Westmoreland Court Appointed Special Advocates seek to double grant through social media shares

An organization that trains volunteers to advocate for abused and neglected children in Westmoreland County is seeking shares on Facebook and a chance to double a $5,000 grant it recently received.

CASA Westmoreland, a group that trains and staffs volunteers for the Court Appointed Special Advocate — or CASA — program became eligible for the award after it received a $5,000 Make More Happen Award from Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance. The initial award came on the heels of a nomination from Evergreen Insurance LLC, a local company that volunteers with CASA Westmoreland.

Karen Burns, executive director of CASA Westmoreland, said Evergreen is among CASA’s stalwart community supporters. Evergreen launched its annual Golf and Tennis event to benefit CASA more than a decade ago.

“What we enjoy most is being a part of each and every CASA advocate’s success in advocacy for these vulnerable children. We share in the victories,” said Carol Black, a Safeco independent agent for Evergreen.

Beginning Wednesday, the story of Evergreen Insurance and CASA of Westmoreland will be featured on the official Make More Happen microsite https://www.agentgiving.com/evergreen-insurance, giving the nonprofit a chance to earn the additional $5,000. If the story receives at least 500 shares to Facebook, the donation will be doubled to $10,000.

Burns said the opportunity to double the award comes as CASA works to meet requests for advocates during the pandemic. The agency, with 79 trained volunteers, provides advocates for 162 children currently under the court’s jurisdiction.

“We hope to train another 25 volunteers this year,” she said.

The volunteers, who undergo rigorous training and background checks before being sworn in by the court, agree to follow a child in foster care for the duration of that child’s time under court supervision and report back to the court as an independent advocate for that child.

In an era when each child welfare caseworker can have a caseload of 30 or more children, experts say the volunteers provide a vital safety net.

A CASA commitment can last for years. On average, each child in Westmoreland County is followed by a CASA for 16 months.

The Westmoreland County program is one of nearly 1,000 local CASA affiliates that grew out of a program launched by a family court judge in Washington state in 1977.

The local agency’s ultimate goal is to provide a CASA for every one of the 410 Westmoreland County children in foster care.

Additional information about the program and training is available online at www.casaofwestmoreland.org.