I began working for DHS in June of 2009 and spent a year working there. One day during court, I was sitting in the jury box with the other caseworkers and CASA Volunteers. I began talking with one of the volunteers and talked about my girls and showed her their photos. She immediately recognized them and began to explain that she had been their advocate when they were in foster care. We were so glad to meet one another. For me, it was comfort to know that the girls had her watching out for them and for her, she was so happy to see that the girls are okay and have a loving family.
CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates. The court system appoints these volunteers to visit with children that are in foster care and to present the judge with what is in the best interest of the child during court hearings. They are amazing people that give their time and put the safety of our (my) children first.
Then I left DHS to stay at home and began my journey as a member of the Board last October. My focus on the Board is fundraising and I got the opportunity to help with our first event of the year.
We decided on an event called "Light of Hope" in which we would invite everyone in the community to find old light fixtures and "flip them". We picked the Farmer's Market Pavilion in Bryant in order to display the lights in the evening and allow them to light up the night! We then auctioned off the lamps in a silent auction and raffled off some pretty good items. We had an autographed Cliff Lee baseball and an amazing light fixture (valued at over $300) donated by Lewis Lumber, just to name a couple.
We had a great time and appreciate all of those that supported us this year. We hope that our event grows with each year and is some day "a pretty big deal".
Enjoy the photos from that amazing night:
"You shoulda been there!"
And of course, the girls had some fun too.
I hope to see some of you out next year for this event that supports the children of our community!