CASA of Milam County needs you
The Court Appointed Special Advocates of Milam County, or as they are more commonly known, CASA, is in desperate need of volunteers to become Advocates for the children. With around 150 Milam County Kids in Foster Care at any time, we need all the CASA volunteers we can get – And More!!
CASA is an important cog in the wheel of the justice system specifically aimed at supporting our county’s foster children by giving these children an advocate to the courts that will represent their best interests to the court. This organization is all volunteer, from the administration that oversees things to the volunteers who work as these Special Advocates that keep it functioning. As with any volunteer organization, funding is always an issue and CASA of Milam County is no exception.
While the county provides a stipend each year to help organizations like CASA, the CPS Board, and Child Advocacy Center of Central Texas, it’s only a portion of what these organizations need to handle this formidable job that affects so many people throughout the county by serving our smallest victims; the children who are the victims of abuse, endangerment, and neglect and are unfortunately all-to-often overlooked by our fast-paced society – they shouldn’t be.
There are four agencies in Milam County who deal with the needs of our children; the CPS Board, CASA of Milam County, the Children’s Advocacy Center of Central Texas, and A Place of Hope. All four of these Non-Profit agencies work to represent the children of Milam County, to provide the social support, impart the knowledge of child development, and provide the concrete resources the Community needs to ensure all children grow to their full potential. They need your help, whether monetarily or as a volunteer. They all need your help, for to help these organizations is to help a child in need.
Children are our future, they are our promise, they are the loves of our lives, and they truly are the gifts that God has blessed us with. As I have said since taking office, the safety and security of Milam County and its citizens should always be the most important thing to County Government and to the County as a whole. These children who are our most valuable assets, should always come first.
I know the task seems large and the idea that one person can make a difference surely seems like a cliché, but remember, while no single person can solve the whole problem, each person can play a part and it’s up to each of us to do our part. Maybe, just maybe, if each of us does our part then we can eventually live in a world where something like Child Abuse Awareness Month is no longer needed. I pray that day comes sooner rather than later.
So, as you read this and consider what it is that you can do, I ask each of you to consider playing a role in helping the youth of Milam County. We don’t talk about this much, but our youngest child was one of those children. We adopted him at the age of four and today he is thriving in college. I know that is because of God’s intervention, but it makes me happy to know that God used us to be a part of his life and I hope that others can do the same. About ten hours a week is what is required of your time to be a child advocate, and in the end, aren’t the children of Milam County, our future, worth ten hours a week of our time.