Here at CASA, we ask a lot of our volunteers. From maintaining their role as a stable adult in a child’s life to inputting calls and emails into our database, the day-to-day requirements of volunteer advocates are extensive. We at CASA of Travis County are incredibly grateful that so many wonderful adults in our community have embraced this volunteer opportunity with poise and passion.
Today, some members of our staff would like to express gratitude and admiration for the work that our volunteer advocates do every day to make children’s lives better.
“CASA volunteers are special because they have the ability to assess a situation and understand what needs to be done to help a child. They are not afraid to have a different opinion than the rest of the parties on a case. They are unpaid community members who take time out of their lives to recognize and stand up for the needs of youth in foster care.”
- Melanie Babbitt, Senior Child Advocacy Specialist
“Volunteers are great
Without them we’d be irate
Watch them advocate!”
- Blair Adams, Volunteer Recruitment Specialist
“CASA volunteers inspire me to do my work every single day!”
“Early Family Engagement (EFE) volunteers are amazing. They are fearless trailblazers who aren’t afraid to jump right into brand new cases, acting as the first face of CASA with kids, parents, relatives, and other professionals. They do such an amazing job of quickly gathering loads of information and making sure that kids stayed connected with their families during the CPS case. I routinely see EFE volunteers in court (at the very first hearings on cases) who are clearly the ones who have gathered the most information, talked with the most relatives, and have the most to offer in the way of advocacy for kids’ best interest!”
- Catherine Jones, Director of Program Innovation
“It is inspiring to work with so many volunteers who not only care about the issue of foster care, but who are also actively working to make foster care a less traumatic and isolating experience for children and families involved.”
- Melanie Babbitt, Senior Child Advocacy Specialist
“CASA volunteers inspire me to do my work every single day!”
- Alejandro Victoria, Director of Volunteer Admissions
"No one else on the team was able to do these things. It made an immediate and lasting impact on the youth.”
“There is a young adult on one of my cases with a multitude of mental health disabilities that doesn’t live in Austin. This youth was detained in adult jail. The CASA volunteer visited him regularly, ensured the jail was accountable for meeting the youth’s needs, and followed up with the needs of the youth when they were released. This volunteer took the youth to the social security office to apply for benefits and helped the youth acquire needed medication for an illness. No one else on the team was able to do these things. It made an immediate and lasting impact on the youth.”
- Melanie Babbitt, Senior Child Advocacy Specialist
“Committed and true
We are proud of all they do
Our volunteers rule!"
- Sara Blake, Community Engagement Coordinator
2019 Advocacy April
