GOOD TIMES FOR A GOOD CAUSE
On Saturday, May 4, the nonprofit organization CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) will host its third annual Hope for the Future fundraiser from 5:00 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Paso Robles Inn located at 1103 Spring Street, Paso Robles. The event welcomes people to dine in elegance and savor local wines while offering bids on silent and live auctions and features the return of its famous Cake Auction. Admission is $100 per person with tables of 8 and 10 available for purchase. The deadline to buy tickets is April 22.
HELPING MORE IN NORTH COUNTY
CASA of SLO County in collaboration with must!Charities has significantly increased its presence over the Grade, recruiting more volunteers and serving more of the children living here. At the end of 2018, 67 volunteers were assigned to a total of 89 children in North County, increasing the number of children served in the area from 33 percent to more than 54 percent in the past three years.
Since 2017, North County Program Manager Melanie Barket regularly staffs the new CASA office in Atascadero allowing volunteers to meet with supervisors in the North County office instead of being forced to travel over the Grade to meet in SLO.
“Spending time with the children, whether reading to them, going to the park or visiting the library, allows the volunteer to learns about the child’s or children’s needs and desires, all of which are considered when making recommendations in the child’s best interest to the juvenile dependency court,” said CASA SLO Executive Director Teresa Tardiff. “Many CASA volunteers find the experience of advocating for their child more rewarding than anything they have ever done.”
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
As the only non-profit organization working for the juvenile court, CASA is in a unique position to help children that have experienced the trauma of abuse and neglect. After completing a training program provided by the nonprofit, volunteer advocates are assigned a child or sibling group and these volunteers become a consistent adult figure in the lives of children during a very uncertain and stressful time.
For more information on the CASA or to become a volunteer, visit www.slocasa.org or call (805) 541-6542.
