PETERSBURG — Some faith-based leaders may question whether their mission is limited strictly to soul saving; others have expanded their role to include community saving.  For those who choose to do more and would like the opportunity to expand their role – perhaps to attract more youth, millennium families or simply a more diverse membership – there is a medium by which to achieve this goal.

The Juvenile Welfare Board invites everyone who is interested to attend an upcoming Faith-Based Symposium on Thursday, Feb. 16 from 8:30 -4 p.m. at BridgePoint Church, located at 6690 Crosswinds Drive N, St. Petersburg.

You will join others from the faith-based community, social service providers, community organizations and community champions at this fourth annual event, sponsored by Family Oriented Concept Unified to Serve, affectionately known as FOCUS, in partnership with the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County, the Florida Dream Center and Eckerd Kids. This year’s theme is: For Maximum Impact, Be the Change!

Participants will be treated to special guest speaker Florida’s Chief Child Advocate Zachary Gibson from the Governor’s Faith-based and Community-based Advisory Council. He and other community leaders will be on hand to impart their wisdom and learn about the high level of engagement of the Pinellas County faith-based community in helping hurting, broken and challenged populations throughout the county.

This year’s theme allows for the faith-based community – who are historically our first responders – to meet others and learn outreach strategies, community initiatives and systems changes that are in place to assist with Pinellas County’s most vulnerable populations in high need communities.

You are invited to join us for this learning experience with all the deserve praise and be inspired to do more for the oppressed, the widowed and the fatherless.

For more information, contact JWB Senior Special Projects Coordinator Trenia Cox at (727) 453-5624 or tcox@jwbpinellas.org.

To register online for the symposium visit 2017focussymposium.event.com. To register by email or phone, contact Millicent Battle at (727) 453-5660 or mbattle@jwbpinellas.org.