By selling stuffed animals, USFP students Linda Esposito and Emily Brown will raise money for abused and neglected children.

Visitors to Bartow's Main Street Friday Fest on November 21 can help University of South Florida Polytechnic students raise money for the Guardian ad Litem program. Students Emily Brown from Auburndale, Linda Esposito of Winter Haven, and Bettina Hawkins, Haines City, will have a booth in front of Guardian ad Litem, 205 Main Street. The trio will sell stuffed animals for $1 to $3. They also plan to sell $1 raffle tickets for a battery-operated tiger that sings "You are So Beautiful."

The Florida Guardian ad Litem program is a partnership of community advocates and professional staff that speaks on behalf of Florida's abused and neglected children. According to Brown, the idea to support Guardian ad Litem grew out of a human relations class at USF Polytechnic, where student groups chose a community service project to direct and conduct during the current semester.

"Our group is called ‘Up for the Battle,'" says Brown. "With the funds we will buy diapers, clothes and gift cards for teenagers the program sponsors for Christmas."

According to Cara Hewett, mental health counselor and adjunct instructor, "These students are working hard on this project to make it successful and should take great pride in what they have accomplished. Service learning projects are an important addition to classroom learning and help to provide a better understanding of human relationships and the needs of so many people in Polk County."

Brown thanks Community Bank of Florida and Heart of Florida Dental, Dr. Steven Ciaravino, for generously supporting the effort to aid Guardian ad Litem.

Open to the public, Friday Fest runs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Main Street in Bartow.