Each weekend, we feature one B who’s making a difference in her community. We wonder: how can we give back, especially when money is short? When we feel so overburdened ourselves, how can we find the energy/time/resources to help others? With these questions in mind, we bring you examples of women who find creative, meaningful ways to give. Click ‘comments’ above and tell what you do! You might be featured here as inspiration next week.
Today’s Queen B of Giving Back is Kelly Stirling, a native of New Orleans who now lives in Westchester County, NY. She 
volunteers for CASA and strongly encourages others to do the same. Here’s her powerful message:
I am a volunteer CASA — Court Appointed Special Advocate — and work with children who have been abused and/or neglected by their parents or guardians consequently ending up in the foster care system. It’s extremely rewarding, but heart breaking at the same time.
Each year, approximately 780,000 children IN THE US are caught up in the court and child welfare maze because they are unable to live safely at home. Imagine what it would be like to lose your parents, not because of something you did, but because they can’t—or won’t—take care of you. Now, into these children’s lives come dozens of strangers: police, foster parents, therapists, social workers, judges, lawyers, and more. CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to watch over and advocate for abused and neglected children, to make sure they don’t get lost in the overburdened legal and social service system or languish in an inappropriate group or foster home. They stay with each case until it is closed and the child is placed in a safe, permanent home. For many abused children, their CASA volunteer will be the one constant adult presence—the one adult who cares only for them. Last year, more than 68,000 CASA volunteers served more than 240,000 abused and neglected children through 1,018 program offices. CASA volunteers have helped more than two million abused children since the first program was established in 1977.
Being a CASA volunteer does not require any special education or background, simply the desire to help abused and neglected children find safe, permanent homes.
CASA is a wonderful organization, with chapters all across the country. I can’t encourage everyone enough to be apart of it.
Helping one another is good, but helping our own great! And I feel we all have a responsibility to look out for the children of our communities; there are far too many of them needlessly falling through the cracks.
p.s. We’ve just learned Kelly also has a cool business! She helps keeps kids safe AND makes women more beautiful. Talk about raising the bar. Check her out at http://OnCallStylist.com.
That is so great. Our Mommy group does a service project a couple of times a month.
We go and visit the senior assisted living/ respite care facility in our area and visit with the seniors.. Our kids love it and the seniors do as well. It is a very rewarding outing every other week.
[...] B's Give Back: Looking Out for Little Ones | Bitches on a Budget [...]
I’m a CASA, too!!!
I work as an educational representative for the kids who’s parents have had their rights terminated. Often times, these children are in special education, or receive specialized services to address any number of learning disabilities. In these cases, we make sure that the children are receiving an appropriate education and are progressing in the treatments that we have often times fought for.
I agree, CASA is an absolutely amazing organization and so worthwhile. I am proud to be a part of the 68,000 volunteers working to help those children that often times have nobody.
thanks judi –
the role of a CASA is to act as a voice for the children and as the eyes and ears of the judge due to the fact that social services is so overburdened … we are not legal representatives of the children so we are limited in what we do but the most important thing we do is to be a constant presence in the childrens’ lives; social workers, judges, lawyers, all change over time but the CASA remains the same and each CASA is only assigned to one case at a time unlike the others involved … it’s especially important for older children who aren’t always involved in the legal process and feel they have no voice – when they have a CASA they can ask that certain issues be brought up
CASA’s are not automatically assigned to every case, but any child and/or parent can request a CASA be assigned to their case
~k
I wish the CASA system here in our county worked the way it was supposed to but sadly it doesn’t. I am inspired by your story Kelly it takes a special person to work with cases like this, I know first hand how helpful a CASA can be from dealing with issues with the children I adopted. Hats off to you.