Welcome to my CASA Kid Walk page.  The Kid Walk is an annual event put on by CASA, and this is my first year. Teams compete to see who can raise the most money between now and the Kid Walk on October 13th. My team is the office staff. We're calling ourselves CASA Cares, and our goal is to raise $5,000 dollars - $1,000 dollars each.

CASA helps abused and neglected children like Jasmine Smith (name has been changed).  At 18 months, Jasmine had been too little to recognize the drug use and the unclean home in which she lived - too young to see her mother beaten by a father she wouldn't remember if he returned from prison. But she was old enough to reach the razor blades, butane lighters, broken mirrors and syringes left on the table while her mother lay unconscious, passed-out in her bedroom closet.  Acting on an anonymous tip from a neighbor, the police found Jasmine alone, arrested her mother, and took Jasmine to a temporary shelter.

Jasmine now faces a challenging future full of unfamiliar adults - lawyers, social workers, judges, and foster families.  Many of the busy new adults in her life will only see her once a month, some even less.  Their faces may change every few months.  However, each will hope for the 18 month-old girl to open her heart and trust them. 

What would Jasmine’s life be like if she had an adult she saw every week?  An adult she knew she could trust?  Whose face never changed?  An adult who met each foster family?  Each social worker and lawyer?  An adult who was sanctioned to write court reports on her behalf?  That’s where CASA comes in.

 CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates. We recruit, rigorously train, and support community volunteers who are advocating for abused and neglected children.

 If you don't have the time to be a CASA, the second best thing you can do is donate. Make it possible for others to become CASAs. Only 3 in 4 children who need a CASA get a CASA. Help us expand our training schedule, grow our support system, and increase volunteer advocate pool.  Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure. No bake sales, no candle orders, no raffle tickets. It is the most efficient way to support my fundraising efforts.

If you don't feel comfortable donating online, you can send a check made out to CASA with my team's name (CASA Cares) or my name in the memo to:
CASA of Humboldt
2356 Myrtle Avenue
Eureka, CA 95501

Love and hugs!

Jema

 Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate, too!