ANNOUNCING OUR FALL EVENT'S HONOREES

FROM OUR PRESS RELEASE: Anderson, IN – The East Central Indiana CASA, Inc. program will host “From Scared to Safe: A Champions for Children Celebration” on Tuesday, October 29, 2024 at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. At this annual dinner and silent auction event, they will feature a guest photo-op with the Muncie Headless Horseman equine performer and present the Judge Jack Brinkman Child Advocate Award.

The winners of the 2024 Child Advocate Award are: individual award recipient Debbie Danner, the Executive Director of Lil Miracles Pregnancy Resource Center, and organizational award recipient Intersect, Inc. These winners were selected by the CASA program in appreciation for their outstanding service and commitment to children, youth and their families in Madison County and East Central Indiana. CASA will also honor the 2023 and 2024 Volunteer of the Year recipients, Joe Snyder of Anderson, Ind., and Caitlin McGuire of Lapel, Ind., for their outstanding work as child advocates.

The Judge Jack Brinkman Child Advocate Award was established in 2010 by East Central Indiana CASA to honor citizens who have made significant contributions to their community on behalf of children. East Central Indiana CASA chose to name this award after the Judge, who retired after serving 30 years as Madison County Superior Court II Judge. During his time on the bench, Judge Brinkman founded and administrated the Madison County Youth Center, and established the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program in Madison County, among many other accomplishments to help children in the area. 

All proceeds from the dinner and silent auction go to benefit East Central Indiana CASA. CASA equips and supervises volunteers who provide hundreds of neglected, abused, and exploited children with a voice and friend in the court process. CASA believes that every child has the right to a safe, permanent home. CASA desperately needs community volunteers to be the voice for abused children. Currently Madison County stands at #2 in Indiana’s county rankings for cases of child abuse and neglect, with a list of over 400 children waiting for a volunteer advocate. Donations are also needed to help the agency grow to serve the vulnerable children waiting for an advocate. 

Premier sponsors for this event include: Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing and Casino, Ascension St. Vincent Anderson, Prairie Farms, and Community Hospital Anderson.

For event tickets, or to learn more about volunteering or donating, please contact the CASA office at 765.649.7215 or visit www.eastcentralcasa.org.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Annette Craycraft, Executive Director

acraycraft@MadisonCounty.IN.Gov

ECI CASA receives Heart of Indiana United Way Community Resilience Grant

On June 11, East Central Indiana CASA was awarded a two-year grant from Heart of Indiana United Way at their Grants and Gratitude Awards event! This grant will support our volunteer and staff advocate training initiatives as we seek to serve neglected and abused children within our court system. With over 400 children currently on the waiting list, this grant will help us extend our reach and impact.

Heart of Indiana United Way is dedicated to improving the quality of life in our community by focusing on education, income stability, and health. With their support, we can further our work in improving the mental and physical wellness outcomes of children in need of services within our court system through the advocacy work we do.

With this $5,000 grant, we can enhance our efforts in volunteer and staff recruitment, helping us meet the rising caseload of vulnerable children. This is a significant step forward in our mission to give each child in our community their voice in court, and advocate for a secure, loving placement where they can thrive. Thank you, Heart of Indiana United Way!

New platform Givebutter makes giving to CASA 'buttery-smooth'

Update from Development Director Abigail Caress

After months of research and implementation, it's finally here - an all-in-one giving platform for CASA that is friendly to Paypal, Venmo, and any other kind of online gift: Givebutter! In addition, Givebutter will serve as our giving database platform -- a very helpful organizational tool for our agency.

The best news of all: it costs CASA nothing, and instead runs on "tips," which are optional contributions from our supporters that can be added onto any donation. We appreciate each and every little bit that helps!

Try it out here through our website portal - we welcome both your gifts and your feedback.

WHY GIVE THIS YEAR?

East Central Indiana CASA has had its fourth year in a row of consistent overflows of waitlisted children. We need to grow to meet the need in Madison County that only continues to rise. Can you contribute a gift today to help us grow our team in the coming months?

QUESTIONS?

Reach out to Abigail here:

abigail.caress@madisoncounty.in.gov. 

ECI CASA shines at State Conference

Several of our CASA team members made the trek up to the 2024 Indiana State GAL/CASA conference at the Grand Wayne conference center in Fort Wayne on September 13-14. During the many sessions offered to empower GAL/CASAs with education and networking opportunities, some special moments stood out for our team.

Our Executive Director, Annette Craycraft, delivered important updates from the Standards/Certification Committee that will impact the safety standards to be followed by CASAs and GALs throughout the state.

Then staff advocates Ashley Stephenson and Jayla Thompson represented two of their CASA youth and their remarkable entries (below) into the poetry and art competition. Jayla’s CASA youth won an award for her meaningful art piece, including a gift card, which Jayla is excited to present to the youth at their next visit. Both staff advocates are incredibly proud of their CASA youth and their work, which garnered many comments at the conference!