Welcome!

Dear ,

Thank you for being a friend and supporter of Heart of Missouri CASA! We've started a quarterly e-newsletter to keep you updated on the current events of HOM CASA. Thank you for joining alongside us as we aim to provide a CASA volunteer to every child in need in the Boone and Callaway County Family Courts!

What's New at CASA?

New Volunteer Coordinators
We are excited to announce we've hired two new staff members to bring our team to six. Mariah Smith is our new full-time Volunteer Coordinator in Boone County and Jamie Faulconer, our new part-time Volunteer Coordinator in Callaway County. With this expansion, our capacity to provide a CASA volunteer to children in our local foster care system has expanded significantly! Our goal is to increase the percentage of children with a CASA volunteer in our jurisdiction from less than 30% to over 50% in the next 2 years. If you have groups (church, civic, retired professionals, etc.) to whom we could present the CASA volunteer opportunity, please reach out to Kelly Hill at kelly@homcasa.org or any staff member.

Mariah Smith, Boone County VC Jamie Faulconer, Callaway County VC

Phone System Updates

We have consolidated our phone numbers and now use one main line for both counties. To reach any staff member, dial our main number 573-442-4670. Press the extension of the staff person to whom you want to speak:

Kelly Hill, Executive Director - ext 1
Leslie Rigdon, Boone Volunteer Coordinator - ext 2
Sara Echternach, Boone Program Director - ext 3
Mariah Smith, Boone Volunteer Coordinator - ext 4
Suzanne Guerrant, Callaway Program Director - ext 5
Jamie Faulconer, Callaway Volunteer Coordinator - ext 6

Winter 2018 New Volunteer Training

Our next New Volunteer Training class is coming up very quickly:

Online - opens January 6th
In-person - Saturday, January 20th - 9am - 3pm
In-person - Saturday, February 3rd - 9am - 3pm
In-person - Thursday, February 8th - 6 - 8pm

If you have friends or family interested in becoming a CASA volunteer, please have them contact us ASAP!

The next class after this will begin mid-April! Stay tuned for more information.

We are participating in the CoMoGives campaign, which runs December 1st - 31st. We have reached 40% of our $6,000 goal! You can help by liking and sharing the link on social media and emailing your family and friends. The more donors we have, with even small gifts of $10, the higher our chances of winning 1 of 16 challenge grants! Click here to donate! Donations of $100 or more are eligible for the up to 50% Champions for Children tax credit!

Thank you to everyone who came to Justice is Served in November! We had 130+ guests, and we are incredibly thankful for your support! Visit our website or Facebook page to see some of the pictures of the evening. The Make Your Mark painting created by Jenny McGee with the participation of guests is now available for purchase and CASA will receive 75% of the sale! Visit her website for details. Contact CASA volunteer Joyce at harterj@missouri.edu if you are interested in joining with a group of people to purchase the painting so it can stay at the HOM CASA office!

Volunteers of the Year

At our annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner in September, we awarded Beverley Fries Volunteer of the Year and Linda Williams, Rookie Volunteer of the Year.

Beverley has been a CASA volunteer for 7 years, advocating for 12 children on 4 cases. Beverley effectively builds rapport with the members of her team, speaking up for the children to ensure their needs are met and they are in the best possible placement.

Linda has been a CASA volunteer in Callaway County for 1 year and has thoroughly and excellently advocated for a sibling set of 3. Linda has been crucial in achieving educational outcomes for the children.

We are incredibly thankful to have so many dedicated and skilled volunteers, like Beverley and Linda!

Monthly Giving Opportunity

Would you partner with us in 2018 as a Sustaining Giver? You can set up recurring, monthly donations in any amount. Suggested amounts:

$6.00 - Supports 15 minutes of child advocacy per month
$12.50 - Supports 30 minutes of child advocacy per month
$25.00 - Supports 1 hour of advocacy per month
$41.67 - Per month = $500/Year - Major Donor
$83.34 - Per Month = $1000/year - Major Donor

Click here to set up recurring, monthly donations of any amount.

2017 Program Statistics:
As of December 20

# of kids served - 183

# of new kids served - 84

# of active volunteers - 100

# of children's cases closed - 39

*Be on the lookout for more detailed program statistics in early 2018