The meaning behind the baskets

By Pamela Saunders
Office And Finance Coordinator

It’s that time of year again!  Tricky Tray!  One of CASA’s biggest fundraisers!

For CASA staff and volunteers, Tricky Tray is a long day…week…month of work getting donations and creating beautiful baskets so our devoted Tricky Tray attendees will be wowed year after year. We’ve learned that people who “tricky tray” take this event very seriously.  They drop their tickets in prize buckets with finesse and gusto.  Then they delicately and precisely organize the ticket stubs before settling in for a night of hundreds of numbers being called for hours. Each attendee hopes and prays that he or she will be victorious, with numerous prizes in hand.

But is our Tricky Tray really just about people winning stuff?  Not even close. 

For those of you who wonder how and why this event exists, I will tell you.  Tricky Tray is a collaborative effort headed by one woman who has boundless energy and love for CASA and our CASA kids. It’s a network of staff, volunteers, community organizations, and local businesses working together and giving generously to raise money for children who need a voice in the world of foster care.  Yes, Tricky Tray is “chaos”.  It’s a chance to win hundreds of prizes, by hundreds of people, buying hundreds of tickets. The night is filled with excited screams and woeful moans of prizes won and lost.

Pam working hard to build one of CASA’s Tricky Tray prizes: a beautiful fire pit.

The finished product!

But none of this craziness comes close to the “chaos” that children in foster care experience.  Screams and moans mean something different in their world and a “chance” at a safe and permanent home is the prize they hope to win.  Tricky Tray is really about people coming together to celebrate a “chance” to change the life of a child.  Hope is not only for raffles but for the future of children. 

Everyone loves Tricky Tray night.  It’s about gathering together with friends and coworkers for a fun evening and I’m always happy to see my own friends and family enjoying the evening we worked so hard to put together.  They are wowed by the crowd, the prizes, and the food, and are amazed by how it all comes together.  But I and a select few truly know the backend of Tricky Tray.  We know of the commitment to helping children by our Tricky Tray crew, the generosity of community businesses who donate and the results that one night of fun can have in helping kids in crisis reach a permanent, safe and loving home by funding the work that CASA does by providing a child an advocate who is in their corner and by their side.

Thank you to everyone who contributes time, talent, sweat, and energy to making our Tricky Tray possible.  Thank you to the volunteers who solicit donations, Andrea Nieves and her Tricky Tray fairies who create our gorgeous baskets, staff who set up and work the event, and our attendees who support us and who may not realize exactly what this fun crazy evening is really all about.  

See you all on June 1!

Help Us Change the Luck of Children in Foster Care

By Laura Warne
Communications Coordinator

March is a month when the topic of luck frequently comes up. Whether it is hanging up shamrock décor or wishing someone “Luck of the Irish,” this is a month when people from all backgrounds do what they can to ensure the months ahead come with a bit of success.

For children in foster care, "luck" becomes a much more serious matter. Luck can have a big role in dictating a child's experience while in foster care and throughout adulthood. Through no fault of their own, entering foster care changes a child's life. Statistically we know that 30% of boys will end up incarcerated before the age of 21 and 77% of girls who reach adulthood without finding a permanent home will become pregnant before the age of 24.[1]

But some children in foster care will get lucky, and a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) will come into their life. These volunteers make a measurable impact through their advocacy. Nationally, children without a CASA spend an average of eight months longer in care, compared to children with a CASA.[2]  Even after permanency is achieved for a child in foster care in New Jersey, approximately 13% of children will re-enter the foster care system.[3] Among those with a CASA in Northern New Jersey, however, that re-entry rate drops to 3%.[4]

In an ideal world, a child wouldn't have to get "lucky" for this to be their future.

In FY 2017, Passaic County CASA had 97 active volunteers who served 212 children. That same year, 583 Passaic County children were placed in foster care, meaning that only 36% of children were served.[5] While 212 children is a lot, we at Passaic County CASA never forget the children we aren’t able to help. They have the odds stacked against them. The saddest part is that it doesn’t have to be that way.

Our shortage of CASA volunteers is entirely dictated by two factors: the number of individuals willing to volunteer and the funds it takes to recruit, train, and supervise them. Being a CASA volunteer is a commitment, and we understand that not everyone is at a place in their life where they have 10-15 hours a month to give back. We also know many people don’t have disposable income they can donate to charity. But for everyone who does have 10-15 hours a month, or a few extra dollars they can contribute to a worthy cause, we would love to hear from you. Because no child's future should depend on luck.

[1] Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago - Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth Outcomes at Age 26 (2011)

[2] Cynthia A. Calkins, M.S., and Murray Millar, Ph.D., “The Effectiveness of Court Appointed Special Advocates to Assist in Permanency Planning,” Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, volume 16, number 1, February 1999.

[3] Center for the Study of Social Policy, “Progress of the NJ Department of Children and Families”, July 19, 2017.

[4] CASA NJ Internal Study 2014-2016

[5] www.casaofnj.org

Thank you Tricky Tray Attendees! And to all our wonderful volunteers!

Thank you to all who came out yesterday to our 9th Annual "No Place Like Home" Tricky Tray!

We are so grateful to those who attended and hope that everyone went home feeling like a winner. Of course, the true winners will be the children who get appointed a Court Appointed Special Advocate as a result of the funds that were raised. 

Below are a few photos of the fun!

Save the date for next year's Tricky Tray on June 10, 2019!