By: Terene Bennett
ATLANTA – As the holiday season and New Year arrive, so does our increased attention to the needs of our families and communities. No matter what your holiday traditions may be, it is important to remember those around us who are less fortunate.
Our children, often overlooked in the holiday season, need your help more than ever to make their lives more stable and safe.
Often, we search for the perfect time to get involved in personally rewarding causes in the midst of our busy schedules. As Kwanzaa approaches, we encourage you to use the seven principles of this African-American holiday to remember your call to service and the children who need you most.
Each Kwanzaa principle focuses on family, culture and community, which all serve as cornerstones of African-American tradition. I invite you to join a local program of the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) or Guardian ad Litem (GAL) volunteer. Your work will directly impact and shape the life of a child who has been the victim of abuse and neglect. Now you will have a voice, through the National CASA Association volunteer opportunity, to help a child find a safe and permanent home.
Umoja (Unity)
In the United States, over 500,000 children are in foster care and 35 percent of these children are African American. CASA/GAL volunteer advocates are part of the team of people who determine what is in the best interest of these children. The National CASA Association seeks the commitment of individuals, along with churches, schools and social and civic organizations within our community, to help recruit dedicated men and women to serve as voices for our children.
Kujichagulia (Self-determination)
CASA/GAL volunteer advocates are determined to do their individual part to help rebuild families and provide solutions to child abuse and neglect within our community. As a CASA/GAL, you are appointed by a judge and empowered to advocate on behalf of the best interest of a child in court.
Ujima (collective work and responsibility)
CASA/GAL volunteer advocates are appointed by a judge to watch over the case of a child in need of a safe and permanent home. You are a part of a network of over 54,000 volunteer advocates in over 900 programs throughout the country, in all 50 states, who provide children with an objective voice in the court system. It is your responsibility as a CASA/GAL volunteer advocate to collaborate with caregivers, caseworkers, attorneys, judges and service providers in determining the best interest of these children. Collectively, we can help these children achieve stability and safe, permanent, loving homes.
Ujamaa (cooperative economics)
CASA/GAL volunteers advocate for child and family services to address and resolve issues of abuse and neglect of African-American children.
The volunteer’s contribution of time is a rewarding investment in these children’s lives.
If you cannot afford the time, your financial support helps to sustain the critical leadership and support necessary to serve more children. Your financial investment helps the National CASA Association recruit volunteer advocates from within our community, helps to ensure high-quality advocacy for our children across the country and helps make it possible for new CASA programs to be established within our communities across the country. Your time investment is equally as valuable.
Nia (purpose)
Currently, only 12 percent of the 54,000 volunteer advocates are African American. Your involvement helps to ensure that children don’t get lost in the overburdened legal and child welfare system. Not only can your involvement mean an end to the cycle of child abuse and neglect in the life of a child, but it can also mean that a child has a better chance of having a safe and permanent home, completing school, getting a job, achieving success, and overcoming the impact caused by abuse and neglect in their lives. We need your help to further African American participation throughout the court and child welfare systems.
Kuumba (creativity)
As a CASA/GAL volunteer advocate, you help the courts and service providers fully understand the dynamics and needs of African-American children and families. Your life experiences, perspective and resources create an opportunity for the courts and agencies to become educated about and sensitive to our community, its culture, its people and its children. As a CASA/GAL volunteer advocate, you help develop and then recommend ways to bring safety and stability into children’s lives.
Imani (faith)
CASA/GAL volunteer advocates believe that no child should be without a loving, caring family. CASA believes that every child has a right to a happy, safe childhood and a permanent home. You don’t have to be a lawyer or a social worker. You just have to be a caring adult and believe this can be achieved. You have to believe that if we work together, we CAN make a difference in the life of a child. Join the National CASA Association to help fulfill our mission to make sure every child in our community who needs a voice has one.
Keeping each of the seven Kwanzaa principles in mind, we encourage you to become a CASA or Guardian ad Litem volunteer advocate. You can contact a CASA or GAL program in your area by calling toll-free (888) 805-8457 or visiting online at www.nationalcasa.org.
