By Laura Warne
Communications Coordinator
Calling all Denver Broncos fans! For Passaic County CASA's first ever virtual fundraiser, we searched high and low, near and far, for a host who would make the virtual experience "come to life" for our participants at home. We found just the man for the job in Reggie Rivers, a former NFL running back for the Denver Broncos. After six seasons in the NFL, Reggie decided to pair his gregarious personality with his passion for supporting non-profit organizations and form his own business and training academy focused on galas and non-profit events. He's been helping non-profits ever since, and thinks there's no better job in the world.
Reggie knows personally the importance of home and family. He'll be joining us on March 5 from the Mile High City, where he lives with his wife and son. But Denver wasn't always home: in his early childhood he lived in a diverse list of places thanks to his family's employment in the Air Force. Ohio, England, Florida and Greece were some of the places his family was stationed before they decided to settle down permanently in the San Antonio area.
Additionally, Reggie and his wife understand the importance of Court Appointed Special Advocates, because they are adoptive parents. Their son didn't have a CASA, but he did have a guardian ad litem. Reggie recalls that he initially found the assignment of a guardian ad litem insulting and threatening -- the idea that they were being judged, and that this independent person might conclude that they were not the best place for Malik. But over time they began to understand the difference a guardian ad litem can make and the important role that person plays in the adoption process.
“Over time we also became fans and supporters of Court Appointed Special Advocates,” Reggie explains, “because we understood on a personal level just how alone a child is when he or she enters into the court system. No matter how many adults may be involved in the case NONE of them is exclusively focused on the interests of the child -- except for the CASA.”
Reggie will share more of his story on March 5, and he hopes the evening will inspire gratitude for home and family among attendees. After this past year of quarantine and lockdowns, many people may be taking these blessings for granted. At the same time, there are many children in our area who would give anything to be home. So, instead of wishing we could go back to the way life was before COVID, let’s all plan to have A Night In for their sake.
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