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Suite 201
Williamsburg, VA 23185
(757) 229-3306
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The Voice |
Colonial CASA's E-Newsletter
Volume I, Issue 05
April 8, 2006 |
In This Issue...
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Pencil It In... |
- May 5: April MMRs Due
- May 8: Monthly Meeting, 11:30am
- June 12: Monthly Meeting, 11:30am
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"If you love what you do, you'll never work another day in your life." ~ Anonymous
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CBS Cares about CASA |
The CBS Television Network has recently launched CBS Cares, a $221 million PSA campaign. The PSAs (public service announcements) feature actors/actresses from various CBS programs and address specific causes. The PSAs are meant to raise awareness and offer helpful resources to learn more about these pressing issues.
Danny Pino, from CBS' Cold Case on Sunday evenings is featured in two PSAs regarding child abuse. More exciting yet, he discusses CASA and becoming a volunteer. Pino has a relative who is a CASA volunteer and as such, he understands the importance of CASAs and their services. The PSAs will run during evening hours, introducing CASA to a broader population.
To watch the PSA for Child Abuse and CASA, Click Here. Search the Movies and Specials Category for CBS Cares and scroll down to find the ones on CASA.
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To Learn More about CBS Cares, Click Here |
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At What Age May a Child Be Left Home Alone? |
 I know the words Home Alone bring to mind the heartbreaking story of a family who goes on vacation and leaves their young son home alone to protect the house from two idiotic thieves. But the words also reflect a serious issue often discussed in the child neglect world; at what age can a child be left home alone, legally?
Sarah Serra, Volunteer Coordinator, has researched this question to provide CASA volunteers with better insight and a better understanding of the guidelines. The Virginia Department of Social Services' website offers great guidelines for assessing whether or not a child should be left alone. As you can imagine, "age alone is not a very good indicator of a child's maturity level. Some very mature 10-year- olds may be ready for self care while some 15-year olds may not be..."
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Casey Foundation Offers Resources |
 The Casey Family Programs' tools and resources for child welfare professionals are now available online! This Seattle-based foundation serves children, youth, and families in the child welfare system. The Casey Family Programs' mission is "to provide and improve - and ultimately to prevent the need for - foster care."
The tools and resources are offered by the foundation free of charge as a means to inspire innovation and collaboration among agencies serving youth. These tools will help "improve the foster care experience and well-being of young people, assess and develop strengths, and define and document outcomes for target populations." I encourage you to look at their website to better understand the resources available!
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Would You Like to Share Your CASA Experience? |
 Colonial CASA is in the process of archiving its E- Newsletters on its website for public access. We want the community to better understand what we do and the difference we truly make for the children and families we serve. What better way to do so than to hear directly from the volunteers? We want to include an article, A Volunteer's Perspective in the e- newsletter and thus, on the website.
Now, I know you are humble and not looking for personal recognition. But, this will help prospective funders and even prospective volunteers better understand your contributions. Plus, we will offer In-Service Credit hours to volunteers interested in offering their Perspective. If you are interested, please email Barbara McElroy. |
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Your Time Is Money... |
 Everyone knows that volunteers are indispensable resources to the communities they serve. Colonial CASA is certainly no exception. Staff may run the day-to-day operations of the program. But, if it were not for the CASA volunteers, many children would remain voice-less.
The Virginia Commission for National and Community Service also knows your value. They have raised the hourly rate for volunteer service in Virginia to $21.72 for the current 2006 fiscal year. Now I know you are running to your mailbox to get the latest check but unfortunately, it does not work like that! We use this number to show the economic value of CASA volunteers when reporting to the Department of Criminal Justice Services and other funders.
During the third quarter of this fiscal year (January 1, 2006 to March 31, 2006), for instance, Colonial CASA's volunteers donated 2,460 hours of their time to serving abused and neglected children. With the new hourly rate for volunteer service, this means that CASA volunteers would have been paid $53,731.20 for the services. Wow! |
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