Manatee Clerk brings holiday cheer to local foster kids and families

Image: Clerk Angel Colonneso with CSP, Historical Resources, Finance, and Recording team members

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.

"On behalf of all of the foster and adoptive families that we serve, we want to thank the Clerk & Comptroller for their outpouring of support and generosity through their holiday toy and gift drive," said Michele Connizzo, President of Manatee County Foster & Adoptive Parents Association. "Holidays can oftentimes be hard for the children of the families we serve, but the toys and gifts donated will bring such joy to them."

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.

“These kids deserve a holiday focused on just being kids," said Angel Colonneso, Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller for Manatee County. "They deserve the same wide-eyed wonder and breathless anticipation every child feels waking up on Christmas morning.”

This year’s toy and gift drive is another way the Clerk & Comptroller lives its motto: 'We are here with integrity and  service to all.' For foster families in Manatee County, that service means showing up—not just in the courtroom or in an office, but on Christmas morning and throughout the year.

Published date: December 22, 2025