Who Loves Ya? Bruce Lev

Bruce joined our Board of Directors 6 years ago, when he first sat on the Public Relations and Communications Committee, leading our branding campaign.  With Bruce, the LevLane leadership team of Lori Miller, Drake Newkirk, Jerry Selber and Scott Tartar, worked to help us better connect with the Philadelphia community through the way in which we present our work.

Bruce and his staff, including current account manager Cortney Boothman, have made many notable contributions to Child Advocates.  Bruce and LevLane re-branded us in 2006.  The now familiar logo symbolizing our kids' unbalanced lives and the moving tagline "Change the story" have  been a hallmark of our communication strategy.  Through mostly pro bono service, Bruce and his team have been responsible for a constant creative flow of images including the new "girl on a ball", representing the balance we bring to our kids' lives.

"Bruce elevated our public profile, which is most important because it advances our work," said Executive Director Frank Cervone.  "It brings attention to the kids, their needs, and our efforts to help."

Bruce's campaigns often bring a company's goals to light.  Some of his prominent clients in Philadelphia include Beneficial Bank, Philadelphia Corporation for Aging, and KFC.  Additionally, he has worked with non-profit organizations such as the American Red Cross and Big Brothers Big Sisters SEPA. 

Bruce and LevLane embrace a "who loves ya?" philosophy: their clients are known to have strong connections with the public, which is not a coincidence.  Their style of branding encourages companies to befriend their customers and their advocates alike.

The energy and vision Bruce has brought to Child Advocates through the years will be missed as we bid him farewell from the Board, though we look forward to years of continued work together. 

Thanks to our Funders  

Announcing a PCCD Grant 

and our Center for Excellence in Advocacy!

We're delighted to announce a wonderful new initiative that we are developing - our Center for Excellence in Advocacy (CEA).  Thanks to a two-year grant from Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), we are able to secure a consultant to launch CEA and eventually hire additional staff to lead the effort. Through the generous grant of $200,000 over 2 years, we are realizing a longstanding dream of becoming a regional training center for advocates throughout the state, thus helping improve the lives of all children and youth in Pennsylvania's system of care. We are both honored and excited to take on this challenge. Our thanks go out to PCCD for their confidence in us and their generosity!   

Staff in Action 

Mili Roca leads LGBTQ project

Child Advocates provides free legal and social services to more than 800 children and youth.  Of those clients, thirty have received the special attention to their individual needs through our Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Questioning (LGBTQ) Youth Project, led by Milagros Roca (Mili), a staff social worker. 

Mili joined Child Advocates in February of 2011 where she teams with volunteer attorneys in representing clients to ensure appropriate social services and a safe living environment.  Through her work she provides case consultation and support to her colleagues, and training for child welfare professionals to improve their practice with LGBTQ youth.  In May, Mili was selected by the Daniel Memorial Institute to speak at the 19th Annual "Footsteps to the Future 2012" Conference in Orlando, Florida. Her presentation was titled "Best Practices with LGBTQ Youth in Foster Care" and addressed unique issues and challenges faced by LGBTQ youth in the child welfare system.  Mili sees a lack of training in this area and a need for sensitivity toward these children.  Often, the needs of the children are not met by their caregivers and as a result, the rate of runaways and removals from foster homes are on the rise. Forty percent of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ.

Mili's mission is to make the child welfare system more aware that these youth exist and that they have unique needs. In response to the need for better training for care givers, Mili has collaborated with the Bryson Institute of The Attic Youth Center, an organization that works to promote diversity and inclusion to make LGBTQ youth feel more comfortable.  She is also currently working with the Department of Human Services as they update their LGBTQ online resources. She has recently reached out to PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), a nonprofit organization for family members of the LGBTQ community, to see where our organizations can partner together to best serve these youth.

Mili's work with the Child Advocates LGBTQ Youth Project is generously supported by individual donors and private foundations, including the Carpenter Foundation, the Samuel S. Fels Fund, the Thomas Skelton Harrison Foundation,the Hoxie Harrison Smith Foundation, and Women's Way.

Upcoming Events

The 7th Annual Child Advocates Golf Classic

Join us on October 1st for the 7th Annual Child Advocates Golf Classic.  Bring colleagues and clients to enjoy a day of golf and help us raise much-needed funds for our Project for Medically Needy Children.

Last year we raised more than $ 112,000 to support our work with chronically ill and severely abused children.

We are currently looking for volunteers to be on our Golf Committee.  If you're a golfer, or if you want to change the story for our kids, we need you!  

For information about Sponsorships or volunteering, please contact Linda Pusatere at 267-546-9216 or lpusatere@advokid.org.   

Register Today