Newsletter January 2022
CASA of Coos and Curry Counties
Happy New Year!

A Couple Special Messages from your CASA Staff Team

Hello Wonderful CASAs

I would like to take this opportunity to say that we are grateful for each and every one of you. It is your unwavering dedication and diligence that have assisted in keeping our most vulnerable kiddos afloat. 

Covid has made things so much different for all of us. Nearly two years later, it continues to be a time of uncertainty and change. While it may feel different, the bond we share with our loved ones remains the same.  One thing that won’t change are the needs of the traumatized and neglected kiddos that we serve in our community. Just like our friends and family, it is important that we build and maintain a bond with our kiddos. CASAs are the only part of the team that remain steady with a child throughout the duration of their entire time in care. We truly do make a difference in their lives.

I am jumping forward into 2022 with boots-on-the-ground, ready & dedicated to serve our innocent kiddos. I am hopeful you’ll join me and continue the outstanding work you do!  My wish for you is that you’ll be surrounded by the love and laughter of friends and family during this holiday season.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
-Susan Zwicker

Dearest CASAs,
 
We are so grateful for each and every one of our CASA Volunteers. I am filled with so much hope when thinking about all that you have done this year: helped families achieve reunification, made recommendations for adoptive placements, ensured that an incorrect label on a child’s record didn’t haunt them, supported suicidal youth, watched babies grow, threw birthday parties, fought for educational rights, read countless hours of discovery, and built lifelong relationships; all during a global pandemic. That tells me that one thing remains true, CASAs are superheroes.
 
The last two years have been filled with uncertainty, fear, and frustration. But despite that you all have continued to step up for your kids. The impact that you all have made in their lives is immeasurable. Words cannot express how much I appreciate how much you give to these kids. Thank you for making your kiddos feel important and cared for, thank you for helping them build resiliency, thank you for giving them a voice in court.
 
I hope you and yours have a happy and safe holiday season. May all your wishes come true. Please come with us into 2022 as we continue to advocate for children and youth in foster care. Help provide them with a voice in court and make a difference in their lives. We can’t do this without you!
 
Happy Holidays & Warmest Wishes,
-Jasmine Lockwood

CASAs
Make
a
Difference!

CASA Activity Kits are ready!

These kits will be great for some activities to do with your kids during visit. They are modeled after kits designed to help children calm during periods of anxiety and stress.

A generous donation from United Way of Southwestern Oregon helped us purchase supplies for these kits.

CASAs, come by the office and pick a kit and customize for each child you are serving. While you're here grab a new CASA t-shirt!

Join us as we host the next Trauma Informed Parenting Workshop
Sponsored the the Coos County Foster Parent association.

Session 3 in our Trauma Informed Parenting Workshop is happening January 4th. RSVP if you would like to attend this or be notified by email of future workshops.

CASA Virtual Open Office
Returning January 2022!
Stay tuned as we'll email out details.

January In-Service
Suicide Prevention
 For the January in-service training we will be talking about an important topic - suicide prevention. This in service will be the last week of the month, but the day still needs to be decided
 (please fill out the survey Jasmine sent)

Funding Partner of the Month

Our CASA team couldn't do the work without the resources and support of our community funding partners. One of our most recent partners is the

Gordon Elwood Foundation

The Gordon Elwood Foundation is a small ($10 million) private foundation that distributes $150,000 -$200,000 in grants annually for educational, human service, and other charitable purposes, with a geographic focus in Oregon's Jackson, Josephine, Klamath and Curry counties. Grants from the Foundation may be made to qualified nonprofit, tax-exempt, charitable organizations and public entities in the aforementioned four counties. Additional foundation investment in the region is through non-grant support as Direct Charitable Activities offered to individuals, organizations and communities.

"Everyone is put on this earth to accomplish something, and not just for their own self. Through this foundation I feel I have made my life worthwhile to others." - Gordon Elwood

Read about Mr. Elwood and why this foundation exists:


Not only did our partners at the Gordon Elwood Foundation support our Curry CASA efforts with a grant of $7.300 in 2021, they also helped bring other funders and community partners to the table to help us during our expansion into Curry County.

Thank you Gordon Elwood Foundation for your generous grant and partnerships!

Learn more about this wonderful foundation at:
We had a great time at the Foster Parent Association's annual Christmas Drive-Through. CASA staff, FPA board, DHS, United Way and community volunteers showed up to help us put together family boxes, wrap them up, and hand them out. Thank you to everyone who gave, volunteered, and supported this great event. We are hoping we can go back to an in-person celebration next year!
CASA Birthdays in January!
Mary Garrahy-Breen
Stacy McDonald
Addie Hutchison
Sandi Tomas
Emily Hollingsworth
Lesley Cox
Greg Dalton
Happy Birthday CASAs!
CASA Stats

Children CASAs are Currently Serving
Coos = 58
Curry = 9

Children on our Wait list
Coos = 69
Curry = 40

Active CASA Volunteers
Coos = 38
Curry = 11

DHS Stats- Not available
CASA Anniversaries - January

Linda Boehme 7 Years!
James Moore 24 Years!

Happy CASA Anniversary! Thank you for your time in serving children and making a difference in their lives!

Great article with conversation ideas for talking with kids.

Heart-to-Heart Talks: 80 Conversation Starters for Kids
Donate

Help us keep the doors open, hire more staff to serve more kids!
You can now donate through Oregon Coast Community Action right to your CASA program!

You can even set up a monthly reoccurring payment for as little as $5/month!
If you want to donate to specifically to Curry County, please send me an email and I'll make sure your donation gets to the right area. We are working on getting a Curry-Specific option in our donation tool.

Arlo The CASA Dog


Arlo was so happy to be able to reach the sunroof finally! That's the look of total bliss.





Arlo and his brother Elvis got to meet Santa!
CASA Training to Start January 10th!

We have a fresh class of new CASA trainees starting early in our new year. if you or someone you know are interested in helping to change a child's life, please reach out.

Current CASAs are welcome to attend any and all of the sessions provided. Reach out to Jasmine Lockwood for more information.

Surfing with Your Emotions
The term, "Urge Surfing," is new to me, but I understand the concept and have practiced similar interventions. Although I believe it is better to express some feelings (love, sadness, fear, etc.) when appropriate and productive, it is also sometimes better to live through others that would cause one to behave in a way that would harm self or others.

So much of our life is built around handling feelings. So much of our struggles in life come from our reaction and behaviors because of feelings. We see a lot of these effects in the children and families we serve as they are often those who are under the most pressures and overwhelming feelings. To understand is to be able to be present with someone who is overwhelmed; to understand is to be able to give that person space and time so they can hopefully surf those waves of emotion.

This might be a cool tool to show your kids - help them learn how to surf though some of their feelings to prevent behaviors that may be harmful to them or others.

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Take a Break on ASO

Are you serving a youth 16 and older who is on the autistic spectrum? The Autism Society of Oregon (ASO) has a program to youth, adults, and families have a little break for themselves.

Take a Break on ASO offers:

  • a $25 gift certificate to a restaurant of your choice;
  • 2 movie tickets to a theater of your choice; and
  • up to 4 hours of respite care at $14/hour (total $56) for all of the children in the home under the parent/legal guardian’s care

Eligibility: Any parent/legal guardian/foster parent who is primary caregiver for a person on the autism spectrum anywhere in Oregon or SW Washington is eligible.

To lean more and how to apply check out their webpage:
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A final message as we see 2021 out the door and welcome in 2022!

We have built an amazing team of CASAs, CASA staff and community partners.

We continue to endure a global pandemic and still we create resources and learn to better serve those who needs us. Seeing all we have done as a community team I am so looking forward to what we will do in 2022. Those who have rubbed elbows with our CASA team this year, you know who you are, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

The seeds and soils of our efforts are growing and branching and blooming into a beautiful garden of hope!

See you all in the fresh new year!

-Greg
Crisis Resources
Oregon Foster Youth Connection has a page up with resources for youth during the crisis.
NEEDS: Every Child Oregon has rolled out their "My Neighbor" program for foster providers, children in foster care, or youth impacted by foster care. This is a page where they fill out a short form describing their needs, which gets sent to their area My Neighbor hubs for addressing those needs.

GIVING: Don't have needs but have want to help provide resources? Well, they've thought of that to! The link to the right will take you to a page where you can let them know what resources you can help provide.
Oregon Child Abuse Hotline Feedback Email. Use this to let DHS know about your experience using the central hotline to call in suspected child abuse:
Disclaimer: All spelling and grammar mistakes are a normal function of this newsletter and meant to have you notice and report. It's the only way I know you are reading my newsletter.
-Greg
Our Partners
Oregon Coast Community Action - CASA of Coos and Curry Counties
Mailing Address: 1855 Thomas Ave, Coos Bay, OR 97420
Physical Address: 1848 Thomas Ave, Coos Bay, OR 97420
casacooscurry@orcca.us
541-435-7103