Philanthropy | Providing Hope and Healing for Children: Graci McGillicuddy

By Ryan G. Van Cleave | Photo by Nancy Guth

In 1986, Graci McGillicuddy was reading a newspaper article about a 20-month-old child who died after being brutally abused by her mother and stepfather. “My own mom and dad were the most amazing, loving parents. They were wonderful and protective,” Graci says. “So, the thought of somebody doing that to a child was unfathomable. For me, learning about this tragedy was life changing.”

When Graci’s birthday arrived, she told her husband, Dennis, that instead of getting presents she wanted to donate money to an organization that was doing something about child abuse. Together, that’s what they did, and from that point on, Graci found a new purpose in life—preventing child abuse and providing care, support, and treatment for these vulnerable children. 

Like so many members of the local philanthropist community, Graci has no interest in leaving behind money. “I want to make a difference with it. I want to see where it’s going and what good it’s doing.” Financially supporting the effort to prevent child abuse was just the beginning of all the good she’s accomplishing.

Graci soon joined the Board of Directors of the Sarasota-based Child Protection Center in their “tiny little office on Main Street” because their mission was in alignment with her new goals as a child advocate. She quickly learned firsthand what Dr. Robert Block, a former president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, has claimed: “Adverse childhood experiences are the single greatest unaddressed public health threat facing our nation today.” Graci realized that she had to fight child abuse locally, but she also wanted to act in ways that can be used elsewhere to improve the lives of the 420,000 kids who are in foster care throughout the US.

In 2008, Graci led a $6 million capital campaign to build a state-of-the-art Child Protection Center that aids in the child abuse prevention, intervention, and treatment. But helping achieve that landmark wasn’t enough. She wanted to address an equally pressing need—creating a safe place for traumatized children to be loved and nurtured. That began her dream of creating a home where children could benefit from science-based, trauma-informed care in a safe, secure environment.

During this time, Graci helped create the Sarasota Sports Foundation, which held tennis and golf tournaments to raise money for different organizations that worked to prevent child abuse and support victims. She began to focus her efforts on supporting that organization, which was renamed the All Star Children’s Foundation by this point. Before long, it became clear to her that this was the pathway forward to creating a groundbreaking campus that could become the foster care model for the rest of the world. 

Instead of sitting back and leisurely enjoying their golden years, Graci and Dennis tirelessly spearheaded a $17 million capital campaign to create the All Star Children’s Foundation’s Campus of Hope and Healing for abused and neglected children in foster care. While the campus officially opened in November 2021, sheer need required them to begin accepting foster children the prior summer. 

Today, the completed campus at 17^th Street and Lockwood Ridge in Sarasota houses a 13,000-square foot pediatric mental health and treatment center, six licensed family-style foster homes, a clubhouse, lots of green space with vegetable and butterfly gardens, a playground, an outdoor movie theater, and a lot more. In short, it’s the ideal environment for children to be after experiencing trauma.

“It’s such a bright, welcoming place,” Graci says in that special way that grandparents use to talk about their grandkids. “The Florida legislature and three governors have been phenomenal in their support for all of this. I feel so blessed because nobody can do it alone. I’m so grateful we’re doing the work that I’ve been wanting to do. We’re really helping kids here.”

Now that the campus is celebrating its first anniversary, Graci is encountering success story after success story. “I see them when they come in, and then I watch the transformation that brings new light to their eyes. It’s just beautiful.” She says that the love people feel in the room with those kids is palpable.

“These kids have been betrayed by people who are supposed to care for them,” Graci explains. “I used to think they were bad people, but they’re just adults who are doing what was done to them. We need to heal the parents and be supportive of them, too. That’s how you break the cycle of abuse since so many of the birth parents are people who have been impacted by trauma themselves.”

To make that happen, “bio parents” receive support and treatment when they come to campus to read to their children at night or put them to bed or help fix dinner. That helps make the transition seamless. Everyone involved is getting the support they need in a structured, safe environment.

As All Star Children’s Foundation enters its second year of existence, it continues to transform foster care through innovation, science, and compassion. Graci notes how compassionate, and mission-driven their team is, and how much the clinical and campus teams—led by All Star’s Chief Programs Officer, psychologist Kristin Hoffman, PhD, formerly of Johns Hopkins, as well as the other leaders—are directly involved in serving each child. “Even our Chief Development Officer, Stephen Fancher, sets aside time each week to teach music to the kids!” she notes. “The team’s commitment was evident during Hurricane Ian, when board member and interim CEO Noah Riner as well as several staff members spent the night on the campus to provide support to our children and families.” 

The very next night after the hurricane, three children were brought to the campus after being removed from their home. Upon experiencing the safe and beautiful campus and the kindness of the foster parents, one child was deeply impressed, saying, “Wow, I get to actually stay here?” The child’s feeling reflected the mission of All Star, providing a place for healing to begin.

Graci invites everyone to get involved because the need is there, and science-based, trauma-informed care works. It just takes a place like the All Star Children’s Foundation to give children back their power in a culture of caring where they’re safe, valued, and supported—like ALL children should be.

FOR MORE INFORMATION on All Star Children’s Foundation, please visit www.allstarchildren.org or call 941.217.6503.