Child Abuse and Neglect Costs the US $124 Billion

CASA Celebrates Volunteer Anniversaries at Annual Holiday Party

Staff from CASA were proud to host our annual holiday party at the beautiful Harbour Pointe Clubhouse on December 4th.  In addition to thanking all volunteers for their work throughout the year, our program was thrilled to recognize volunteers celebrating five and ten year anniversaries with us.  We recognized Sonia Brokaw, Kelly Farthing, Judy Ryan, and Carol Wolfe for five years of service.  We also presented 10-year service recognition to Simone Frantz, Linda Scott, Charlene Wheeler, and Gerry & Iris Sakats.  CASA volunteers do extraordinary work on behalf of children and the commitment required for five or more years of service is remarkable.  Thanks to all of our child advocates who refuse to ignore the plight of abused and neglected children in our community!

CASA Welcomes New Volunteer Advocates   

We are pleased to introduce Chesterfield CASA's newest class of advocates to our community. On November 9th, Chief Judge Bonnie C. Davis presided over our induction ceremony which officially welcomed six new volunteers to the program. Before being inducted, each of these volunteers completed 40 hours of training that focused on many of the issues they will encounter as advocates, including the child welfare system, domestic violence, substance abuse, interviewing techniques, and report-writing. Family, friends, and CASA supporters attended the ceremony, during which Judge Davis reminded the volunteers of the important work they have committed to do on behalf of abused and neglected children. Following the ceremony, CASA hosted a reception to honor these new volunteers.

Kimberly Beasley

Reginal Burgess

Sandra Burgess

Shelia Hall

Laura Nichols

Laura Rodgers

Chesterfield CASA Receives Jenkins Foundation Award

We are grateful to the Jenkins Foundation for the $10,000 grant award we recently received to support the training and supervision of new volunteers. The Jenkins Foundation has been a long-time supporter of CASA's work with abused and neglected children and we appreciate the opportunity to continue partnering with them.

Making a Difference for Youth: A Community Forum

Thanks to everyone who attended the Virginia premiere of From Place to Place, a documentary that tells the story of three children who grew up in foster care and now face life aging out of the system with little support. With the help of producer Matt Anderson, the film was followed by a forum of local foster care youth who passionately shared their own experiences in the child welfare system.  We offer special thanks to The Byrd Theater for allowing us to host this event at no charge. You can learn more about the movie and the movement to reform the foster care system by visiting http://fromplacetoplacemovie.com/.

We were also honored to have country artist Jimmy Wayne hold a concert at the University of Richmond during our weekend forum.  Jimmy, a former homeless teen and foster youth, is a national spokesperson for National CASA. While performing his country hits to local fans, Jimmy shared very personal and heartfelt stories of his life and motivated the many foster youth in the audience.  It is inspiriting to see how Jimmy uses his success to raise awareness about at-risk, homeless, and foster care children. To learn more about Jimmy and his Meet Me Halfway project, visit http://projectmmh.org/.

CASA Receives Grant from ACECF

We extend thanks to the Altria Companies Employee Communiity Fund for selecting Chesterfield CASA to receive a $25,000 grant from their most recent competitive awards process.  We have a long-standing relationship with the ACECF and appreciate their support of our work with abused and neglected children in this community.

CASA Receives Grant Award from The Cameron Foundation

Chesterfield CASA was thrilled to be selected as a grant recipient during The Cameron Foundation's latest funding cycle.  The generous $50,000 award will allow us to train and supervise volunteers who advocate for abused and neglected children in the southern Chesterfield and tri-cities area. CASA has been fortunate to receive support from the foundation for several years and we appreciate the confidence they have placed in our program.

First Annual Unsung Hero Awards Presented at Superhero Run

The Henrico and Chesterfield CASA programs have named three recipients, one posthumously, of the first Unsung Hero awards, recognizing their dedicated volunteer work benefiting local young people. The Unsung Hero Award honors individuals who have voluntarily committed their time and skills to support youth in the metropolitan area. Recipients have made substantive but unrecognized contributions to improve the quality of life of local children and young people.   

"These are ordinary people who have done extraordinary things to help children and young people in our community," said Barbara Herzog, executive director of Henrico CASA. "They have given freely of their time and sought no recognition for their unselfish efforts."

The 2011 Unsung Hero Award recipients are: Lt. Col. James Bourque, retired, Chesterfield County Police Department, a founding member of Chesterfield CASA's board of directors with more than 14 years of service to the agency; Susan Hill, retired, Henrico CASA, a volunteer with Virginia CASA working to develop a comprehensive reporting system for CASA programs statewide; and the late Lawrence Murtaugh, a certified public accountant and business broker who served as a scoutmaster with the Boy Scouts of America and was actively involved in a mentoring program for kindergarten students at Swansboro Elementary School in Richmond. Click here to see the full biographies of this year's winners.