Thank you to everyone that joined us to celebrate the hard work and dedication of our volunteers!
On Tuesday, April 16th, we gathered with our volunteers, friends, family, and community to honor the men and women that volunteer their time for children and families.

Congratulations to the DFCS CASA of the Year : Catherine Tillman and Ellen Harris
Congratulations to the Athens-Oconee CASA Volunteers of the Year: Ellen Harris, Bonnie Tappan, and Catherine Tillman

Every year, November is recognized as National Adoption Awareness Month (NAAM), and, of course, this is something near and dear to the hearts of everyone at Children First, Inc. The goal of NAAM is to raise awareness of the need for adoptive families for children in the foster care system. This month also includes National Adoption Day. On this day, which is normally a Saturday, thousands of adoption cases are finalized in courthouses across the country.

We believe that it is necessary to focus on the most important person in adoption cases, the adoptee. Their voices are important, and they need to be listened to before, throughout, and after the adoption process.

To learn more about NAAM, visit the website for lots of information and how you can help bring awareness to the issue. The following are websites and hashtags that are adoptee focused:
You Gotta Believe
​Sharing Your Story
Georgia Em​
#naam18
​#flipthescript

 BOn November 5th, 2018, Athens-Oconee CASA hosted a Foster Care Candlelight Vigil to bring light to our local foster children. With electronic candles in hand, community members, Children First, Inc. employees and volunteers, and representatives from other agencies walked through the streets of downtown Athens and gathered outside of the Athens Courthouse. We listened and learned from several speakers including Judge Robin Shearer, Valarie Norwood, and Catherine Tillman.

We are so thankful for all of our supporters of the event! Thank you to each of the agencies that came to share more information about how to support local foster children, to our speakers, and to our volunteers.

You can read more about our event at Flagpole Athens. Below is a slideshow of photos from the event!