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Mission Statement
Alameda County CASA promotes and supports quality volunteer advocates to speak for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the dependency court system.
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I am for the child
Fundraising Breakfast
by Ginni Ring, Executive Director
Friends of Alameda County CASA is excited to be holding the first annual I am for the child fundraising breakfast on Thursday, April 26th. This event will be held at Scott's Seafood Restaurant, 2 Broadway, Jack London Square, Oakland, CA and will begin promptly at 8:00 a.m. Arrive by 7:30 to park in the nearby lots.
Join us for breakfast with fellow CASA supporters and make a difference in a child's life.
MUST RSVP TO RESERVE A SEAT.
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Click here to register to attend by April 15th.
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We look forward to seeing you at Scott's Seafood Restaurant the morning of April 26th!
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Speak Out for CASA
While having a volunteer speakers  group is not a new idea, we have recently implemented a program that will better organize and support those of you who are interested in helping with outreach and training. CASA Ambassadors was launched unofficially in September, but we've recently finalized the details and formalized the training process. We ask our speakers to commit to the bureau for at least one year, and in that time speak at least four times. You are welcome to participate as much as you'd like if you have the availability to do so! Each volunteer speaker is responsible to attend an orientation training that will illustrate the expectations we have and give you the skills needed to speak at and perhaps even run a recruitment event. The only other requirement is that you be in good standing with your main CASA volunteer work (if you're not getting your paperwork in, we want you to take care of that first!)
We will be holding the adult speakers trainings every six months, so even if it doesn't work out for you to participate now, you'll have an opportunity to join later. For more information or to sign up, please contact John Anyosa at janyosa@acgov.org or call (510) 618-1964.
Along with the CASA Ambassadors, we are launching its companion bureau CASA Speaks. We are in the process of recruiting current/former foster youth, ages 18-24, to play a similar role in our training and recruitment efforts. CASA Speaks has slightly higher requirements because: - They will be receiving stipends for their participation.
- We will provide them with additional skill building around public speaking to ensure they feel empowered when asked to speak.
We have two of the three mandatory youth trainings scheduled for April 11th and 12th which will begin this skill building process (the third date is TBD). For those youth that complete all of the required training, they will receive a $300 stipend. All youth speakers will receive a $50 stipend per speaking engagement. For any volunteers who know of 18-24 year olds that have experience in the dependency system and might be interested in participating in this program, please have them contact Tina Mahle at tmahle@acgov.org or 510-618-1955 in order to get additional information and sign up for the training.
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Volunteer Support Groups
A New Approach
We are changing the way CASA volunteer support groups are offered. Each month, starting in April, one support group will be offered for all Alameda County CASA volunteers. We will no longer divide support group attendance based on assigned supervisor.
Support groups are an opportunity to discuss challenges and concerns regarding your case and hear the challenges and suggestions of other CASA volunteers. This new form of support group facilitation is also a chance to see friends from your training cohort who work with a different CASA supervisor. All this AND two hours of continuing education towards the 12 hours required each year!
We are making this change to encourage more interaction between CASA volunteers and in the hopes of increasing attendance at support groups. In the past, each supervisor would schedule her own group, and many were cancelled due to insufficient RSVPs. Moving forward, each month, a different supervisor will facilitate the group and we will try different times and days to make support groups as accessible as possible to everyone. We hope this approach will provide the opportunity to gain new insights from different colleagues and supervisors and increase opportunities for training cohorts to see each other again. Each supervisor will lead approximately three groups per year; we do not plan on holding a support group in the month of December.
CASA Volunteers: please take a quick moment to click here and answer this four question survey about the best times for volunteer support groups and continuing education classes. Thank you!
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Help Us to Better Support You!
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CASA Volunteers:
Please take a quick moment to click here and answer this four question survey about the best times for volunteer support groups and continuing education classes. Thank you!
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Congratulations CASA Graduates
Mary Ader
Mary Banks John Barhaugh Josh Cortez Walter Crofton Sayrah Garrison Susan Gill Susan Haney Jacelynn Hill Talia Jefferson Artrice Lawson René Macias Tim McKeon Vernita Naylor Gloria Reid Ron Scrivani Lanetta Seibert Alycia Young Marta Zelaya Carole Bremer Serena Clayton Jane Diamond Linda Flores Cynthia Franklin Pauline Hom Stephanie Howard Marlo Huaman Terry Ince Diana Maldonado Sara Mestas A. Raheem Mohammed David Peterson Patt Rose Susan Shawl Regie Stites Nancy Van Huffel Tina Yin .
Welcome to the CASA family. We wish you the very best as you embark on your new journey as a CASA volunteer!
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Volunteer Recognition
Megan Martin has been a CASA volunteer for 1 1/2 years. During her time on the case, she has been actively involved in helping her youth prepare for independent living, supported her through difficult transitions, and has been a consistent and positive role model. Ms. Martin attends graduate school full-time and has still managed to consistently attend meetings, court hearings, and visit her youth on a regular basis. Ms. Martin, we applaud you for your outstanding advocacy and continued commitment to your CASA youth! Thank you.
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Just for CASAs
FYA Weekly Updates
CASA volunteers: The Alameda County Foster Youth Alliance's e-news is loaded with everything currently important to foster youth in this county from resources, to news to activities.
Sign up for this valuable resource here (enter your email address in the box on the bottom left of the page where it says "Get weekly email updates"). |
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