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Can Volunteering Make You Healthier?
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The health benefits of volunteering have been reported before, but much is still unknown about the causal relationship between giving time and personal health. Does volunteering make you healthier, or do healthier people volunteer? Should service be prescribed for those with cancer or chronic illness? Are there health benefits to volunteering that working for pay cannot provide? | |
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That picture is a little clearer thanks to a report VolunteerMatch released with UnitedHealthcare. The new UnitedHealthcare/VolunteerMatch Do Good. Live Well. Survey provides compelling evidence that volunteering not only enhances volunteers' physical and mental health but also strengthens relationships between employers and employees. | |
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Among the key findings: |
- More than 68% of those who volunteered in the past year report that volunteering made them feel physically healthier.
- 29% of volunteers who suffer from a chronic condition say that volunteering has helped them manage their chronic illness.
- 89% of volunteers agree that volunteering improved their sense of well-being.
- 73% of volunteers feel that volunteering lowered their stress levels.
- 92% of volunteers agree that volunteering enriches their sense of purpose in life.
Click here to read the entire report.
Information from VolunteerMatch e-newsletter, May 2010 |
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Georgia Cold Case Project: Policy Recommendations
The Georgia Cold Case Project, implemented in 2009 by the Supreme Court of Georgia Committee on Justice for Children, involved a review of 214 cases where children experienced extended stays in foster care without achieving permanency. Many of these children experienced multiple placement moves and had some type of identified disability. The executive summary findings and recommendations for the Cold Case Project can be found here.
 The recommendations highlight both individual case advocacy strategies and system changes to achieve better outcomes and permanency for all children. Join Georgia CASA and the Committee on Justice for Children in sharing ideas and educating others about CASA's role and influence on the recommended changes and strategies. Through this partnership, the CASA network in Georgia is working to reach permanency for children that may linger longer than necessary or age out of the foster care system. We are pleased to provide a specialized training for CASA staff and volunteers on building a case a permanency, both with youth and those around them. This training will be held on December 6 in Atlanta. A video conferencing version of the training will be held in Savannah and Tifton. For more information on the Permanency Counseling training and how to register, please view the flyer. |
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Check It Out: CASA Volunteer Reference Page
If you are a CASA volunteer (or you are interested in just learning more about child welfare), be sure to check out the Volunteer Reference page on Georgia CASA's redesigned web site. The page includes a wealth of information, from links to trainings on courtroom advocacy topics and a resource toolkit for child advocates training video to educational checklists, child welfare articles and much more! |
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Affiliate Program Highlights
Advo-Kids CASA, located in Griffin, recently began serving Upson County in the Griffin Judicial Circuit, in addition to already serving Fayette and Spalding counties.
CASA Glynn, located in Brunswick, is selling Kids for CASA Christmas Cards.Each package of cards was designed by a Glynn County student and produced by students at the Golden Isles Career Academy, in conjunction with ArtDowntown and Creative Frameworks. Kids are helping raise money for kids! A package of 12 cards is $10; 3 packages are $25. Contact CASA Glynn (phone 912.264.4448) for more information and mailing costs. Renaldo Stover, a CASA volunteer with Athens-Oconee CASA, is currently featured on home page of the National CASA Association's web site. To read the feature as well as listen to Renaldo briefly talk about being a CASA volunteer, click here. Hall-Dawson CASA, located in Gainesville, recently began a new charter member drive called WWW - Women Working Wonders. To date, 102 women have joined. Each woman has committed to an annual contribution of $100, with $10,200 given already! CASA for Children in Cherokee County now houses a computer for free access to the Foundation Center Online Funding Directory for the county. With free access granted by an anonymous donor, the directory can be useful for nonprofits, PTAs, booster clubs, schools or anyone wishing to match funders to their causes. |
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Andrea's Story
Andrea was a six-year old girl who came from a life of poverty and parental neglect. She lived most of the year in her mother's car before coming into foster care. Andrea was fortunate enough to have a CASA volunteer standing beside her, advocating for her best interests and focusing on the power of permanency. She has now been adopted by her foster parents into their loving, safe and permanent home. Please take a moment to read her story, written by her adoptive mother, and consider making a donation to Georgia CASA or one of our affiliate CASA programs as we reach the end of 2010. You can help make a difference in the lives of children, like Andrea, who are in your community. |
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Georgia Court Appointed Special Advocates, Inc. (Georgia CASA) develops and supports court-sanctioned, community-based programs that provide trained and supervised volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children involved in juvenile court deprivation proceedings. Currently, 47 affiliate programs throughout the state serve 136 counties. Last year, over 8,700 children were served by 2,100 CASA volunteers.
404.874.2888 or 800.251.4012
fax 404.874.2889
A Member of The National CASA Association
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