SHEFFIELD-On Friday, February 1 Shoals CASA celebrated its new location at 102 Jackson Court in Sheffield. CASA opened its doors to the Shoals community in 2002.
Friends and family of CASA were on hand to help celebrate the opening of the new location. The Shoals Chamber helped with the festivities by sponsoring a ribbon cutting. Along with light refreshments there was an open house showcasing the new location for CASA
“Through countless hours of dedication from the Shoals CASA Board of Directors, its volunteers, and its passionate Director Andrea Holt, this organization is helping neglected and abused children in our area have a voice.
SHOALS CASA supports and promotes Court Appointed Special Advocates who are appointed by a judge to speak up for abused and neglected children in court. Its mission is to recruit, train and support volunteer advocates to represent the best interests of abused and neglected children in the courtroom and other settings, helping the child welfare system and the courts find safety and permanency for our children.
SHOALS CASA serves both the Colbert and Lauderdale Court Systems.
CASA Volunteers are appointed by judges to watch over and advocate for abused and neglected children, to make sure that children who have been abused or neglected are at the top of everyone’s priority list. Volunteers Advocates are assigned to a 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 in their lives. Because Social Workers, service providers and others involved in a child’s life may often change.
Judges appoint CASA Volunteers to represent the best interests of children. Hundreds of thousands of children are subject to abuse and neglect each year. CASA Volunteers work with children from the age of birth to 21 who need a committed and caring adult to speak up on their behalf. Because there are not enough CASA Volunteers to represent all of the children in care, judges typically assign CASA Volunteers to their most difficult and severe cases of child abuse and neglect.
There are many children in our community in need of a CASA Volunteer, but yet they don’t have one. Contact them today to learn how you can make a real difference for an abused or neglected child.”
The Shoals Chamber was on hand to capture the celebration in photos. We present them to you here:
