Bobby Hoxworth, left, of First National Bank Texas presents a $75,000 check to Kevin Kyle, executive director of CASA of Bell & Coryell Counties.
The new First National Bank Texas conference room at CASA of Bell & Coryell Counties, 900 W. Irvin Ave. in the North Central Temple Historic District, was dedicated last week.
First National Bank Texas kicked off the “CASA for CASA” capital campaign with an historic $75,000 donation to CASA of Bell & Coryell Counties during the grand opening of CASA’s new home in Temple.
The donation is the largest corporate contribution ever received at CASA. The organization recognized the donation by naming the conference room in their new facility the “First National Bank Texas Conference Center.”
“This is a great day for Bell and Coryell County, and we are proud to be a part of that,” Bobby Hoxworth, president and CEO of First National Bank Texas , said. “I want to echo the idea that the work that’s being done here has an opportunity to expand and First National Bank Texas is proud to come alongside CASA and support this effort.”
Hoxworth presented the donation from the bank, headquartered in Killeen, to Executive Director of CASA Kevin Kyle before the ribbon cutting ceremony last week in front of the 900 W. Irvin Ave. location in the North Central Temple Historic District.
“He was actually one of the first business people that I reached out to when I took this job four years ago, and he responded and First National Bank Texas has been supporting us wonderfully ever since,” Kyle said.
Hoxworth shared that he was honored to support the work of CASA, or Court Appointed Special Advocates, and the volunteers who take on the role of making sure every child in foster care has a voice regarding their best interests.
“In order to effectively do the work they do, they shouldn’t be distracted by debt on facility or financial things like that,” Hoxworth said at the building dedication. “I’m proud that we, as the oldest bank in Bell County, are going to do our part to help see that this facility is paid for, so that it can be fully utilized, and there’s no distraction with debt service or paying interests.”
The donation will go toward the “CASA for CASA” capital campaign, which is designed to pay off the new facility within the next 5 years.
Campaign goals have been broken down into three phases. The first phase was to raise $100,000 to pay for the down payment for the building, and the goal was reached in April.
The second phase is to raise $250,000, with the incentive of naming opportunities for the building. The conference room has already been named after FNBT, but CASA is looking for donations of $50,000 for the naming rights of the training and family room and $25,000 for the lobby.
Phase three involves fundraising to completely pay off the new building, costing $450,000.
“To all those banker friends here today or if you have banker friends in this community, I hope you will tell them about this challenge,” Hoxworth said. “It’s not just banks, it’s all businesses coming together to help this capital campaign for such a worthwhile and needed effort in our community.”
The more support the organization has the more children can be served.
“These staff members and volunteers provide such a valuable service for so many kids who have been abused and neglected, giving them hope of a better and brighter future while making sure they are not forgotten while they are in the foster care system,” Hoxworth said.
According to CASA leaders, there are more than 1,000 children in the foster care system in Bell and Coryell counties, both ranking among the highest areas of Child Protective Services removals in Texas.
CASA reported 285 children were served in 2024.
The agency also reported that 58% of the children they served were reunited with their parent(s); 34% placed into permanent custody of relatives; and 7% were adopted with the help of the 125 volunteers in 2024.
CASA is projected to serve more than 350 children in 2025 and add at least 50 new volunteer advocates.
“This incredible gift will help pay off our building debt so we can reinvest even more funds back into our training and recruiting efforts, which will ultimately allow us to serve more children in our area,” Kyle said.
He hopes people continue to support CASA as needs grow.
“The wonderful support provided by First National Bank Texas gives us the opportunity to continue building awareness and recruiting people who have a heart for giving back and helping vulnerable children reach a positive outcome and hopefully be reunited with their families,” Kyle said.
