At Passaic County CASA, we believe deeply in advocating for the best interests of children in the child welfare system. Fifteen years of service doesn’t just happen without committed supporters to sustain us and help us grow. When I think back to how we started and reflect on where we are today – I’m overwhelmed with gratitude.

My mind swirls with wonderful memories of dedicated people and amazing teams who have lifted us throughout the years. I could go on for days…even longer. Many went above and beyond providing game-changing support for our CASA children and helping us expand our scope.

I am so thrilled for the opportunity to highlight the exceptional support from one funder, in particular. The Turrell Fund, an organization serving the youngest and their families, has been a grantor of Passaic County CASA since the early days when we didn’t have enough advocates to serve every child in foster care. Today, we serve every child in need, and now, we can offer even more meaningful resources thanks, in large part, to Turrell.

Over the years, Turrell has been a constant support source of advocacy statewide. They have defined what it means to be a true partner. In fact, it was their grantmaking that enabled the launch of the Safe Babies Court Team, our newest program and the first-of-its-kind in New Jersey.

If you ask my team, they would tell you I have pretty lofty goals… but even I thought this idea was beyond reach at one time. But Evan Delgado, President of Programs at Turrell, believed in us… he believed in the strength of our team to keep our core programs operating at the highest level, while expanding our impact. It was Evan and the Turrell Fund that encouraged us to bring this Zero to Three program to New Jersey and lead the Safe Babies Court Team across three New Jersey counties.

His encouragement didn’t end there. Evan and the entire Turrell team went all in to help us achieve the seemingly unreachable goal. They spent endless hours on video calls… phone, calls and in person to help us apply for an extremely large federal grant… with only 10 days' notice. To be clear, this was a tall order for even the most experienced grant writing teams. Typically, writing a federal grant would take months. Somehow, we did it…we turned in the application...we landed the grant. We are now in the privileged position of offering a new stabilizing force for families and caretakers of young children.

What’s next for us? Only time will tell. One thing we know for sure – with partners like Turrell, we can not only change lives for the better – but we can reach even more children in need. To the team at Turrell, we thank you for your commitment to children and the vision to create new paths to better outcomes for all families.