Dear Friend,

As we enter the holiday season, we are reminded of the importance of family. For many, this time of year is filled with joy, togetherness, and celebration. However, for the children we serve in the foster care system, the holidays can be a difficult reminder of the challenges they face. Many foster children find themselves without the stability and support of a permanent family during this season, which can be especially hard when the world around them seems focused on family gatherings and traditions.

At CASA Lake County, we know that it is during times like these that our role as advocates becomes even more crucial. These children need to feel seen, heard, and cared for. They need someone who will stand by them, listen to their needs, and fight for their well-being. The presence of a CASA advocate in a child's life can make all the difference, offering a source of consistency and compassion when they need it the most.

We are incredibly grateful for the many community partners who help us collect gifts, winter clothes, toys, and other physical items for the children we advocate for. These donations bring so much-needed joy to their lives. However, there is something even more important that we ask for this season: your support in ensuring that every child has a CASA advocate by their side.

Our CASA advocates are not just volunteers—they are champions for the children who need them most. They offer stability, advocacy, and support, often becoming the one constant in a child's life during an uncertain and turbulent time.

This holiday season, we invite you to help us spread hope and joy in a way that will last beyond the holidays. By becoming a CASA volunteer or supporting our work, you can ensure that foster children have a caring, reliable advocate to guide them through this season and beyond. Every child deserves someone who believes in their potential, and with your help, we can make sure they don't have to navigate the foster care system alone.

Thank you for your ongoing support. We wish you and your loved ones a joyful and peaceful holiday season, filled with love and hope for the future.

Warm Regards,

We are partnering with local Starbucks stores and local businesses again! The stores below are all hosting one of our giving trees this year. If you spot one, you can help us fulfill a Lake County child's wishlist by:

1. pulling a tag
2. purchasing the item listed on the tag
3. bringing item(s) back to the store (unwrapped)

There will be a large donation box besides the giving tree where you can drop off gift items. CASA will collect these donations regularly through the end of December.

Thank you to our partners for helping to make the holidays a little brighters for children in the foster care system!

🎄Antioch - 560 E 173

🎄Barrington - 101 W. Main St

🎄Barrington - 120 S. Northwest Hwy

🎄Buffalo Grove -1665 N Buffalo Grove Rd

🎄Buffalo Grove - 820 N Milwaukee Ave

🎄Grayslake - 775 Belvidere Dr

🎄Gurnee - 7105 Grand Avenue

🎄Gurnee - 1500 Nations Dr

🎄Hainesville - 60 E Belvidere Rd

🎄Highland Park - 2060 Skokie Valley Rd

🎄Highland Park -1833 Deerfield Rd

🎄Highland Park -1849 Green Bay Rd

🎄Curt's Cafe Highland Park -1766 2nd St

🎄Highwood - 950 Sheridan Rd

🎄Lake Bluff -18 N Waukegan Rd

🎄Lake Forest - 672 N Western

🎄Lake Zurich -195 S Rand Rd

🎄Lake Zurich -775 S Rand Rd

🎄Lakemoor - 31600 US Hwy 12

🎄Libertyville -159 W Buckley

🎄Healthy Body Healthy Mind Libertyville - 1029 W Park Ave

🎄Move Studio Lincolnshire - 300 Village Green

🎄Long Grove - 4196-A Rt 83

🎄Mundelein -1050 N Rte 83

🎄Mundelein - 420 N Lake St

🎄North Chicago - 2313 Green Bay Rd

🎄Palatine - 791 E Dundee

🎄Round Lake - 1904 N Rte 83

🎄Vernon Hills - 1240 E Route 45

🎄Vernon Hills - 1640 N Milwaukee Ave

🎄Vernon Hills - 271 Townline

🎄Volo - 2745 Hartigan Rd

🎄Waukegan - 3300 W Grand Ave

🎄Waukegan - 780 Lakehurst Ave

🎄Waukegan - 3220 N. Lewis Ave

🎄Zion - 4570 Rosecrans Rd

We are grateful to the North Suburban Church of Deerfield for their donation of Thanksgiving baskets containing a variety of non-perishables and 2 lbs of ground beef and a chicken. This donation of 85 baskets fed 363 people!

Thank you to the church and to our CASA volunteers who picked up and dropped off baskets, for supporting our CASA children and families.

With the help of our community and our generous matching donor, we raised $15,866 on Giving Tuesday! Because it costs CASA $2,500 to train and supervise a CASA advocate for a child for a year, that means that six additional children will have the support of a caring CASA volunteer. We're so grateful for everyone who made a donation or shared our social media posts!

Kudos for Some Amazing CASA Volunteers!

To CASA Heather on her five-year anniversary with CASA. Heather has advocated for fifteen children over the past five years and currently has two cases where she continues to advocate for three children. Heather is a constant in her CASA children’s lives and works hard to support them and their foster families in any way possible. Heather is also a strong supporter of our program and mission and we are so grateful for her dedication.

To CASAs Jody and Tanya for their committed advocacy for three children who were happily reunited with their father. Jody and Tanya brought warmth and encouragement to their interactions with their family. They were pleased to see and report how well the children were doing with their father. Jody, who has been a CASA volunteer for almost fifteen years, happily stated that she has never been so sure about the successful conclusion of her case. We are so grateful for their help in seeing this family become healthy and stable.

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Mission Statement

CASA Lake County exists to promote and protect the best interests of youth who have been found to be abused, neglected, or dependent. We train and empower volunteers to advocate for them in the courts and in the community to help them safely return to their families, or when not possible, help them achieve safe and permanent homes where they can thrive.