CASA of Los Angeles Looks to Expand Volunteer Participation in Santa Monica, Long Beach, Pasadena and South L.A.
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) December 03, 2015 -- CASA of Los Angeles, a nonprofit group that has been recruiting, training and managing volunteers to aid foster children for over three decades, is focusing special attention on certain neighborhoods as 2015 comes to a close. Santa Monica, Pasadena, Long Beach and South Los Angeles have been selected as areas in which expanded volunteer participation would be especially helpful to the organization.
CASA of Los Angeles is the only organization of its kind in all of Los Angeles County. Working to maximize volunteer recruitment efforts, they have taken a community-focused approach. CASA of Los Angeles will build upon existing relationships within these areas, tapping their rich diversity and creative resources, in an effort to tie civic pride and local volunteerism to a larger community commitment to serve the abused and neglected children of the entire county.
Thousands of children in LA County have had their cases supported by a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) and this year alone over 800 will have a CASA in court with them. In many cases, the influence of a CASA can be life saving. CASA volunteers come from all walks of life and do not require any specialized degrees or legal experience. They are simply people who care about children and their commitment to advocate for their best interests. CASA volunteers deal with issues ranging from medical needs, to educational and emotional problems stemming from abuse or neglect in the home.
As a community-funded 501(c)(3) nonprofit group, CASA depends on active support both financially and through volunteerism to achieve its goals in helping Los Angeles’ 30,000-plus foster children avoid homelessness, addiction, incarceration or worse. CASA’s Outreach division is doubling its efforts to raise volunteers in the aforementioned areas by providing additional information sessions, raising awareness via assistance through the regional media outlets and in engaging in community forums.
“There are certain areas in Los Angeles that we feel provide important support for what we’re trying to achieve,” said CASA Director of Development and Communications Dan Hanley. “If we’re going to continue to expand our services to help foster children in need in Los Angeles, these communities need to be a solid foundation to build on.”
ABOUT CASA/LA
Founded in 1978, CASA of Los Angeles is a community-supported 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to mobilize community volunteers to advocate on behalf of abused and neglected children in the overburdened foster care system of Los Angeles County. CASA’s vision is of a Los Angeles where every foster child has an advocate and the opportunity to thrive. Through committed, highly trained everyday citizen volunteers, CASA brings the voice of a concerned community into the child welfare system. Studies have shown that children with CASAs receive more assistance and support than children without, and are more likely to be adopted or returned to their families and less likely to reenter the child welfare system. For more information, please visit the CASA of Los Angeles website: http://www.casala.org.
Brian McWilliams, Spelling Communications, +1 3108384010, [email protected]
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