Court Appointed Special Advocates seeks to relieve pressure of high gas prices on volunteers
As drivers reel from sticker shock at the pump, volunteer organizations in the Pikes Peak Region are starting to feel a ripple effect. Nonprofits are struggling to control transportation costs. From youth sports leagues to meals-on-wheels programs, many organizations rely on owned or rented vans and buses to provide services.
But while their transportation budgets are stretched, they do have budgets—and a highly visible need on which to base special appeals to their supporters. Not so, for those organizations whose volunteers pay for extensive travel out of their own pockets.
Trudy Strewler, CASA of the Pikes Peak Region Executive Director, announced the organization is establishing an “Extra-Mile Club” to raise funds from individual donors and companies in the community. Proceeds will be used to buy gas cards for local CASA volunteers, who often travel hundreds of miles a month to investigate and advocate on behalf of neglected and abused children.
Volunteers working with CASA programs are specially trained to speak in court for the best interests of abused and neglected children. “Our volunteers do what no one else really can do,” according to Strewler.
“They’re officers of the court, but they stand outside the child protective services and foster care systems. They provide judges with a truly objective evaluation of what’s happening outside the courtroom from a community perspective.”
Their duties often involve extensive travel. CASA volunteers visit social service agencies, caregiver homes, homes of origin, and schools, among other destinations. “They are the eyes and ears of the court, and the child’s voice,” says Strewler. “When your mission is to make sure that everyone involved is not only following the court orders, but doing what’s best for a child, it amounts to a huge investment in the future.”
CASA volunteers in Colorado Springs are currently traveling an estimated 50 miles per week. With ongoing hikes in gas prices, CASA is worried that they may have to cut back on their activity, which will have a direct impact on the children we serve. “This work is just too important, and too effective, to let anything get in its way,” says Strewler. “So, since I know our volunteers would never ask, I’m asking for them. They should never have to think twice about making a trip that will help a child.”
To make a donation to CASA’s “Extra-Mile Club” please contact Jill Wright at 447-9898, x1002.
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