Although this is a favorite time of year for most children, many of the children served by Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) can’t be with their loved ones during the holidays. This makes the holiday season stressful and upsetting for children like 7-year-old Ana, who only wants a permanent home for this holiday season or 12-year-old Allen who is wishing to be able to spend the night in the same home as his three siblings. Being with family is something so many of us take for granted.
For those children who can’t be with their families, a Court Appointed Special Advocate can make a real difference. Children know they are not alone and there are people who care. It has been shown time and time again that a caring, consistent adult can make a real difference in a vulnerable child’s life. This is what CASA is about—ensuring each child knows that there are adults out there who care about them.
Last year, thanks to your support, Passaic County CASA provided a Court Appointed Special Advocate to more children than ever: 250 out of the 524 children in Passaic County’s foster care system. Thank you! By 2020, with your support, we will continue this growth and hope to reach 360 children. This is an ambitious goal for our organization that we can only reach with the support of our community.
Speaking of which, you may have heard the exciting news that we have a generous donor who has committed to match all donations this holiday season, up to $150,000. We are asking everyone to give what they can so we can take advantage of this incredible opportunity! Raising $300,000 would be transformative for Passaic County CASA and the children we serve in foster care. Imagine the lives we could change?
Your support to CASA of any amount will deliver great impacts to children in foster care:
● When a CASA is assigned to a child’s case, there is a dramatic risk reduction. In northern New Jersey, only 4% of children served by CASAs re-entered foster care, compared to at least 12% of all children in care.
● With the benefit of a CASA, children reach a safe home sooner; they spend an average of eight fewer months in foster care than those who do not have the benefit of a CASA.
Your gift is so important because fewer than half of the children in foster care in Passaic County experience these positive outcomes. This is entirely due to limited funding for Passaic County CASA. We require your support in order to provide a constant, caring, specially-trained advocate for every child in foster care.
Every gift made to this urgent appeal – up to $150,000 – will be matched dollar for dollar to help us reach our goal of reaching 360 children by 2020.
Please give what you can online. No amount is too small or too large, just like the children we serve.
Thank you on behalf of the children of Passaic County!