Donors for Summer 2016

THANK YOU to all our donors between July 1st and September 30th! Your support of Georgia CASA helps to provide comprehensive support services to our affiliate programs, enabling them to offer the highest quality of advocacy to dependent children. 


A big thank you to Office Depot Foundation for its long-standing support of the CASA program. Nearly 3,000 sackpacks for CASA/foster children were donated in July for affiliate CASA programs in the state!

Calendar of Events 

 

October:

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

 

10/19 - 20:

Council of Programs Meeting

(Athens, GA)

 

November:

National Adoption Month

 

11/2 - 4:

Georgia Conference on Children & Families

(Augusta, GA)

 

11/15 - 17:

Training of the Facilitator

(Macon, GA)

 

Save the Date for 2017 Events:

 

2/7/2017:

CASA Day at the Capitol

(Atlanta)

 

3/10 - 14, 2017:

National CASA Conference

(Seattle, WA)

 

3/22/2017:

Georgia CASA Luncheon & Fashion Show Fundraiser

(Atlanta)

 

4/22/2017:

Georgia CASA Conference

(Stone Mountain, GA)
ShopCASA Logo
Like us on Facebook               Follow us on Twitter              View our videos on YouTube
FALL 2016
CASA Statewide Growth Plan
Georgia CASA is now entering year two of our statewide growth plan. The growth plan, developed in summer 2015, was built largely on the foundation of what we (the CASA network) know works, what needs exist and what strategies will have the most impact on serving more abused and neglected children. As such, the basis of the plan was the response to one central question: What will it take to serve more children? The responses to this question were used to form the specific strategies included in our growth plan:
  • Targeted volunteer recruitment and engagement efforts in regional areas of the state
  • Additional volunteer supervisory positions at several of our affiliate programs
  • Support for affiliate program management and resources for developing and transitioning affiliate programs
  • Strengthened Georgia CASA support

The overall goals of the growth plan include increasing the number of children with a CASA volunteer by 10% each year, over three years, for an overall increase of 30% more children being served by a CASA volunteer at the end of the three-year period. The increase would translate into serving 13,000 children with 3,200 CASA volunteers at the end of fiscal year 2018. 


Highlights from year one included the following:
  • Implementation of volunteer recruitment campaigns in three regions of the state
  • Additional supervisory staff positions at six affiliate CASA programs
  • $550,000 raised in private funding
  • $750,000 increase in state funding specifically to increase capacity in Fulton and DeKalb counties as well as the statewide CASA network.

In fiscal year 2016, the number of children served in Georgia reached over 10,000 for the first time in our history! Over 2,300 CASA volunteers served children during this time! We anticipate seeing more increases in children served and CASA volunteers at the end of year two of our growth plan, and are pleased to announce that Georgia CASA has received a statewide growth renewal grant from National CASA for $187,500 for year two.
AmazonSmile Foundation and Kroger Community Rewards
Georgia CASA, along with several of our affiliate CASA programs, benefit from the AmazonSmile Foundation. If you shop at Amazon.com, .5% of your eligible purchases can benefit an organization that is part of AmazonSmile. For your purchases to benefit Georgia CASA, please click here to start shopping or to bookmark the link. 


Additionally, Georgia CASA, and several of our affiliate CASA programs, are part of Kroger's Community Rewards Program. If you shop at Kroger, consider getting a Kroger Plus Card and link it to Georgia CASA or an affiliate CASA program. Organizations receive a quarterly donation based on the percentage of spending by those with a Kroger Plus Card linked to the organization. Please note that you have to re-designate the organization linked to your Kroger Plus card on an annual basis. Click here to register your card for Kroger Community Rewards. You can select an organization from the list or enter the organization's name or NPO number. Georgia CASA's NPO number is 31903.
  

Interested in supporting an affiliate CASA program in the state? Please contact the affiliate CASA program and find out if they are part of AmazonSmile and/or Kroger Community Rewards. If not, encourage them to become a part!
 

Affiliate Program Highlights

Alcovy CASA (serving Newton and Walton Counties) has partnered with Newton County Juvenile Court on an ongoing pajama and hygiene drive. Each child that comes into foster care receives a suitcase (from Newton County DFCS) filled with pajamas, hygiene items, a pillow (from the court) and a handmade pillow case  (made by a women's group at a local church). Often the suitcase also has a stuffed animal. Pajamas and hygiene items are donated by community citizens.

Coweta CASA hosted a "Journey Home" bus tour in September. The tour included community participants getting on the bus, then being handed a card telling about what it's like for a child to enter foster care. They were also given a black garbage bag, which is all too often the only thing foster children have to put their belongings in, as they move from one home to another. Tour stops included a school's central office, DFCS, a hospital and juvenile court. The tour also showcased how community organizations and agencies work together for the welfare of children.
Photo: The Newnan Times-Herald
 


 
 
CASA of Houston County held the 2nd annual 5K Superhero Run in August, partnering with Middle Georgia State University. Funds raised benefitted the CASA program, and runners had fun dressing as superheroes. CASA volunteers are definitely superheroes for the children they serve!
 
CASA Superhero Runs are one of the most common special events supporting CASA programs in Georgia as well as across the country. Contact your local CASA program to find out if a Superhero Run will be in or near your community.


 
Child Welfare Training Collaborative
The Child Welfare Training Collaborative (CWTC), a partnership between Georgia's Division of Family and Children Services and Georgia State University's School of Social Work Professional Excellence Program, recently began and offers training throughout the state. The CWTC provides high quality trainings for those working in child welfare - including CASA staff and volunteers - while providing a common core of knowledge and opportunities for collaboration among various child welfare organizations.

This fall, the CWTC is rolling out training specifically around the subjects of child trauma and brain development. Several CASA programs around the state have already hosted some of these trainings, and participants spoke highly of the skilled, dynamic trainers. To learn more about the CWTC and how you can take part in trainings, visit their website.
  
Home /  Donate /  Volunteer /  Contact