I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to serve with CASA of Bell and Coryell Counties. This spring has been one of incredible success, growth, and good fortune thanks to many people who choose to support this noble cause. It always starts with the advocates – the volunteers who selflessly give their time, their talents, and their hearts to make sure the kids in our cases have someone to walk alongside and advocate for their best interests. This is no easy task – but I hope that in most cases, our advocates can eventually look back and see the tremendous impact they had on the life of a young child whose life was thrown into turmoil through no fault of their own. For that kind of effort, I applaud each and every volunteer we have serving the children in our two counties.
Up next is our incredible CASA staff – a true team of people who genuinely enjoy supporting our advocates and the kids we serve. This team chooses to make a difference every single day in the lives of so many CASA kids. It is an honor to see them help break the cycles of abuse and neglect for the many kids and families in our care. The positive energy they pour into every case, every report, and every visit energizes me daily to do more to support their efforts. I am proud to tell anyone who will listen that we have the greatest team of people ever assembled right here in Bell and Coryell Counties – and our staff helps prove that statement day in and day out.
And finally – I am humbled by the level of support that so many people provide for our agency. I would be remiss if I did not mention specific people who have had an incredible impact on our efforts to grow and prosper – and serve more kids. Mike and Sara Dent just made the largest single donation ever to our organization – thanks to the support they get from all over the community for their Wings, Pizza, n Things/CASA Classic Golf Classic. Local leaders like Yveta Phillips, Bette Robinson, Bill Wheeless, and so many others helped create and shape this agency in its early days and they remain involved in supporting our efforts now. Lee Ann Deal and our entire CASA Board of Directors provide direction, support, and guidance out of their love for the work we do.
All of these amazing efforts add up to making this one of the most successful eras in our CASA history. I enjoy promoting these accomplishments to encourage others to get on board now with CASA and help us continue building our program to have an even greater impact on the kids in our area. It takes just ONE person at a time to step up and get involved – as an advocate, as a donor, or as a supporter in some other way. We could not do this without you and ask that you help us continue to spread the good news and positive results we are enjoying right now. We still have more kids to reach – you can make the difference for us by getting involved today and sharing our needs with others.
Kevin
SPRING SUCCESS AND ACHIEVEMENTS FOR CASA
- Passed Texas CASA Quality Assurance Review with high scores of 99/100 and 96/100 in March
- Swore in the largest class ever of volunteer advocates (15) in April
- Achieved higher than 85% rate of cases served by volunteer advocates
- 2nd largest class of new volunteers began training in May
- Received $50,000 donation from Mike and Sara Dent and Wings, Pizza, n Things – support generated from the WPT/CASA Golf Classic held in May. Please see list of donors, sponsors, and friends who supported this event elsewhere in this newsletter