All Star Children’s Foundation has announced a $3 million donation from the Louis and Gloria Flanzer Philanthropic Trust. The gift will contribute to the construction and operation of the foundation's five-acre campus currently underway at 3300 17th Street, Sarasota. 

All Star will begin treating children this month on an outpatient basis and begin accepting children into their family foster homes in late fall. Some 225 children will be treated in the first operational year.

Partnering with leaders across the child welfare system, All Star has tapped best-in-class partners to assist in their mission. Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital (JHACH) is providing critical clinical advice as well as serving as the lead research entity. The Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation, a major catalyst for improving the lives of the less fortunate in the community, has joined forces with the mission. And All Star was invited by Casey Family Programs—the largest operating foundation in the country focused on foster care—to participate in a national work group focused on how child welfare can be improved in the United States.  

“The focus of the Flanzer Trust is to invest in transformative non-profit ventures. All Star is a standout example,” says Dr. Dean Hautamaki, a Flanzer Trust trustee. “We are proud to be part of this visionary mission designed to heal children and families from the pernicious impact of trauma and, ultimately, impact the way foster care is approached on a state and national level. We were drawn to participate in this important work because the business model of All Star combines science, innovation and compassion in a way that will be transformational.”

Graci and Dennis McGillicuddy, the founders of the All Star Children's Foundation, are committed to changing the face of foster care in Sarasota. “The addition of the Flanzer Trust to our community  collaborators is going to be so impactful to our work, both in the short and long term," says Graci McGillicuddy.