CASA Connection // October 2019 // Bi-Monthly E-Newsletter

CASA Volunteers Help Get the Child Up and Going!

Dear , 

Our Heart of Missouri CASA volunteers are many times the only constant adult in the lives of our local children in the foster care system. We hear many stories of impact and thought you might enjoy hearing this as well.

Robert* had been advocating for a young boy, James*, for over a year. James had recently relocated to a new home. He had been trying to learn to ride a bike before he was moved to the new home. Unfortunately, James didn't have a bicycle at his new home to keep learning. Robert was able to find a bike for James and offered to meet him at a nearby church parking lot, where he was able to teach James how to ride his new bike. James' broad grin and laughter as he mastered bike-riding brought joy to Robert, reminding him how important his role as a CASA volunteer can be to the child. (*name changed)

New CASA Volunteers Sworn-In!

We were delighted to welcome new CASA volunteers to our team in August! They each completed the 30-hour volunteer training and are ready to advocate for a child or sibling set in foster care. 

Left to right(Left photo): Judge Leslie Schneider (Boone County), Deanna Thomassen, Susan Franklin, Leah DiOrio (CASA Advocate Supervisor), Howard Clark. (Not pictured: Eden DuPerier, Development Director)

(Right photo): Judge Sue Crane (Callaway County), Connie Klocke Epperson

DONOR Spotlight:

Without our generous donors, your Heart of Missouri CASA would not be where it is today! This summer we received an unexpected gift from a great group of young people.

The College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists (CPNP) on the Columbia campus for UMKC School of Pharmacy, led by Brittney Gerhardt, PharmD Candidate (Class of 2022) and CPMP Columbia campus faculty liaison, chose to raise monies through social media last school year. Once their goal was raised, they partnered with a foundation called Together We Rise and purchased 10 "Sweet Cases" which they then personally decorated each one for the children with colorful themed graphics and paints on a Saturday over the summer. (They also gave 10 to a KC area foster program).  

Each bag was filled with a teddy bear, hygiene kit, coloring book and crayons, and a blanket. Some children entering foster care are forced to use trash bags for their belongings, but thanks to those CPNP's - 10 of our kids will have something wonderful and personal!

 

 

Left Photo: (from left to right) Nicole Szymala, Brittney Gerhardt, Brianna Chambers, and Jessica Miranda. Not pictured: Numerous fundraisers and bag decorators (they were all in class!)

 

We here at CASA are thrilled to know that such thoughtful and caring students
are here in our community helping the foster children in our area.

THANK YOU CPNP STUDENTS!

CIRCLE OUR CHILDREN 

Do you spend $25 a month on coffee at that shop around the corner, ? Probably. How about $25 getting your hair cut? Easily.

What if you knew that $25 a month could help a foster child move back to their home sooner? What if you knew that your gift of just $25 a month could bring enhanced child development training to our CASA volunteers? Did you realize that a gift as little as $25 a month supports 12 hours of child advocacy for someone in need in Boone and Callaway Counties!

We have just rolled out Circle of Hope, our monthly giving society.

We need you to join the circle, . Our goal is 25 new monthly recurring donors in the next year - will you be one of the first, ?

By eliminating the need for processing checks and cutting down on our direct mail expenses, the Circle of Hope wraps our children in a "circle" of loyal and supportive members. Help us grow the number of CASA volunteers today by a minimum gift of only $25 a month!

Becoming a CASA Circle of Hope Donor means strong and steady timely funding that can allow us here at Heart of Missouri CASA to deliver lasting volunteer impact to foster children in need here in Boone and Callaway County. Help us reach our goal of 25 new Circle of Hope members, !

New Board Members

We welcomed two new board members to our team in August! Learn about them here:

 

 Andy Bonderer is an engineer and President/CEO of Professional Contractors and Engineers, a general construction company in Columbia, Missouri.  He believes in supporting his community and has demonstrated this by serving and volunteering on various professional, civic and non-for-profit organizations, including the Fulton Public Schools Board of Education. He is married to Stacey and they have 2 daughters.  He enjoys hiking, hunting and working on his farm.

 

 

 

 

 Chris Horn is a Reinsurance Manager at Shelter Insurance here in Columbia. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri where he competed on the track team. His most recent service has been as a Board Member of The Intersection and as an Advisory Council Member of The Inclusive Impact Institute. Chris was a recent graduate of the 2019 Class of Leadership Columbia with the Columbia Chamber of Commerce. Chris enjoys basketball in his leisure time, as well as time with his wife and 3 children.

Ready for football season?!

, if you're a fan of The Kansas City Chiefs and plan to attend a game or two this year, why not support Heart of Missouri CASA with your ticket purchase! Use the link below, enter the promo code "HOMCASA", and we'll receive $10 for every ticket purchased.

 

Click here to get your tickets today!! 

SAVE THE DATE!

The Voices of Columbia and Voices of Callaway are coming up in 2020! Mark your calendars!

Voices of Columbia is Thursday, April 2, 2020 at The Blue Note. Doors open 6:30pm. Event begins at 7pm! Keep your eyes peeled for announcements of our participating bands!!

 

The Voices of Callaway is Monday, April 27, 2020 at a locale to be decided soon!

 Click here for photos from the 2019 Callaway event 

Click here to view photos from the 2019 Columbia event! 

New Volunteer Training is HAPPENING NOW!

We'd love to talk with you about participating in our Winter 2020 training! The Fall 2019 class is going on right now and has 9 advocate candidates in it! We need 20 new volunteers to join the next class. Please share with family and friends!

Winter 2020 New CASA Volunteer Training dates:

1/16/2020:    5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
1/23/2020:    5:30 pm – 8:30 pm
1/30/2020:    5:30 pm – 8:30 pm
2/06/2020:    5:30 pm – 8:30 pm
2/13/2020:    5:30 pm – 8:30 pm
2/20/2020:    5:30 pm – 8:30 pm

*New volunteer training is 30 hours, 15 in-person and 15 online. Classes are held at the Columbia CASA office. Online work is completed in between the in-person classes. 

 

Watch this --> Encouragement from 5 CASA volunteers to become an Advocate!

CASA in the News 

Kelly Hill, our Executive Director, and CASA volunteer Lincoln Sheets were guests on the Paul Pepper Show in August.

Check out their interview HERE! 

 

2019 Progress 

Our goal in 2019 is to provide a CASA volunteer to 50% of the children in our local foster care system. We are currently serving only 43%. 

Jan 1st - Oct 4th Update:

# of kids served - 260

# of new kids served - 86

# of children's cases closed - 37

# of active volunteers - 138

Help us reach these children by referring your family and friends to join our next volunteer training class!

We love Spotlighting our Amazing CASA Volunteers!

July CASA Spotlight - Janet Spencer Baker - Get to know Janet!

August CASA Spotlight - Mary Hoskins - Get to know Mary!

September CASA Spotlight - Jennifer Lage - Get to know Jen!

Easy ways you can help CASA, ! 

Here are a few ways you can give more foster children a VOICE: 

  • Donate your Birthday on Facebook! Supporters raised over $2,000 in the last year through FB Birthday fundraisers, and we're extremely thankful for the support!  

  • Amazon Smile - When you shop on Amazon, always go through our smile.amazon.com link! smile.amazon.com/ch/20-2408567. Going through our Amazon Smile link costs you no extra money and gives a % of your purchases to CASA!

  • Gerbes Community Rewards Program:
    1. Visit http://www.gerbes.com 
    2. Log-in to your account
    3. Click on Community Rewards on left side
    4. Search for "HEART OF MISSOURI CASA" or "TW011" 
    5. Click Enroll
    6. Use your rewards card or phone number every time you shop and

HOMCASA will receive a percentage donation!

  • You can donate securely anytime on our website at: Give now

  • Or call Eden DuPerier, Development Director at 573-442-4670 - eden@homcasa.org

                                               

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