Piedmont CASA Receives Family and Children's Trust Fund Grant

The Family and Children's Trust Fund (FACT) has awarded a $9,571 grant to Piedmont CASA, Inc. Executive Director Ruth Stone stated on behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of Piedmont CASA that they are honored to have their program recognized and supported by FACT. The Family and Children's Trust Fund is administered by a Board of Trustees appointed by the Governor to raise and distribute funds to local communities for family violence prevention, treatment and public awareness throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.

CASAs are citizen-volunteers who receive 32 hours of training before they are inducted by the Court and proceed to advocate for the best interests of an abused or neglected child. Piedmont CASA staff educates, supervises and supports these volunteer advocates as they investigate every aspect of the child's circumstances, needs and desires and report this invaluable information to the judge appointed to make determinations about the child's future. CASA volunteers play an essential part in the effort to find safe, permanent homes for abused and neglected children.

Last year, 96 active Piedmont CASA volunteers served 189 children whose cases were before the Charlottesville and Albemarle County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts due to abuse and neglect by their caregivers. 100% of the children served by Piedmont CASA remained free from new "founded" incidents of abuse and/or neglect. Volunteers remain on a child's case for an average of 21 months.

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Ruth Stone Receives 2008 Child Advocate Award from CYFS

We are thrilled to announce that in April Executive Director Ruth Stone received the 2008 Child Advocate Award from Children Youth and Family Services. In honoring Ruth with this recognition, CYFS cited Ruth's collaborative work with agencies throughout Virginia and noted that "CASA's mission to train and support community volunteers who advocate for child abuse and neglect victims in the court system melds perfectly with her passion to engage everyday people in understanding the conditions under which so many children and families struggle." In presenting the award, local attorney Lloyd Snook thanked Ruth for "keeping all of our eyes on the prize of a better life for children in the community where she lives."

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Piedmont CASA Receives Grant from Jewelers

Piedmont Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) was recently awarded a $10,000 grant from Jewelers for Children, the leading charity of the US jewelry industry. The grant will be used to maintain our volunteer-based advocacy services for abused and neglected children in the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County.

"The industry with a heart is truly making a difference and creating brighter futures for children in foster care," says David Rocha, the Executive Director of Jewelers for Children. "On behalf of the jewelry retailers, manufacturers, watch companies and trade associations who contribute every year to this effort, it's an honor to recognize Piedmont CASA with this grant and for making a difference in your community."

Piedmont CASA's written proposal was chosen to receive these funds from a $1,000,000 national grant by Jewelers for Children, administered by the National Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association. Since 2003, JFC has funded advocacy services for abused and neglected children in over 300 communities nationwide. We are very grateful to local jewelers who remain committed to helping abused and neglected children.

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Kiwanians Refurbish Offices for Piedmont CASA

On January 29, a dozen members of the Kiwanis Club of Charlottesville and one Albemarle High School Key Clubber completed a painting blitz of the conference room and reception areas of our office, located on the third floor of an historic building just off Court Square in downtown Charlottesville. "We chose the colors we did to provide a warm and welcoming atmosphere for staff, volunteers, and clients who use these spaces daily in their important work," said Executive Director Ruth Stone, whose husband, John joined in the excitement.

All of us at Piedmont CASA are so very grateful to Kiwanis for making this happen. Our hallway and conference room are truly transformed! After inhabiting this space for over eight years, we are struck by this great improvement when we come up the stairs first thing each morning and we know that all of our visitors feel this way too.

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One Child's Story

I remember when it started like it was yesterday: The touch, the feel, the smell, the sight and sound of those crazy days. Abuse, drugs, alcohol, poverty and neglect lead to the destruction of my family.

Eventually the system got involved in our lives, and before we knew it, we were separated into different homes. It hurt even more to know that my brothers and sisters were going through the same pain. Everybody told us it would be a couple of weeks in foster care - but it turned into months, then years.

Overwhelmed with depression, loneliness and hopelessness, I started thinking of suicide as an option. I didn't want to wake up in the morning, and I was mad at the world.

Then, on a day much like any other, a new person walked into the lives of my sister and me. With the constant changing of social workers and counselors, I didn't know what to expect. This woman introduced herself as Eileen, a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). I had never heard of this. She asked us what our interests were, and we set up a time to meet every week.

As the weeks went by, we got to know each other by going to the movies or cooking together. Since she was a piano teacher, she gave us lessons. I realized that I could talk to her about problems, not only personal problems, but problems about the homes we lived in. She was our voice. I started feeling like I wasn't alone, that there was someone who actually cared abut us.

The truth is that there are not enough CASAs for every broken child. Not only did my relationship with my CASA help me grow and prosper; it turned into a lifelong relationship. She may not have even realized her impact on my life because she was simply just being a friend. Someone you can talk to, and someone complete as a person.

Now I'm eighteen, going to college and have a job, a stage in my life I seriously believed I would not live to see. I thank God for keeping me strong and letting me live to see a brighter day. I can't say that I would take back any part of my life because it has make me the person I am today. Thank you Eileen for being that someone. And hopefully someday I'll help someone in my situation see life in a brand new way.

(Originally written by Sonia M. Aguilar. Excerpted and reprinted with permission from the Santa Cruz Sentinel.)

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