Hey you guys!  That's me over there, after just having tested out the newly installed slide for our kids' playground in the back yard.

I'm fundraising for my favorite organization, Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA of Humboldt.  I'm actually a case supervisor, working with our volunteer advocates as they accompany their CASA kids through the social welfare system.  Lawyers, social workers, and foster parents have several cases and kids competing for their time and attention.  But a CASA gets to focus on just one child.

My training as a cultural anthropologist didn't exactly guide me here, but kids who get sucked into the foster care maze are certainly in a foreign land, with its own rituals and language and social rules. I believe that having a CASA makes it less frightening for a child in foster care, and often having an advocate can alter a child's prospects for success in the future. 

I love the work we get to do in this community and I believe in the importance of working to make sure kids are protected from dangerous home situations. While foster parents are often able to provide needed nurturance and consistency, CASAs are officers of the court and as such, have distinct obligations to the court as well as to the child. We get to help the child on many different levels, often through getting other people to do what they're supposed to do anyway -- by holding people accountable and asking the right questions at the right time in the right way.

But of course recruitment, training and supporting volunteers costs money, and you probably know that California has been cutting funding for social programs like ours. So we are relying more on the generosity of our community partners, friends and neighbors to help us continue this important work.

The Kid Walk is an annual event we put on to fund our advocacy work. Teams compete to see who can raise the most money between now and the Kid Walk on October 9th.  My team is the great staff at CASA of Humboldt, and our goal is to raise $1,000 dollars--or more!

If you don't have the time to be a CASA, the second best thing you can do is donate and make it possible for others to become CASAs.  Only 2 in 4 children who need a CASA get a CASA. Help expand the training schedule, grow the advocate support system, and increase the 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 with "Jan Bramlett" in the memo to:
CASA of Humboldt
2356 Myrtle Ave.
Eureka, CA 95501

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

Jan Bramlett

CASA Cares Team