Letter from the Executive Director
 
One of the best ways to gain an understanding of what it's like to experience something you yourself have never been through is to hear someone who has had that experience talk about it. You can tell teenagers that drunk driving is dangerous over and over, but you'll never have the same impact as someone will who has survived a drunk driving accident. Hearing personal stories has a unique kind of impact; it's very effective in making the audience think, "This could happen to me", or "Someone I know could be going through this."
 
By the same token, another very effective way of really getting the point across to somebody is to have an expert or an authority on the subject present the information. For example, a group of women hearing about breast cancer screening may be more interested in what a doctor has to say than they would be in the views of a layperson.
 
Speakers can narrow the gap between talking about something and fully understanding it. Speakers can also forward a call to action and engage new constituents throughout the community. For this reason, Voices will be developing our own Speakers Bureau built almost entirely from our advocate ranks. If you have an interest in learning more about this important program for our organization, please contact Kelly Edwards 314.615.4594 or kledwards@voices-stl.org. Thank you.
 
Steve Moergen
Executive Director  
 
Continuing Education
Opportunities to Earn Your Annual CE Credits
 
Look for upcoming CE opportunities in January 2017 edition.



Holiday Gift Drive and Whole Foods Giving Tree
November and early December

Whole Foods is again partnering with Voices to help bring joy to youth in foster care this holiday season through their Giving Trees!  Thanks to Whole Foods and all the other groups who make the holidays brighter for our children each year. If you have a group who would like to participate in the gift drive they can contact Rhonda Lingard at 314.615.2908. 

We need CASA volunteers to sign up for shifts at our Saturday info tables atWhole Foods' :

Town & Country
November 26th: 
11:00 - 12:30 
12:30 - 2:00

December 3rd:
11:00 - 12:30 
12:30 - 2:00

Central West End
November 26th:
11:00 - 12:30

December 3rd:
12:30 - 2:00

If you would like to share your experience as a CASA volunteer with Whole Foods shoppers, please contact Kelly at 314.615.4594 or kledwards@voices-stl.org.
Joy and Cheer
"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together"
-Vincent Van Gogh

Join Voices for Children for a festive volunteer celebration with food and fun, followed by shopping for gifts donated for your CASA kids!
 
Saturday, December 10, 2016
9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Probstein Clubhouse, Forest Park
6141 Lagoon Drive, 63112
 
Click here to RSVP
by December 3, 2016 
 
Questions?  Contact Jamie Wallace at 314-615-4551 or jcwallace@voices-stl.org.
 
Advocacy Resources
Books, Websites and Relevant Info for Your CASA Work


Children's Advocacy Services of Greater St. Louis

The mission of Children's Advocacy Services of Greater St. Louis is to reduce the effects of trauma for children and adolescents.  Our staff of multidisciplinary clinicians has extensive training and experience in the areas of child development, child abuse trauma and PTSD.

Therapeutic Services for:
  • Sexual Abuse
  • Physical Abuse
  • Physical or Sexual Assault
  • Disasters
  • Surviving the homicide of a loved one
  • Traumatic Bereavement
  • Violence in the home, community or school
  • Victim of crime

For more information contact University of MO-St. Louis Kathy J. Weinman Children's Advocacy Center, 314.516.6798 or Central West End Children's Advocacy Center of St. Louis, 314.535.3003.

 
Program Dashboard
Statistics as of September 30, 2016

286

Voices CASA volunteers
365

kids served by Voices CASA volunteers and staff
354

kids served by Voices staff
719

total kids served by Voices


 
Maximizing Optima

Have you received new electronic documents for your case?  Upload them to Optima!  Simply save the document to your computer, then navigate to the bottom section of Optima.  Choose the "documents" option, click on the "choose files" button and find your file, then choose the document type that best represents your file.   Click the save button, and the file will be added to the electronic file. 
 
Upcoming Events
Jingle Mingle
December 1, 2016
 
Help us bring some holiday cheer to youth in foster care! Join us at Mike Duffy's in Kirkwood on Thursday, December 1 for a happy hour from 5- 7 p.m. Admission is a $10 (or more) gift certificate to local stores - or a minimum $10 donation toward holiday gifts for youth served by Voices. Complimentary appetizers and drink specials included with admission.
 
Please register by Monday, November 28, 2016.
Click here to register