 The volunteer appreciation event this year celebrated the hard work, dedication and accomplishments of our volunteers in CASA and Childcare programs. On May 1, we had a great time enjoying the backyard barbeque, outdoor games and sharing stories of hope and compassion with our volunteers, their families and friends and the community.
Throughout the year, our CASA volunteers have been spending countless hours ensuring that our community's most vulnerable are heard. They act as legal advocates for abused and neglected children, speaking up for their best interests in court and in the community. Meanwhile, our Childcare volunteers have been providing care for children in foster care while their foster parents are in continuing education classes. They have helped to surround children with strong, adult role models.
Being a volunteer is not an easy task. Preparations are filled with loads of information. They share the sorrow and joy with the kids and listen to their deepest concerns. They feel happy and blessed when seeing kids end up in safe homes, but might also experience frustration and anxiety when the best place available is not where they ideally desire. But after going through all the process, it is always rewarding to see a positive difference being made in children’s lives.
Now it is time for us to celebrate and to express the deepest gratitude. Thank you to all our volunteers for your dedication, your love for children, and the positive impact you have made in children’s lives.
 For 10 years National CASA received $12 million in funding for the CASA program through the Victims of Child Abuse Act. We have used these vital funds to provide advocacy, training and technical assistance in support of almost 1,000 CASA programs around the country serving 240,000 neglected and abused children each year. Last year Congress reduced the funding for CASA programs to $4.5 million. And now, the Administration has proposed eliminating all funding for this vital program in FY 2013. A team of CASA representatives met with 40 congressional representatives last week and learned that there is a chance to restore full funding for this program provided enough congressional offices urge appropriators to do the right thing. But timing is critical. You must do two things right now to restore CASA funding:- Immediately use Email, Facebook and Twitter to pass this alert along to staff, volunteers, board members, and your networks of friends and colleagues.
- Immediately contact your two senators and your one member of the US House of Representatives and send them the letter below. (You can cut and paste it into your email)
You can reach the two senators and one representative in our region from this link: http://www.congressmerge.com/onlinedb/cgi-bin/newseek.cgi Click on the “Contact Forms” and it will link you directly to each of the three congressional websites, from which you can submit your request. It is imperative that we act quickly. If you have any questions, contact: staff@CASAforChildren.org. Message to send to congressional offices:Please urge the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce and Justice to restore appropriated funding of $12 million for the Court Appointed Special Advocate program for children (CASA). Tell the subcommittee of your support, and include the CASA program on your appropriations programmatic request list. CASA saves lives—The program has achieved unprecedented success in breaking the cycle of abuse and neglect, and offering our most vulnerable children hope of a safe, loving, permanent home. CASA saves billions in taxpayer dollars—Every dollar spent on CASA yields $23 in savings in the foster care and family court systems. CASA is good policy—It is the model of an outstanding public/private partnership. A nonprofit organization, backed by the Department of Justice, and fueled by 75,000 volunteer child advocates. The need is urgent—With current resources we only reach 240,000 of the nearly 660,000 children in foster care. The proposed budget cut would devastate our ability to reach even the small fraction we do today. This is society’s obligation—Protecting the rights and safety of abused and neglected children is one of society’s most fundamental obligations. Restoring this funding is neither controversial nor debatable. These children need our help and CASA is the proven solution. Thank you for your attention and support of this critical issue!
 On March 1, our eight new volunteer advocates of the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program were sworn in at the Children First Pope Street Cottage. They will advocate for 10-15 abused and neglected children in the Athens-Oconee court system. These volunteers, as appointed by a juvenile court judge, will be gathering information about the children’s cases, attend all court proceedings and give independent reports to the judge in the best interest of the children. They will help to ensure that the children they speak for will have a safe and permanent home as quickly as possible. Carol Pickersgill, one of our volunteers, expressed her excitement for this moment and cannot wait to start working. “I’ve already made an appointment to see my girl to get things moving forward.” said Carol. Knowing that the little girl likes to read Stephen King, Carol decided to bring her a book of Stephen King and a snickers bar for her. At the same time, the volunteers are also aware that being a CASA means taking responsibilities. “It’s an awesome responsibility in every sense of the word.” said Julie Bower, a new CASA volunteer. An appreciation dinner was followed after the swearing in. Friends and families celebrated this special moment together with our volunteers and staff. More pictures of the ceremony and celebration can be found on our EVENTS page and FACEBOOK page. Our Athens-Oconee CASA program now has 54 volunteers working with over 110 children. We are currently recruiting new volunteers for its May training session. You can find the information on the CASA page of our Website by clicking HERE.
Susan Williams has been a CASA volunteer for the past four years and has truly embodied the work of a CASA and what it means to advocate for a child in need. She resides in Bogart, GA and is a wife and mother of three. After she heard about CASA from a friend who learned the program from the Athens Banner-Herald, Susan was immediately intrigued and couldn't wait to learn more. Having some previous experience with the foster system, Susan knew this would be a great fit for her. With the career background as an architect, her precision and eye for detail shows in the meticulousness in which she maintains her CASA notes and files.
In her four years with the program, Susan notes that there are some ups and downs that come along with the territory. She finds one of the most challenging aspects of being a CASA is the heart-broken feeling that can come along with the job. “Sometimes kids end up in the best place available, but not where you ideally desire” she says. On the other hand, Susan finds it utterly rewarding knowing that her time, effort and passion to help will potentially better the outcome of a child’s life because a CASA was there to speak for them. The most valuable lesson Susan takes away from this experience is the fact that the work is truly worth the investment of yourself and your time. The advice she gives to future CASA volunteers would be to utilize your resources, run all information, questions and concerns by your supervisor and rely on the support they give. Susan is truly dedicated to her position and has made a difference in her community and in the lives of the children she has advocated for.
Thank you to the Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority for their consistent support of the Athens-Oconee CASA Program. The recently held a "Rock the CASA" BBQ and raised nearly $9,000 through the Tickets Fore Charity event! These women have been dedicated advocates for CASA's cause for years, and our CASA program would be hard-pressed without them. Photos From the Rock the CASA BBQ
 Renaldo Stover, one of our dedicated CASA Volunteers, was interviewed at the 2010 National CASA Conference. Renaldo talks about his work with a teen in foster care, his dedication to family connections, and his efforts to give this teen opportunities for success. Take a few moments to hear his story. Click here to find out more about Renaldo and his work as a child advocate.
Thank you to everyone who helped with our recent CASA Recruitment effort! We held our Volunteer Orientation for prospective CASA Trainees and we are excited to have 14 potential Trainees for our Fall 2010 Session. Thank you especially to WUGA, the Flagpole and HandsOnNortheast Georgia for their efforts to recruit advocates for abused and neglected children. Training begins September 7th and these new advocates in training will spend then next month learning to be a powerful voice in the life of a child. Thank you also to Hester Nguyen and Beth Johnston, 2 current CASAs that came to speak to the new recruits. Beth and Hester were able to answer many questions and speak about their own experiences, expertise, successes, and challenges as child advocates.
Please join us in welcoming these new Court Appointed Special Advocates in training. We applaud their interest and dedication to serving some of the most vulnerable youth and families in our community!
 We had such a great time at CASA Day at the Braves Game! There were around 500 CASA Advocates and supporters at the game! We got to meet some of the team, and Georgia CASA received the State Farm Good Neighbor award on the field. Also, we were able to get some balls and memorabilia signed by a few star players! These items will be raffled off as part of this year's Casa Mia, Mi Corazon Event.
Check out the photo gallery before to see all the fun we had at the game. We hope you can join us next year!
 Children First is now recruiting community volunteers interested in being legal advocates for abused and neglected children in our community. We will be holding our Fall 2010 CASA Training Session during the month of September. As a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), you speak for a child who's been neglected, abused, ignored, and has now entered the child welfare system. You'll be trained. You'll have a cause. With a first and last name.CASA volunteers are community members just like you. Ordinary people doing the extraordinary. To find out more, click here.
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