2025 Friends of Children Annual Luncheon Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF)

In 1977, a group of 10 concerned Arkansans founded Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, believing that children needed an independent voice to speak up for their interests.

In that spirit, we invite you to join us for our Friends of Children Annual Luncheon on October 21, 2025, at the DoubleTree Hotel in downtown Little Rock, where we’ll celebrate the power of advocacy in improving the lives of children and families across our state.

A table for 10 is $750 and sponsorships begin at $1,000. Individual tickets are $75 each.

This year, we are privileged to honor Eric Gilmore and Dr. Sheldon Riklon for their important work on behalf of our state’s children, youth and families, and for all they’ve done to ensure that kids in Arkansas have the resources and opportunities they need to be healthy and successful.

Find more information about our honorees here.

Since 1977, our legislative advocacy and policy recommendations have helped create enduring social change in our communities. We want to improve opportunities for children – to make them less likely to drop out of high school, more likely to read on grade level, less likely to live in unsafe housing, and more likely to break the cycle of poverty.

All proceeds from the event – sponsorships, ticket sales and donations – benefit the work we do at Arkansas Advocates. Your support helps to make Arkansas an even better place to be a child.

If you have questions or would like more information, contact Fran Carter at 501-476-3477 or by email: fcarter@aradvocates.org. We look forward to having you with us on October 21!

We Thank Our Sponsors

All of us at Arkansas Advocates would like to thank the following “friends of children” for their support of our luncheon! Thank you all for helping us to recognize our honorees for their decades of work on behalf of Arkansas’s children. You’ll find information about sponsorship benefits here.

Presenting Sponsor

Your name could go here!

Champion of Children Sponsors

Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield

Barbara Miles and Hank Bates

Friend of Children Sponsors

Arkansas Children’s

Arkansas Community Foundation

AFMC

Arkansas Hospital Association

AT&T Arkansas

Baptist Health