Dear Friend,

Back-to-school season can be tough for any child -- a new routine, new teachers, new classmates, homework. Now imagine being a child in foster care, dealing with all of that in addition to being separated from the only life and family that you've ever known. Children in foster care can struggle with issues like fitting in, the pain of emotional trauma, and having a harder time getting the support or extra resources they need to succeed. Thankfully, because of our caring CASA volunteers, they won't have to face it alone. Here’s how our CASA volunteers can help:

Providing Emotional Support

Returning to school can be a stressful experience for foster children. CASA volunteers offer crucial emotional support, helping children navigate the anxieties and uncertainties that come with a new school year. They serve as a steady, reassuring presence, providing comfort and encouragement.

Advocating for Educational Needs

Volunteers work diligently to ensure that foster children receive the educational support they need. This includes:

• Monitoring Academic Progress: CASA volunteers stay engaged with teachers and school counselors to track the child's academic progress and address any concerns.
• Fighting for Educational Stability: They advocate for maintaining continuity in the child's education, even amidst changes in their living situation.

Facilitating Communication

Effective communication between schools and foster families is essential. CASA volunteers:

• Attend School Meetings: They participate in school meetings with caregivers and educators to ensure that the child's needs are communicated and addressed.
• Bridge Gaps: Volunteers help bridge any gaps between the school and the foster family, ensuring that the child’s educational needs are met.

Promoting Positive School Experiences

Volunteers encourage foster children to participate in extracurricular activities and social events, helping them build friendships and a sense of belonging. They also support foster parents in providing a positive school experience.

As you can see, there is much that our CASA volunteers can help with. Your ongoing support helps us continue to recruit, train, and supervise more volunteers, that is instrumental in helping to create brighter futures for foster children in Lake County. Together with our devoted volunteers, we can make this back-to-school season a successful and supportive experience for every child in our program.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Along with her longtime service as a dedicated CASA Volunteer Advocate, Gala chairperson, and Secretary of the Board of Directors, Joanna Lynn and her husband Bill have also provided financial support through our monthly giving program and one-time donations. These generous donations allow CASA to provide training and oversight to all our volunteers. Without the staff and volunteers, CASA would not be able to provide the hundreds of abused and neglected children in Lake County with an advocate to help them navigate through the court system and meet the goal of having a safe and permanent home. We are so grateful for Joanna and Bill’s continuing financial support. When asked why she made her first gift, Joanna responded,

"I chose to contribute to CASA because I wanted to support an organization that I knew was well-managed and where I was able to see the benefits of my contributions. I knew my donations were going to pay for the staff and infrastructure needed to support the large number of volunteers doing their amazing work with abused and neglected children. Children shouldn’t have to suffer because of the adults in their lives and supporting CASA provides these children a real chance for a better life and a brighter future for all of us.”

Kudos for Some Amazing CASA Volunteers!

To CASA Tim for his continued positive “try, try again” attitude. He has a case with three teens and sometimes they can be hard to connect with, but Tim perseveres. The teens have moved multiple times and there have been some ups and downs, but Tim remains a calm and stable presence. 

To CASA Kelley for her hard work in successfully getting her seven-year-old CASA girl and her three cousins, who also reside in the home, into summer camp with a Mother’s Trust Fund award. This will be a big help to the family this summer and a great experience for the children. 

Connect with us!