ABOUT US
Led by people who’ve lived it.
Don't Go Alone Orlando is led by foster and adoptive parents who know firsthand the difference a committed family makes, and who believe every young person deserves one.
OUR TEAM
The people behind the mission
Marci Chavalas
DIRECTOR, DON’T GO ALONE ORLANDO
With more than 20 years serving children and families as an educator, school leader, and church administrator, Marci is passionate about connecting youth with caring mentor families. As a biological, foster, adoptive, and guardian mom, she is committed to ensuring every young person knows they never have to walk alone.
Peter Amico
FOUNDING BOARD MEMBER
Peter and his wife Kendra are foster, biological and adoptive parents to six children. They believe deeply that all kids deserve connection.
OUR MISSION
To connect Central Florida's aging-out youth to lifelong mentor family relationships.
We believe lasting connection builds the belonging and self-efficacy that make a thriving life possible. It's the root of everything that follows.
Lasting Relationship →Belonging → Self-Efficacy→ A Thriving Life
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Faith-rooted where small beginnings compound.
All people bear God's image.
Every young person, mentor, and colleague is worthy of dignity before they've earned a thing. That dignity includes the right to choose, so we never impose connection. We invite it.
Genesis 1:27
Belonging is a promise, not a program.
We're not here to run good meetings or produce clean data. We're here because God sets the lonely in families, and we want to be part of how that happens in Orlando.
Psalm 68:6
We show up, and we stay.
Lifelong commitment is the point, and not just for the families we recruit. For us too. We model what we ask others to give.
Ruth 1:16
OUR PARTNERSHIP
A Connections Homes affiliate.
Don't Go Alone Orlando is launching with Connections Homes, a national organization whose mentor-family model has been proven over more than a decade. For our first three years, Connections Homes serves as our sponsoring organization and fiscal sponsor, which means gifts to DGA Orlando are received and receipted through their 501(c)(3) and are tax-deductible. We're building toward becoming an independent licensed affiliate, carrying the same model and the same commitment to the young adults of Central Florida.
THE NEED
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