Karen Simonson Smith: CASA volunteers create better memories, lives for foster kids
Summertime generally summons images of swimming, climbing trees, summer camp, road trips, family reunions. What happens, though, if you’re a child in foster care, living apart from your family and unsure what the future holds?
It’s difficult to enjoy the carefree days of summer when life might unexpectedly change at any moment, and when your parents or other adults in your life have abused, neglected or abandoned you. While in foster care, it is unlikely summertime will create magical memories or dreams of daylong fun with friends and siblings.
At CASA of Merced County, we recruit, train and collaborate with volunteers to help make the lives of foster youth better. Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA volunteers, work one-on-one with a child or sibling group in foster care to ensure their needs are met. Not only do CASA volunteers provide vital information to the court to facilitate better-informed decisions regarding the foster child’s case, they also take the child on outings to have new experiences, help them enjoy the season and make new memories.
This summer, we invite our neighbors to help a child in our community by becoming a CASA volunteer.
Karen Simonson Smith, Merced
This story was originally published June 21, 2017 at 11:16 AM with the headline "Karen Simonson Smith: CASA volunteers create better memories, lives for foster kids."