City of St. Charles ‘CASAtoberfest’ Supports Abused, Neglected Children
The city of St. Charles employees will be holding a special initiative to benefit CASA Kane County during the month of October.
The city held this initiative last year, and it was so successful they plan on doing it again. Employees will pay $6 each Friday for the privilege of wearing jeans. To close out the month, a bake sale will be held from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Oct. 30 at the Public Works building, then from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at City Hall, with a raffle for prizes of theater tickets, gift baskets and more.
Donation boxes will also be available at city buildings, and the city is encouraging all residents of St. Charles to get involved. Of course, if you happen to live outside the city limits, no one is going to mind if you drop by and make a donation.
This event, called “CASAtober,” is part of CASA Kane County’s “Partnerships with a Purpose” program, in which a company, organization or individual holds a promotion, event or sale to benefit CASA’s child advocacy program.
Lori Hewitt, Director of Development for CASA Kane County was aware of the city’s regular jeans days as a way of giving back to the community, and last year asked if they would consider making this a month-long event to get residents involved and support CASA.
“It is not just about the dollars raised for our organization, but it is also about creating awareness about the children we serve,” Hewitt said.
Lynn Creedon, benefits coordinator for the city, brought the idea to the committee that handles the jeans day, and all agreed to do this event again.
In addition to the city’s contribution, the Arcada and Fox Valley Repertory will donate tickets, and Blue Goose will be donating a turkey for the raffle. The money donated will be used toward the recruitment, training and supervision of community volunteers who serve as Court Appointed Special Advocates/Guardians ad Litem (CASA/GAL) for children who are in court due to abuse and neglect.
You can help by stopping by the city of St. Charles during the month of October, and making a donation to support abused and neglected children served by CASA.
“Partnering with local community merchants and businesses is what this program is all about,” Hewitt said. “It is amazing how the community will get involved with CASA to help our children.”
About CASA Kane County
CASA Kane County is a nonprofit, volunteer organization that advocates for the best interests of abused and neglected children within the Juvenile Court system and has been advocating for these children since 1988. In 2014, the program’s 281 volunteers served 587 children throughout Kane County. Businesses interested in partnering with CASA should contact Lori Hewitt, Director of Development at (630) 444-3107. To learn more about the CASA Kane County program, please visit www.casakanecounty.org.
Child Demographics
CASA Kane County relied on 281 trained volunteers to represent 587 children in Juvenile and Probate Courts last year. These children range in age from birth to 21-year-olds who are ready to live independently. All of these children and young adults relied on their CASA/GAL volunteer to make certain that their goals of safety and permanency were achieved.
2014 Service Statistics
- 587 children served
- 281 active CASA/GAL volunteers
- 62 new CASA/GAL volunteers trained
- 24,121 child service hours
(Equates to 12 full time GAL attorneys)
Program Outcomes
- 99.9% of children served did not experience a recurrence of abuse or neglect.
- 93% of children served remained with one consistent CASA/GAL volunteer for the entire year.
- 100% of children who came into abuse/neglect and probate courts were appointed a CASA/GAL volunteer.
