CASA Christmas 2021 Grateful for Donations!

Donations have poured in from all corners of the counties we serve making this Christmas one of the brightest for the CASA Children in a long, long time.  CASA Advocates have had the enjoyable task of selecting, wrapping, and delivering for their assigned children over the past few weeks.  As items were picked up daily by the advocates and staff members, more and more donations just kept rolling in.

CASA Supervisor Brenda Cuney personally delivered 10 bikes to different children and got to see the joy on their faces when their Christmas wish came true.  “It really is an amazing feeling to watch the children light up when we are able to bring exactly what a child has asked for.  We were truly blessed by these donations this year to provide such nice gift items and give these kids some joy” stated Cuney.

CASA Office Administrator Missy Hlavaty coordinated the entire effort that began more than 3 months ago.  “It’s just so much fun to see the support for our Christmas campaign grow each year.  We had so many new groups and clubs donating items over the past few weeks it was incredible.  And we love our longtime supporters just as much like HEB, Martin Marietta, Belton High School Athletics, and so many more.  It truly takes a village to make it all happen and we have been overwhelmed by the response this season” said Hlavaty.

A particular plea was made this year for gift cards for the older youth served by CASA.  The effort was successful as CASA received enough gift cards to supply every single child that requested a gift card so they could purchase needed items or use it for their own giving purposes to others.  Advocate Supervisor Deloris Thomas was instrumental in securing support for the gift cards after she first noticed last year that many older kids prefer to purchase what they want at Christmas time.  “Many of the teenagers want to buy clothes, or shoes, or other items that are personal to them.  Sizes vary and each kid has their own style, so gift cards are very useful in allowing them to make their own decisions about gifts” added Thomas.  CASA is so thankful to all of the agencies and individuals who donated funds to purchase gift cards or the actual gift cards to be distributed.

CASA was able to serve nearly 300 children with Christmas gifts in the past two weeks thanks to the donations from others.  This really is a special time of year and CASA would like to thank everyone who helped make CASA Christmas wishes come true.