Being a volunteer is a beautiful thing. June Edington

I have been a CASA since July 2018. I became interested in CASA after reading an article about the need for volunteers. I also volunteered in the kindergarten class at a local elementary school. There, I witnessed firsthand the children in our community who needed help.

The hardest part of being a CASA volunteer is trying not to get emotionally involved. It is practically impossible not to get involved when seeing the children and their circumstances. But I always remind myself that taking a break after a tough case is okay. If you cannot care for yourself, you cannot care for your children!

I remain a volunteer because Vigo County is my community, it’s my home, this is where I am needed. I love being a voice for the children who cannot speak. I do it for the children!

Are there sleepless nights because of worry about some of the cases I advocated for? Do some of the situations you find these children in break your heart? Absolutely. If I‘m not worrying, I ask myself who is, but it was all worth it. When the right things happen, it is a truly beautiful thing. The child who finally smiles, nothing is better, and I have been blessed to have had many smiles happen in my journey as a CASA.

Are there times things don’t go the way we want? Again, absolutely, but we stand strong, we remain, and we celebrate even the small steps in progress, but mostly we remind the children someone cares and we hear them. The CASA program is very important to our children and the community, and the children of our community desperately need more CASAs.