The month of August has been a time of transition for CASA for Children. CASA has a new Executive Director, new board member, newly painted offices, new cases, and a new form of correspondence.
Our e-newsletter will be emailed monthly to keep you informed on what is happening within our organization and invites you to become more involved. This takes the place of our quarterly newsletters; however, an annual report will continue to be mailed (and emailed).
During this transition we definitely desire your feedback. Please feel free to email or call (540-213-2272) if you have ideas, comments, or concerns.
Sincerely, Michael Nay
Executive Director |
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Saying Goodbye
 In 1995 Janet Cleveland became a volunteer for what was then known as Central Valley CASA; one year after the Augusta County CASA program began. Three years later, Janet joined the CASA staff and eventually became the Executive Director. Her twelve years of dedicated and passionate service impacted the lives of hundreds of children. She was also able to expand the program into the Lexington/Rockbridge County and Covington/Alleghany County. Thank you Janet for your incredible leadership and labor of love for this community! |
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Painting CASA's "Casa"
Allison, credit union employee, paints beautiful artwork  | On Thursday, September 2, United Way of Greater Augusta, provided seven employees from DuPont Community Credit Union to help paint our offices. These incredible volunteers transformed the walls into a very welcoming environment. A BIG THANK YOU goes out to United Way for organizing the volunteers and to DuPont for all your hard work! Thank you to the following local businesses who donated to make this project possible: |
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Fall Volunteer Training
 CASA is conducting a Fall Volunteer Training, which consists of 8 face-to-face sessions as well as independent study/homework. The sessions begin in October* and are held at the CASA office from 6:00pm-9:00pm.: is an independent course for individuals who are unable to attend the regular training classes. Although CASA prefers that volunteers be trained in a classroom setting, we recognize that it is not always possible to attend the classes. Please contact our office for more information. We are consistently receiving referrals from the local
J&DR judges and are always in need of volunteers. If you know anyone that
may be interested, please spread the word and direct them our way. *Dates and times of training are subject to change
depending on the availability of the majority of prospects Downloads: Volunteer ApplicationPre-Interview QuestionnaireVolunteer Policy & Procedures |
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Lexington Volunteers
CASA for Children is seeking volunteers
from Lexington/Rockbridge County. We have served
Rockbridge County since 2008 at the request of the
Honorable Anita Filson of the J&DR Court and are at the point of being
unable to assign new cases due to the lack of volunteers in the area.
If you have friends or family in Lexington/Rockbridge County that may be interested in volunteering, please forward this information on to them.
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Meet the Board
CASA would like to welcome our newest board members, Lisa Solod.
Lisa Solod is a writer and editor. She authored a book, blogs for the Huffington Post and publishes
fiction and nonfiction in a variety of venues. An avid volunteer and believer
in community service, Solod has served on the Lexington City School Board, the
Virginia School Board Association, as a board member and founder of Project
Horizon (for battered women), as the president of Temple House of Israel
synagogue, and as a board member for a number of arts organizations. She now
lives in Staunton with her daughter, Grace, a senior at Stuart Hall.
Look for other board member bios in our future newsletters.
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Learn More
CASA
for Children Volunteers must complete 12 hours of continued education each year
called "in-service". We offer an extensive library full of books and movies to
help fulfill this obligation.
New to the CASA Library
 "Same
Kind of Different as Me" by Ron Hall and Denver Moore
- Precious - A novel about an obese and illiterate 16-year-old girl who is a victim of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of both of her parents. (Made into the major motion picture, Precious)
- Indefensible - One Lawyer's Journey into the
Inferno of American Justice
- Tweak - Growing up on Methamphetamines (this is the
child's perspective)
- Beautiful Boy - A father's journey through his son's
addiction (this is the father of the boy in Tweak's perspective)
- Sickened - The
Memoir of a Munchausen by Proxy Childhood
- Invisible Kids - One short life, One
terrible Death and 12 things YOU can do to improve the lives of foster children
- Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew.
Movies, Television and DVD
- Dr. Phil "Teens: Life on the Street" - Dr. Phil, along with special contributor Kelly Osbourne, shines a spotlight on life on the street for homeless youth (Sept 6th episode).
- New to DVD this
month is the release of "Babies" Documentary filmmaker Thomas Balmes charts the simultaneous early development of four babies
from different parts of the world, illustrating what makes human life unique,
similar and precious wherever it occurs. Training his camera on newborns Hattie
from San Francisco, Ponijao from
Namibia, Bayarjargal from
Mongolia and Mari from
Tokyo, Balmes
captures everything from first screaming breaths to first steps. Rated
PG
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 CASA
for Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your gifts are tax
deductible to the full
extent of the law.
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Scholarship for CASA Volunteers to attend Conference
CASA is offering two full scholarships for volunteers to attend our state-wide conference. This is an informative and exciting opportunity for continued education. The conference takes place November 11 - 13 in Newport News, VA. First two respondents will receive the full scholarship; however, all volunteers are encouraged to attend. If you are interested in participating, please send us an email or call us at (540) 213-2272. |
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Volunteer Opportunities
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Office Organization - Help organize our closets and other office spaces.
- Office Substitute - Answer phones and greet visitors when staff is away.
- Data Entry - Updating donor Database
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What others are saying...
"Our CASA volunteer has been a tremendous asset to the Treatment Team. She is
professional and is able to meet with the birth parents and relatives in a more
neutral capacity. Our CASA Volunteer was persistent in tracking down important
information from other states on a complicated case that had incomplete
biographical material and social history. We have appreciated her input."
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Painting Day Pics
 (Click images to zoom)
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Our Volunteers in August
Our CASA volunteers have been very active throughout the month of
August. They have attended court hearings, FAPT meetings, IEP meetings,
DSS meetings, and made announced and unannounced home visits.
August Statistics
- 22 active volunteers
- 37 children (17
families).
- 4 sets of volunteer teams; Husband/Wife, Best friends,
Mother/Daughter, and friends through volunteering.
Thank you CASA volunteers for all you do!
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CASA Staff
Michael Nay
Executive Director
Cathy Ballew
Volunteer Supervisor
Shelley Reitenauer
Office Support Specialist
Karen Dodson
Data Entry Assistant
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