Personal Portraits of CASA and GAL Volunteers

Thank you to the volunteers who provided these short “snapshots” introducing themselves in their own words. It is not easy to describe this type of advocacy. As one volunteer noted, “Who can talk about CASA in a just few words?”

Adele James, Maricopa County CASA Program, Mesa, AZ
I believe in the CASA mission and what it means to abused and neglected children. Through no fault of their own, they have wound up in a place where I never had to go as a child. I don't like to see our children suffer, and whatever I can do to relieve their suffering is my goal. There are many African American children who do not have anyone speaking up for them: those children need me and others like me. While letting them know that I'm there for them; I make sure to emphasize that life means being able to be proud of who you are. I tell them to soar above their circumstances. Because that's what it is all aboutgetting them to understand that the picture of their life is not defined by their present circumstance.

Angela Lane, Spokane Tribal CASA, WA
I am motivated to do volunteer work with children because there is a huge need in our local communities. Many children don’t have the love and care thatas childrenthey deserve. I have known so many children who were abandoned, neglected and unloved, through no fault of their own. It just inspired me to help. Becoming a CASA volunteer gives me the ability to help, and to also have a better understanding of families and children. Helping families and children receive the services and tools they need to assist in recovery gives me an overwhelming sense of goodness. I have nine children of my own and know that true joy is to help children get to be children. I work hard to do everything within my reach to help ensure the best interest of the child. And I love it!

Ann Beckerman, CASA of Adams and Broomfield Counties, Brighton, CO
Having just retired as a registered nurse, I soon found sitting at home not what I wanted for a lifestyle. Although I had never considered volunteering before, I noticed an article about CASA. What a serendipitous find it turned out to be! Being a CASA volunteer over the past ten years has allowed me to witness the differences that I can make in a child’s life. And the 50 CASA cases I have had have been so different! Each child and each family has had different challenges and goals. Their challenges have in turn challenged me to do my best in my role as a CASA. In doing so, I have grown immeasurably. I can’t think of another volunteer experience that would ever have provided this wonderful feeling!

Ann Pace, CASA Services, Inc., Denham Springs, LA
As a high school teacher, I remember seeing so many young people obviously in crisis at home and feeling helpless. Reading about the CASA program in our area, I saw an opportunity to affect change in the lives of children who are both victims of abuse and victims of our legal system. In some cases, I know I was a life-changing force in an abused child’s life. Sometimes, while I did my best, abusive parents beat the system with the help of clever attorneys. Sometimes, a young person would reject the opportunities we offered. There were times when I saw no light in the end of our tunnel. My first case (involving a frightened child with severe behavior and attachment problems) was particularly long and frustrating. But today she is a woman on grade level in high school, with a bright future ahead of her.

Billie Waymer, Lucas County CASA Program, Toledo, Ohio
Nine years ago, a newspaper ran a series about children falling through the cracks of the system, followed by an article about the CASA program. Although working at the time, I applied to the program thinking of my grandchildren who were all loved and very wanted: I wanted to make a difference in the lives of those who needed help. I try to keep in mind what is in the child’s best interest. When I look back over the years and find several children who now have a better life because I was part of it, then I am content. All the children I meet always hold a special place in my heart; many of them contact me years later to tell me how they are doing.

Bob & Barbara Benjamin, Garland County CASA, Inc., Hot Springs, AR
When we retired, we knew we wanted to “give back”. Barb had volunteered with a children’s shelter before retirement, and found fulfillment in working with children in need. So, when we heard there was a new CASA program in Garland County, Arkansas, we decided to find out what CASA was about. When we did, we were hooked! We feel this is an opportunity to be instrumental in improving the lives of children who have no one “to speak for them”. We hope that we can make a change in the cycle of repeating generations of child abuse by making a difference in this generation. We have been volunteers since 2001, and were very much humbled to be honored as Arkansas State CASA Volunteers for 2002.

Bruce Morrison, Maine CASA Program, Portland, ME
I have volunteered with the Department of Education, served as a surrogate parent for special-needs children, and participated in the Youth Mentoring Program through the Muskie Institute. I became a volunteer for CASA because I felt the need to repay the good that I have received in my life. As I see it, we must help abused and neglected children to regain self-confidence and know that people do care for them. Since I began to volunteer for CASA in 1987, thirty-five cases have passed through my hands, involving more than 100 abused and neglected children. My expertise lies in working with older teenage boys. Connecting with them is essential in preventing young men from becoming angry and alienated from society. I attend CASA team and case management meetings, and spend time educating and guiding other volunteers. I believe that truly it takes a village to raise a child.

Claudia Brown, CASA of SW Missouri, Springfield, MO
As a mother, former teacher, and long-time volunteer with community outreach programs, I have always been an advocate for children. When alerted to CASA’s work, I found CASA is a highly successful program undergirded by the integrity, authority and support of the American court system. This is advocacy with “teeth!” The cases I have served on illustrate the role CASA volunteers play as the principal players for the “best interests of the child.” By integrating data and observations through contact with the children, I have found evidence unseen by the caseworkers and even the judge. The strength of my personal observations has impacted the judge’s decisions, sometimes in opposition to the inclinations of other case participants. That made the difference. I often feel like the sturdy selvage of the woven fabric that is the children’s lives. Some “threads” might snag, pull out or run, but the selvage sturdily binds the fabric together and holds despite all!

David M Wall, Clayton County CASA, Morrow, GA
Service to others is part of our faith. It is also common sense and good investing: you always get back what you give and more. I became a CASA volunteer five years ago, a graduate from the first class given here. Although I have volunteered elsewhere over the years, CASA spoke first to me due to my involvement as fire chief with a clearly disturbed child arsonist. I insisted a follow up by the courts and learned much about the system. One of the great things that a CASA can do is to be able to give the judge that extra information that could make a difference in the placement, treatment or future family relationships. There are moments when it is frustrating, especially when a situation is not within your own power of influence to fix. But there are enough positive instances and outcomes that make this a valuable program.

Emogene Pye, Wayne County CASA, Troy, MI
I’m a proud great-grandmother. But I’m also a proud CASA volunteer and have helped eight children so far return home. I must say that I cannot find anything better to do than to save a child. I love children and it hurts me so much to see parents abandon and abuse their children. I think there is something special about a CASA child. Perhaps, like in my paintings, it is their eyes: the plea for help in their eyes that makes me do all I can to help the child. It is rewarding to me to see children reunited with their parents. Sometimes, the mother needs our help to reconstruct her life and become more committed to rebuilding her family and staying together. I worked at Ford Company for 32 years. But now, as a volunteer, I find that no work is more rewarding than to speak up for the children.

Gayle Bennett, Sunflower CASA Project, Manhattan, KS
I left a teaching career because my work had become frustrating. Already, engaged in volunteer activities, I became intrigued with CASA after reading about it in my church bulletin. Who could have guessed what a fascinating journey this would become? When a judge thanks a CASA volunteer for his or her efforts, I am reminded how seldom I heard words of appreciation as a classroom teacher. People wonder if a CASA volunteer becomes discouraged working with abused children: I know that, to the contrary, by doing a thorough investigation and acting as an informed advocate, I can be a truly positive force in a child’s life. With all of this interaction, how could a CASA volunteer not know more about a child, and its family, than any one else involved in the case? This is why being a CASA volunteer is so amazing: who would have thought that an average person like me could be granted the power and privilege to so directly impact so many lives.

Gayle K. McCoy, Erie County CASA, Erie, PA
Children motivate me. They challenge me and the system at times, but this is what life is all about: giving back. While working as a Volunteer in Probation, which brings me face-to face with juvenile offenders in our court system, I read a two-line article in a newspaper looking for adults to become advocates for children. After attending the 12-week informational, eye-opening, heart-breaking classes, I was hooked. A CASA volunteer since 1999, I helped establish our local CASA as an independent agency, thus enabling us to grow and serve more children. I have a very close bond with each child I advocate for. They each have their own personalities, troubles and thoughts, and I deal with them as such: individually, with respect and honesty. Children have opinions, and they don't usually get to express their fears and questions to the correct people. We are their voice, their campaigner; we are CASA.

Gloria Ladove, CASA Williamson County, Marion, IL
As a Hispanic, I am aware of the need of strong and caring advocates for the vulnerable children within the Hispanic communities. When a child needs help, somebody must speak out for them. As a mother of three and grandmother of two, I have had much experience with my own children and I want to do more for other children. Thus, I became a social worker three years ago and an intern at the Department of Children and Family Services. Working there, I saw a need for advocates who care for children. I first became interested in CASA when I saw a “Casas for CASA” playhouse fundraiser in a mall. I then got to know a board member of our CASA program. Soon after that, I decided to volunteer with CASA, using skills developed through my past experience and education, because I know there are abused and neglected children across the nation who need our support.

Jan Masenthin, CASA of Shawnee County, Topeka, KS
My motivation to become a CASA volunteer was the mountain my husband and I had to climb in order to rescue and finally adopt our niece and nephew. If they had a CASA volunteer, it wouldn't have taken my Annie and Ernie 13 years to get the permanent home that our other children have had from the day they were born. NEVER turn your back on a child in need. Number one is always a child's safety. Without freedom from abuse and neglect, a child cannot reach beyond fear and hopelessness. I believe we can achieve amazing things for these kids if we keep up the one-on-one work that gives us the opportunity to make a difference -- and it has to be a good difference! Then we must do it over and over and over until all the starfish are back in the sea.

Jutta K. Young, Richland County CASA, Columbia, SC
Children are our greatest gift and most beautiful blessing. They need to be protected because they do not know how to protect themselves. I grew up in an alcoholic home; I survived because people, other than those who were supposed to, cared about me. I turned out okay, and it is my desire that all children who are victims of abuse and neglect know that they can be okay too! Working with children is what I have been called to do. The one thread that we as adults have in common is that regardless of background, education, career, or finances, we were all a child at one time. Children do not need much, only love and attention. Neither of these costs anything and requires only that we give of ourselves. And, when we do, we receive so much more in return. Seeing the world through the eyes of a child, what a difference we can make!

Kenneth Christian, Cherokee County/ Cherokee Nation CASA, Tahlequah OK
Although I am not Native American, I have a number of Native American friends, who I grew up with near Palm Springs, California. As a relative of mine was a foster parent for many years. I was already sensitive to both Native American and foster child issues. Sometimes you never know what life has in store for you until years later. It all came together one day when I walked by a Cherokee Nation CASA flyer looking for volunteers. That was two years ago. Although I had never worked with children or teenagers before, I can now work with them as a CASA volunteer, and I find it truly an inspiration. The court process, placement changes and lack of a family support system would knock any adult down. But the teenagers I have worked with continually pick themselves back up. As a CASA volunteer, my presence is supposed to give them inspiration and hope. But it’s the other way around when I see their courage.

Melinda Stotts, 13th Judicial District CASA, Grove, OK
Two things inspired me to become a CASA volunteer. Although my youngest daughter was four when diagnosed with leukemia, she is now 13 and doing great! This experience taught me that when blessed in your own life you should find a way to reach out to others. The other motivation is expressed in a quote by Martin Luther King, Jr.: “It is not the strident clamor of the bad people that will be the downfall of our society, but the appalling silence of the good.” How can we see the problem of child abuse and neglect in our communities and not do whatever we can to help? I try to help them and as a CASA volunteer I make a real difference in the lives of the children I serve. I have been so blessed by the children I have met, and given so much more than I could ever give.

Michelle Edwards, Volunteers for Youth Justice. Shreveport, LA
Always with a strong desire to work with abused and neglected children, I wanted to be a social worker. But I knew I would be more of an asset to our children as a volunteer. After all, my recommendations would not be motivated by politics, or by another agenda, but strictly in the best interest of our children. That’s how the CASA/GAL program found me: I was trained as a GAL in South Carolina in 1991, before our family relocated to Shreveport, LA. I feel I have been blessed with the ability to communicate positively with children of all ages, and who would let a gift like that go to waste? CASA is SO rewarding, because we are directly impacting the lives of the children we are involved with. Nothing is more important than helping a child become a more confident, needed, loved adult.

Mike Don, CASA for Children, Inc., Portland, OR
Lucky enough to have a good life with three great children, I have always been concerned for their safety and welfare while they were growing up. Yet I was keenly aware of the needs of so many other children who did not have able, available parents, and were often “lost” in the system that was supposed to protect them: I wanted to help in a meaningful and direct way. CASA became that avenue. The children we help today are going to define what our lives look like over the next few decades. If we abandon the most vulnerable, they will repay us with high costs of care, treatment, crime, and corrections. If instead every person reduces television time by two hours-per-week or has one less latte per week, and donates these saved resources to help children when they can still be affected, we can make a difference.

Mindy Beck, CASA of Morris & Sussex Counties, Denville, NJ
I have been a volunteer since my last child left for college. It was a commitment I had made almost a decade before. At that time, I was chairman of the National Council of Jewish Women’s New Project Committee in Morris County and helped to bring CASA to our community. As a working mother who never felt she had enough time for her children, I first limited my involvement to financial support. But I always promised that, when my own kids did not need me, there were others who would. I have met the most amazing people as foster parents and am in awe of their commitment to these children around the clock. I take my responsibility as a Financial Advisor very seriously; but my work with CASA keeps me totally grounded. I never forget that our greatest assets are in the form of our children, and our greatest responsibility as well.

Norma Reusser, Kay/Noble County CASA, Blackwell, OK
I have been working with children for 30 years. The last year I taught kindergarten, I had 50 children and many of them came from homes where they were neglected and deprived. Because of the numbers, it was impossible for me to give the individual attention these children needed. With CASA, I feel I can give the children I work with the attention and help they deserve. Thus, after retiring from teaching, I became a CASA volunteer three years ago. Being a CASA volunteer provides an excellent opportunity to work with each person involved in each unique case. Of course, working with the biological parents, foster parents, and other involved parties is quite a challenge. But the children are number one, and the hugs and smiles you get when you see them are impossible to describe with words. The one question I had when I began my training was, "Will I really do some good?" My answer is an unqualified “YES, you do!”

Patricia Mastagh, CASA Program of St. Joseph County, South Bend, IN
I have served as a CASA volunteer for four years. My motivation for volunteering and, specifically for CASA, came as a result of my work as a foster parent. My foster child had a CASA volunteer. Seeing her advocate for my foster child, I became interested in the program and, after I adopted my foster child, I also became a CASA volunteer. My work with the children I advocate for is very rewarding. My favorite motto is, "A hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove ... but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."

Roger Neal, Montgomery County Juvenile Court CASA Program, Dayton, OH
Although I come from a broken home, my mother and grandmother gave me a wonderful childhood. I knew that abuse was happening all around me, and I had always planned on volunteering after retiring. Still, I was shocked one day by reading in the newspaper about a child foraging through the garbage looking for food. I decided then to become a volunteer for children. After reading about CASA in the newspaper, and then visiting a black cultural festival where CASA had a booth, I became a CASA volunteer. Five years after joining CASA, I retired as postmaster here in Dayton. Now a CASA volunteer for eight years, I’ve had 15 cases so far, besides supervising other CASA volunteers. The one thing we cannot forget is that we were at one time the same age as those children that need our help. Thus, we must have compassion for those children, walk in their shoes so that we can understand them.

Sue Snyder, Voices for Children, San Diego, CA
I never envisioned retirement as a time to spend the day sitting on the beach or rocking on the front porch. I wanted to find a way in which, using my past experiences with children and the disadvantaged, I could feel I was making a difference. Hearing about the CASA program, it seemed like a good fit. Children are among the most vulnerable members of society, and here were those whose needs cried out for help. As a CASA, I have worked with two different families. Although our training was outstanding, and I felt prepared to deal with the routine issues, nothing could have prepared me for the challenges, heartbreaks and rewards of dealing with the children themselves. To be able to build up a child's self confidence, to help them to develop to their full potential, to let them know that they're lovable and can trust people enough that they can love in return, is for me what the work of a CASA is all about.

Suzy Smercina, Erie County CASA Program, East Huron, OH
Frustrated at not being able to work more intimately within the oft-times abusive and negligent family life of my students, I considered becoming a child and family psychologist when I retired as an elementary school teacher. CASA was the answer for me. It became the place where I could influence the courts and institutions whose decisions are so definitive in what happens in the life of a child who is helpless and victimized. These children are no different from the rest of the kids in the world. What they need and want most of all is a loving family, a safe place, care and intimacy on a daily basis. They are heroes of resilience! They ask for so little really, and appreciate so much. We must passionately persist in our search for truth in the nuances of every case, and daily provide that which is in the best interest of each child for whom we have the privilege of advocating.

Suzanne Harrison, CASA, Inc., Nashville, TN
While going through a divorce, I saw how helpless and angry a daughter could become because she could not tell the judge what she wanted, nor have a say in her own life at a time when her life was scary. So, I was delighted later when I ran across CASA, an organization that would speak for children, giving them a feeling of having some say in the court. I immediately wanted to be a part of that. Now, after six (soul-satisfying) years with CASA, when I first meet the children -- Adrian, Jehoshua, Kevin, Marrell, Leshonda, Zach and others -- it’s still like falling in love. I see awesomely wonderful things in each of them. I want to be a part of making their life good for them. I want them to feel my respect for them and thus respect themselves, to acknowledge their fears so they can be dealt with, to love whomever they choose guilt-free.