CASA of Bell and Coryell Counties is proud to announce that 10 new volunteer advocates were sworn in to serve children in the foster care system on February 20, 2024 by Judge Chris Cornish in the Centex Child Protection Courtroom #1. One other new advocate was not able to attend the ceremony and will be sworn in at a later date for a total class of 11 new advocates.
The newest advocates successfully completed an in-depth 33-hourtraining course to be qualified to work with abused and neglected children who have been removed from their homes and placed into foster care. CASA advocates are assigned to one case at a time to become the voice for children who are not able to speak up for themselves. CASA advocates build a strong relationship with the kids so that they can make recommendations to the courts and let the judges know what is in the best interest of each child.
With this class of new volunteers, CASA of Bell and Coryell Counties continues to be one of the fastest growing CASA offices in the State of Texas. Melissa Ward is CASA’s Director of Volunteer Engagement and the person most responsible for the rapid growth over the past year. “We have an amazing team of supervisors and staff at CASA who support these volunteers every step of the way. It makes it easier to recruit when I can show potential volunteers how much support and help they will get once they join our team” added Ward.
“The work our advocates do is so meaningful – it impacts these kids’ lives forever” stated Executive Director Kevin Kyle. “There is no other volunteer role like this in the community – our challenge is keep increasing our numbers so that we can serve more children in Bell and Coryell Counties. I invite anyone that might be interested in being a voice for these kids to give our office a call or learn more online at www.casabellcoryell.org .”
CASA has added more than 60 new advocates over the past year. There are more than 1,500 children in Bell and Coryell Counties in need of a CASA. If you are interested in learning more about how to get involved, call(254) 774-1881.
Photo attached: (L-R)
Antonino(Roscoe) Orozco, Douglas Dotson, Danielle Garitty, George Antonio, Amber Martin, Judge Chris Cornish, Lilye Waters, Courtney Carter, Sarah Sanchez, Sharon Schawang, Janelle Williamson.
Not pictured is Graciela Daniels who will be sworn in at a later date.