This December, the Manatee Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller is filling living rooms with holiday gifts for kids in foster care—because every child deserves to wake up to something with their name on it. The Clerk & Comptroller partnered with the Manatee County Foster and Adoptive Parents Association (FAPA), an organization dedicated to strengthening bonds between foster children and the families caring for them, to provide new, unwrapped toys and gifts for children ages 0-18. Clerk & Comptroller employees donated nearly 400 toys and gifts during the month-long drive, digging into their own holiday budgets to support foster families. The Clerk & Comptroller’s four historical museums also collected donations from community members, who stopped by to drop off toys and gifts. Manatee County FAPA will distribute the gifts to families throughout the holiday season and into the new year—a reminder that foster families need support long after the festivities end and decorations come down.