Coleen LaCosta
Photo by Lisa Kanstroom/Cellcosmet, Saks Boca Raton
Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a committed community to support a child in foster care.
Speak Up for Kids of Palm Beach County, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2008, was created by a group of community leaders — including Commissioner Gregg Weiss and attorney Vicki Tucci Krusel — as the fundraising arm of the Florida Guardian ad Litem program.
Focused on easing trauma and building self-worth, the West Palm Beach organization works to alleviate the insecurity, anxiety and stress faced by an estimated 400,000 children in foster care nationwide, offering a range of life-supporting programs.
Coleen LaCosta joined in June 2017 as its first executive director, having previously worked in the State Attorney’s Office and for a companion agency that advocates for children.
“I’ve always had a passion for helping child victims,” explains LaCosta, 61, of Lake Worth. “Then this opportunity came along, and it was a perfect match.”
She collaborated with staff member Fiona Wade and former foster child and adoptive mother Trish Zenczak to launch the nonprofit’s Students Speak Up for Kids program during the pandemic, encouraging student-led, project-based advocacy benefiting foster youth involved in Palm Beach County’s dependency court system.
The initiative quickly gained momentum and now includes more than 14 high schools.
“It’s so fulfilling to see how kids want to support their peers in foster care, and [the program] creates empathy, student leaders and philanthropists,” LaCosta says.
Additional programs followed, expanding the organization’s reach across everything from life skills and housing support to advocacy and milestone celebrations. These projects include a digital Life Skills Portal and resource concierge, Homes of Hope efforts like Foster Palm Beach and the Healing Hearts Podcast, courtroom advocacy through the Florida Guardian ad Litem Office and essentials-driven initiatives such as Embrace Kids and Gift-A-Birthday.
Events the charity hosted or participated in earlier this year include the Black & White Gala, PopStroke WPB Giveback Ambassador-Led Event, BAPS Charities Walk/Run, Mix & Mingle and Palm Beach County’s Graduation Celebration for foster youth, in partnership with ChildNet. The Her Health Summit is planned for October. LaCosta adds that additional funding comes from grants, holiday gatherings and corporate sponsorships, and she credits the organization’s success to its dedicated staff and volunteers, as well as “the support of our great community.”
For more information or to support Speak Up for Kids of Palm Beach County, call 561-408-7779 or visit speakupforkidspbc.org.