August 2020: News, Updates, and Opportunities for CASA Volunteers |
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Letter from the Executive Director Dear CASA Volunteers, Happy August! I'm not quite sure where the summer went (or the spring, for that matter), but here we are in Back-to-School season. The children on your cases will have a very different school experience this fall. I am so grateful for each and every one of you for providing the support these kiddos need as the pandemic continues to add to the stress and trauma they were already experiencing. Something we have been talking a lot about at CASA is the importance of self care, especially during the pandemic. You know how important the work you do is, but that doesn't mean it's not hard. That doesn't mean it is not stressful. During times of stress, I encourage you to take time out and put yourself first. If you need ideas, check out this list of favorite self care practices that the CASA staff put together. As we move further into the second half of the year, we are still hard at work recruiting new volunteers to stand by the constantly growing number of children entering the child welfare system. You may have heard we are seeing roughly twice as many kids that need a CASA right now compared to this time last year. Recruiting new advocates has never been so important. We swore in 11 new advocates and 1 new SEPT facilitator earlier this month and we have 17 people who just started our latest training class. But we still need more. Historically speaking, word of mouth as been the best form of advertising for us to recruit new people. I urge you, if you do not already do so, to please share with your friends and loved ones the work you do for CASA and the opportunity for them to do the same. I hope you all are staying healthy and safe. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at angelar@casappr.org. Warmly, Angela |
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