Over 300 community members joined us on April 2nd for our Annual Light of Hope ceremony. The event brought light to the 379 children in foster care in our area last year due to abuse and neglect. We were honored to welcome featured speaker and former foster youth, Josh Shipp, to join us for Light of Hope this year. We will also enjoyed musical performances by the Hirschi Acapela Choir, and a vocal performance by Kory King.

Featured Speaker: Abandoned and abused as a child, Josh was able to triumph over the tragedy. He is a young man, in his 20's, who grew up in the foster care system and has made it out to tell his story and motivate teens to have a plan, make good choices and become self-reliant adults, no matter their background. His message to teens and adults is to encourage everyone to overcome struggles and live life to the fullest. And he does so through the power of laughter. Josh is animated and hilarious, and his speaking style is challenging and thought provoking. He has spoken to more than one million people about how his opportunities in life have made him who he is today. To learn more about Josh visit his website at www.joshshipp.com.

Child Advocates would like to thank Kelly Trimble of Point of View Photography for donating her time to take the beautiful photographs you see above.