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CASA of Central Texas advocates for abused and neglected children in the court system by recruiting, training and supporting community volunteers.
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Welcome to another edition of CASA Up Close Monthly. Please feel free to contact CASA for more information about anything you read. And, as always, thank you for your continued support.
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Letter from the Executive Director
We Still Have Work to Do
As Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month comes to an end, I am reminded of the saying "it takes a village to raise a child." In the fight against child abuse, we must all join together.
In 2015, there were 1,537 children in the CASA of Central Texas four-county service area (Caldwell, Comal, Guadalupe and Hays) that were confirmed victims of abuse and neglect. These children are the true definition of victim. Through no fault of their own, their lives have been turned upside down. Even the ones who were fortunate to have their abuse reported still faced the turbulent waters of foster homes, court appearances and separation from their family and all that is familiar.
CASA's passionate and dedicated advocates are working with these children to ensure they receive the attention and help they need, but one organization can not tackle the issue alone. It takes all of us.
We thank all of our local communities and partner agencies who recognize that child abuse and neglect is a real concern and needs local action. We deeply appreciate the individuals and leaders who proclaimed April as Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month, announcing they are committed to this fight.
I encourage each person reading this to stop for just a moment in our busy activities and think about the children who are suffering in silence. We ask for you to make a commitment to ensure these children get a fair chance at life. Although the month of April will end with the flip of the calendar, abused and neglected children will continue to need our voices until each and every one has been given the safety and security they deserve to grow and thrive.
Norma Castilla-Blackwell
Executive Director
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April Proclamations
Local government officials read proclamations throughout the month, officially recognizing April as Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month. Thank you for your support!
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San Marcos
Photo by Don Anders
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Proclamations were also held in Caldwell County, Comal County, Garden Ridge, Martindale and Wimberley.
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Give Big Through the Big Give
Mark your calendars for May 3rd! CASA is excited to participate again  in The Big Give S.A., a 24-hour online giving day created to raise money and awareness for nonprofits throughout South Central Texas.
We will be hosting a Happy Hour at our New Braunfels office from 5-8 p.m. Join us to make your donation in person and grab some food and drinks with other CASA supporters!
HELP US WIN AN EXTRA $1,000
The New Braunfels Area Community Foundation will award $1,000 to the organization that has the most donors in the
7 - 8 p.m. hour!
Save your donation for that hour and help CASA win the prize!
Fill out our online pledge form to get an email reminder on May 3rd from CASA about The Big Give
by clicking here.
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Become a CASA Volunteer
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CASA Volunteer Toni Urban sworn in March 2014
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Sign up for a 2016 Training Session
For more information on training sessions contact Training Coordinator Debbie Haynes at 512-392-3578 or by
email, or click
here
to visit our website.
A New Volunteer Training Course is required for all new Court Appointed Special Advocate Volunteers.
The Volunteer Training Course is a 6-part training series and all 6 classes are required.
Upcoming Training Courses
May 9 thru May 8, Mondays and Wednesdays
4:30 PM to 8:30 PM, San Marcos
May 10 thru May 26, Tuesdays and Thursdays
1:00 PM to 5:00 PM, New Braunfels
San Marcos
Historic Hays County Courthouse Room 101
111 E. San Antonio Street
New Braunfels
CASA office
1619 E. Common Street, Building C
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Our Advocates
CASA Volunteers were honored on April 29th at our Spring Permanency Luncheon. The lunch recognizes volunteers whose children have been placed in safe, permanent homes through family reunification, placement with relatives, independent living and adoption.
CASA supervisors shared stories about the cases and the work each volunteer did to advocate for the best interest of the children. The stories were a reminder why it is important to keep working toward providing a CASA for every child in care.
Advocates honored at the luncheon were
Gary Aalen, Lynnette Barker, Sherryl Barker, John Barthel, Earl & Sue Dittman, Sherril Dubois, Mary Eisenberg, Charles Ellis, Carol Entringer, Joan Guzaldo, Rosa Hernandez, Beverly Hoffman, Kern Huff, Debra Jenkins, Carolyn & Ren Liner, John Manthey, Sara McCaffrey, Melanie Musgraves, Larry & Kathie Patterson, Songa Ploeger, Bill Raissle, Melinda Rapp, Calvin & Sonya Rodriguez, Dorthea Walker, Patty Willett, Betty Wisnosky, and Michael Vybiral.
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Thank you to everyone who helped make Ciao CASA on April 8th success! It was a great night to honor CASA supporters Hays County Judge Bert Cobb, M.D. and Comal County Court at Law #2 Judge Charles Stephens.
Guests heard from the honorees, bid on great live and silent auctions items, danced to live music from the Texas Tides, ate dinner from Texas Pie Company, and heard about the impact of CASA volunteers from former foster youth Justice LaRue.
It was a great night!
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Honoree Hays County Judge Bert Cobb, M.D. with former CASA youth Justice LaRue and CASA Executive Director Norma Blackwell
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Staff represented Honoree Judge Charles Stephens with former CASA youth Justice LaRue and CASA Executive Director Norma Blackwell.
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Thank You to our sponsors
Campania Level
Veneto Level
Tomblin Family Foundation
Toscana Level
Friends of Canine Classmates, Maribess and Jerry Miller, Mariposa, Apartment Homes at Hunter Road,
McKenna Foundation
Sicilia Level
Airforce Turbine Service, Alligator Dental, Carol and Charlie Little, Children's Dental Ark, Christus Santa Rosa Hospital, CMC Steel, H-E-B, Ingram Family Foundation, Kasha Corp/South Texas ADR, River City Engineering, State Representative Doug Miller and Miller and Miller Insurance
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Voices Tour Information Sessions
Want to learn more about the role of a CASA Volunteer?
Come to
our
one-hour information session and hear how our volunteers advocate for children who have been abused and neglected.
CASA staff and
volunteers will be on hand to share their stories and answer your questions.
Voices Tours
New Braunfels
Wednesday, May 4th, noon
CASA office
Seguin
Monday, May 9th, 5:30 p.m.
GVEC Community Room, 927 N Hwy 46
San Marcos
Wednesday, May 18th, noon
Historic Hays County Courthouse, Room 101
Please RSVP to Eloise Hudson by
email
or at 830-626-2272.
Would you like to host a CASA Voices Tour in your town? Please contact us!
Lunch provided by Fox's Pizza Den in New Braunfels and Chick-fil-A in San Marcos.
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Saying Goodbye to Volunteer, Board Member
CASA of Central Texas said goodbye to a long-time supporter, volunteer and friend on March 26.
John Davis joined CASA as a volunteer in 2007. He served on 3 cases involving 5 children.
He also served on the CASA of Central Texas Board of Directors from 2009-2015.
He was an attorney for 47 years and also served in the United States Marine Corps.
John will be greatly missed by his CASA of Central Texas family.
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Student Learns Through CASA Internship
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Nick Funari
Texas State University, Public Administration studies.
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"The opportunity to work as a development office intern has provided me with a number of unique chances to grow both professionally, and as an individual.
When I started in January, I began converting grant files from paper to electronic PDF. I started with the year 2010 and am now working on completing grant file year 2012. Although grant file conversion is my primary responsibility, I have learned about many other areas of CASA's operations.
As part of my internship, I went through the advocate training program. After successful completion, I was sworn in to represent the best interest of abused and neglected children in the Family Court System as a Court Appointed Special Advocate.
I have found Community Outreach to be perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of this internship. Attending a Board of Directors meeting, I saw first hand just how CASA operates within and outside itself in regards to its strong ties with the community. The lessons that this internship has taught me are nothing short of second to none. I have valued every chance to learn."
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Board Retreat
CASA's board of directors gathered April 22nd for a development retreat.
Participants gained increased levels of commitment, engagement, presence, openness, rejuvenation, definition, hope and getting a "Round Tuit!"
 It was a great afternoon of learning, listening, sharing and having fun - all the while centered on our common purpose - helping abused and neglected children through effective community outreach.
Many thanks to the San Antonio Area Foundation for funding this valuable work and to Fayruz Benyousef Consulting for being our super facilitator!
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April has been a busy month for CASA! You may have seen us at
The Community and Wellness Expo in New Braunfels,
GSMYC Youthfest in San Marcos,
Taste of Change Pachanga in Seguin,
The Seguin Chamber of Commerce,
PES Walk for Kids in Buda,
Child Abuse Awareness Fair in New Braunfels, the
Schertz Volunteer Fair,
New Braunfels Kidsfest,
Hays-Caldwell Child Wellness Extravaganza in Buda,
Wayland Baptist Church Open House in New Braunfels,
The Comal County Public Heath Fair in New Brauinfels,
Guadalupe County Child Welfare Board 5k in Seguin,
New Braunfels Parks and Rec All Abilities Fair, and the
TLU Beta Ronald McDonald House in Seguin.
Look for us April 30th at the
New Braunfels Crawfish Races, the
Belk Charity Day in New Braunfels,
Seguin Trade Days and the
Bulverde Chamber Market Day.
If you know of an event in your community where CASA could have an information table, please contact Laura Torres by
email.
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Author Speaks to CASA Volunteers
A continuing education class was held for volunteers on April 27th at the San Marcos Police Department. Author Rannah Gray spoke about her book "Familiar Evil" in which an international investigation was sparked when a man named Ethan reached out to her. Together they worked to expose a popular TV personality in Louisiana as a child predator. Ms. Gray also generously donated two of her books to the CASA Continuing Education libraries.
The next Continuing Education,
Recognizing and Reporting Abuse
will be held on May 17th at the Comal County Children's Advocacy Center.
If you missed the presentation and would like to hear Rannah Grey, she will be presenting at the McKenna Event Center on Friday April 29th from 9 a.m. to noon. It is free and open to the public.
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Help Us Recruit Volunteers
Do you love CASA and want to help recruit volunteers? Now you can get the word out by being a host for one of our CASA Voices Tours Information Sessions.
How? You pick a tour date and location that works best for you, commit to invite your friends and join us for the session. Let us do the rest. Our goal is for you to have five of your friends or colleagues attend as your guests and for them to hear why you support CASA. Then a CASA staff member will explain the history of the program, what's involved with being a CASA and how to get started. We believe your personal invitation will go far in encouraging people to learn more about CASA, and help us reach the goal of providing a CASA for every child in State care.
CASA will also invite people through social media and word-of-mouth so expect to see faces new to you, too!
Voices Tours are held from noon - 1 on the first Wednesday of each month in New Braunfels and the second Wednesday of each month in San Marcos. Additional dates and locations are scheduled upon request. Please contact
Eloise Hudson if you would like to host a Voices Tour.
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Upcoming Events
May
3rd
Big Give S.A.
12 a.m.
online
4th
Voices Tour in New Braunfels
Noon -1 p.m.
CASA office
9th
CASA Volunteer Training Begins
4:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Historic Hays County Courthouse room 101
9th
Voices Tour in Seguin
4:30 - 8:30 p.m.
New Braunfels CASA office
Advocate Continuing Education
18th
Voices Tour in San Marcos
Noon - 1 p.m.
Historic Courthouse room 101
June
1st
Voices Tour in New Braunfels
Noon -1 p.m.
CASA office
7th
Voices Tour in Seguin
Voices Tour in San Marcos
Noon - 1 p.m.
Historic Courthouse room 101
29th
CASA Volunteer Training Begins
1 - 5 p.m.
Historic Hays County Courthouse room 101
30th
CASA Volunteer Training Begins
4:30 - 8:30 p.m.
New Braunfels CASA office
July
Noon - 1 p.m.
6th
Voices Tour in New Braunfels
Noon -1 p.m.
CASA office
Voices Tour in San Marcos
Noon - 1 p.m.
Historic Courthouse room 101
August
3rd
Voices Tour in New Braunfels
Noon -1 p.m.
CASA office
Voices Tour in San Marcos
Noon - 1 p.m.
Historic Courthouse room 101
24th
CASA Volunteer Training Begins
4:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Historic Hays County Courthouse room 101
35th
CASA Volunteer Training Begins
1 - 5 p.m.
New Braunfels CASA office
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