Local Spotlight: For Love of Children 

For Love of Children (FLOC) is a 100% volunteer-oriented organization with 10 strong programs that serve over 6,000 children in southern Ohio who are neglected, abused, in foster care or in need of community resources.  

Southwest Ohio Parent spoke to Beth Mann, president of the board at For the Love of Children, about this nonprofit that helps the children of Dayton.  

How did For the Love of Children get started? 

FLOC was established in the early 1980s by caseworkers at Montgomery County Children’s Services who realized children in their care would not receive Christmas gifts unless they did something about it. They delivered their own personal Christmas gifts to 35 children that first year. Today, our toy cottage provides Christmas magic with toys for over 1,500 children in need.  

How do you connect with kids that need your services? 

We are partnered with three area low-income schools and with all the children represented through Montgomery County Children’s Services.   

What impact does For Love of Children have on the kids it serves? 

After our first gala, we worked with Children’s Services to best allocate the $28,000 raised. We were told that 70% of the children in foster care did not know their birth dates. We found two private detectives who donated their time to find these important dates. Now, every child in foster care through this agency knows their birth date and is celebrated by both a card and a gift card.  

We have a boutique brimming with new gowns, formal wear for men and women, shoes, jewelry and hygiene bags. Every year, Independent Living hosts a winter ball for youth in foster care. They come into our boutique a little weary and confused; they float away feeling beautiful and loved. We have incredible volunteers who are invested in making these experiences a moment of joy, and they do! 

We have a grant-a-wish program where we get to do just that. Each month via Zoom, an unsuspecting, deserving youth attends our board meeting. We honor that youth’s special achievements by things like sending them to camps across the world, giving computers and equipment and lifetime membership to area museums. Whatever that wish might be, we’re there.  

What do you have planned for the future? 

Our offices will nearly double in space in early April. We will move up to the fifth floor of the Talbott Tower in downtown Dayton. With the new space, we will host tutoring, music lessons, cooking lessons and counseling. The sky is the limit! Our current offices will house the FLOC Rocks Pop Culture Museum and the boutique will become our new gift shop with all proceeds going to FLOC. 

How can people help For Love of Children? 

Please check out our website for further information on FLOC at  flocdayton.org, or reach out to Beth Mann, president of the board for FLOC at [email protected]. We are most grateful to live in a community with such a kind and generous heart. 

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