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1st Franklin Financial Gives $50,000 to Georgia CASA!
On March 23rd, 1st Franklin Financial donated $50,000 to Georgia CASA. Headquartered in Toccoa, GA, the company gave to Georgia CASA as an organization that would have a beneficial impact statewide.
Pictured above are Ann Barrett (Georgia CASA Board Member), Ronnie Morrow (1st Franklin Financial Vice President), Duaine Hathaway (Georgia CASA Executive Director) and Mike Haynie (1st Franklin Financial Executive Vice President, Human Resources
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Events Calendar
5/17-19: Council of Programs Meeting
6/21-23: Volunteer Supervisor Training
9/3: CASA Awareness Day at Atlanta Braves Game
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Recent Events Wrap-Up
Leadership Academy Graduation
On March 2nd, 21 affiliate program directors and two Georgia CASA staff persons graduated from the 2011 Georgia CASA Leadership Academy, developed and delivered in partnership with Dale Carnegie Training. Over six months, participants took part in a feedback-intensive learning experience, including real-life applications and skills development, to enhance their leadership capacity. At the graduation, each participant shared his/her leadership vision and innovation plan. Congratulations to Deidre Hollands (CASA for Children), who was voted by her peers as having the best leadership vision, ZaDonna Slay (Savannah/Chatham County CASA) for best innovation plan and Annette Bates (Piedmont CASA) for best overall. You can also read a more detailed article about the Leadership Academy here and read quotes from some of the participants here.
Luncheon & Fashion Show and Preview Party
The 7th annual Georgia CASA Luncheon & Fashion Show took place on March 30th at Piedmont Driving Club in Atlanta with 275 attendees. Georgia CASA Executive Director Duaine Hathaway and his wife Diane (pictured at right) were honored
for Duaine's 10 years as Executive Director. The keynote speaker was Connie Stephens, Hall-Dawson CASA Executive Director and National CASA board member (pictured at left). Fred Kalil, of 11Alive/WXIA-TV Atlanta, was the moderator. Guests enjoyed watching the models wear attire from Sandpiper (women) and Guffey's (men). Seven prize  packages were raffled off as part of the event. The event raised approximately $25,000. Additionally, a Preview Party to the event, hosted by a Gentlemen's Committee, was held on March 24th at the home of Board member Marie Hannon. You can view more pictures of both events on Georgia CASA's Facebook page.
2011 Georgia CASA State Conference
On April 16th, the Georgia CASA State Conference took place in downtown Atlanta at the Marriott Marquis. Over 400 CASA volunteers, staff, board members and others in the child welfare system networked and had the chance to attend a selection of 23 workshops. The 2010 CASA Volunteer of the Year in Georgia, Antonia "Toni" Flowers, was awarded at the Volunteer
Appreciation Luncheon that included Ashley Rhodes-Courter as the keynote speaker (pictured on right with Alicia Darden, Georgia CASA Project Manager and conference coordinator on left). At the Opening Session, Bartow County CASA was given the Established Program Award of Excellence and Dougherty CASA was given the Innovative Program Award of Excellence for volunteer recruitment. View more pictures from the conference on Georgia CASA's Facebook page. |
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Why Be Involved with CASA?
On Georgia CASA's Facebook page, we recently asked the question to CASA staff and volunteers about why they like working or volunteering with the CASA program. One response from CASA volunteer Olga Elena Salamanca-Phillips was, "I finally had one of my CASA children give me a hug, after two years of working with him. I watched him overcome emotional hardships and through therapies and stability, he has realized there is safety and love in the world, and he deserves it. That hug meant he has changed his life. Nothing beats watching that happen to a child who would otherwise be lost." Read more inspiring responses here. |
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CauseBox Supports Georgia CASA
Now, every time you pick up the phone, you can support Georgia CASA. CauseBox offers a $24.95 digital home phone service plan which donates 10% of your subscription to Georgia CASA every month. There is no annual contract, FREE calling in the US & Canada, and FREE calling to 34 countries. To sign up, call toll free 1-855-228-7326 or go to www.causebox.com
and select Georgia CASA as your cause. |
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Affiliate Program Highlights
Advo-Kids CASA and Coweta CASA held a joint Harlem Ambassadors basketball event, "Hoops for Hope," on March 4th in Newnan and CASA of Paulding County also held the same event on March 3rd in Hiram. The events raised funds for the respective CASA programs, and each event included teams of local celebrities playing a team from the Harlem ambassadors.
Athens-Oconee CASA recently moved to its new office space in a renovated house on Pope Street in Athens. The office space houses all programs of Children First, Inc. (the umbrella organization of the CASA program), and includes a training room for new CASA volunteers and for continuing education of current CASA volunteers. The space also includes a living room for family visitation and a playroom for children as part of the other programs of Children First. 
CASA of Forsyth County held its inaugural CASA SUPERHERO 5K run/walk fundraiser on March 26th. Participants were encouraged to come as themselves or dressed as their superheroselves because every child needs a hero. The event was a great success, with hundreds in attendance and over $15,000 raised!
Northeast Georgia CASA, serving Elbert, Franklin, Habersham, Hart, Madison, Oglethorpe, Rabun and Stephens counties, held its second magic show fundraiser/publicity event on March 4th in Toccoa. Presented by Carson Entertainment, The Reality Magic Show included over 500 attendees and was a very successful event! |
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School Lunches for Foster Children
Children in foster care are now eligible to receive free school meals, thanks to a provision in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, approved by Congress in December 2010. Children are eligible to participate immediately; states may claim reimbursements retroactive to October 1, 2010. CASA
volunteers, staff and judges should ensure that children in their cases are receiving the free meals for which they are eligible. Please help spread the word among caseworkers, foster parents and others involved in the lives of children in foster care. More information can be found here. (Reprinted from The National CASA Association) |
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Legislative Updates
House Bill 23, introduced by Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur) during the 2011 Georgia legislative session, was supported by the CASA organization at JUSTGeorgia/CASA Day at the Capitol in February. House Bill 23 would provide for better monitoring of psychotropic medications for foster children. Rep. Oliver asked that the bill be tabled until further research is done, and Casey Family Programs announced in mid-March that it is funding a pilot program to review prescription patterns of psychotropic drugs for children in Georgia's foster care system. To read more, click here. The Child Protection & Public Safety Act (the Children's Code Rewrite), also supported at the Day at the Capitol, has received commitments from Governor Nathan Deal and Georgia House and Senate leadership to ready the measure for a vote in 2012. |
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Support CASA this Spring!
April is National Child Abuse Prevention & Awareness Month
and May is National Foster Care Month, so spring is a great time to remember Georgia's abused, neglected and abandoned children! Did you know that every 2 hours, there are over 15 incidents of child abuse and neglect reported in Georgia? We encourage you to consider a $15 donation to Georgia CASA or an affiliate CASA program in April or May. Additionally, Georgia CASA thanks all its donors for the first quarter of 2011 (January 1 - March 31). |
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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 140 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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