Sunflower CASA Project
Court-Appointed Special Advocates are volunteers from many different backgrounds who give their time to advocate for abused and neglected children in the court system. Our program is based on the principle that each child deserves a safe, permanent, nurturing home where they can thrive. Our volunteers are the difference between abuse and hope.
Current CASA News
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Volunteers: Please check out our September and October activities calendar for a complete list of upcoming in-service opportunities and events.
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Fall training will begin with an orientation session on Monday, September 13 at 6 pm at First Lutheran Church (930 Poyntz). Visit the Join Our Team section of our website to learn more and download an application.
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Save the date! Sunflower CASA Project's 5th annual Motorcycle CASA Poker Run is scheduled for Sunday, September 26, 2010. Visit the Fundraisers section of our website for more information. We hope to see you there!
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Attention golfers! The NAIFA Flint Hills Annual Golf Tournament is coming up on Friday, September 24th. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Sunflower CASA. Click here for more information.
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Congratulations to Alison Klem and Claudia Luthi - volunteers of the month for June and July! Read more about Alison and Claudia in the latest edition of our Making a Difference Memo.
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In 2009 Sunflower CASA Project volunteers advocated for and served 171 children who had been abused and neglected in Riley, Clay, and Pottawatomie counties (a 24% increase from 2008). Click here to read our 2009 Annual Report.
The History of CASA
The CASA movement began in 1977 when Judge David Soukup of Seattle, Washington, conceived of the idea of trained community volunteers advocating for abused and neglected children. Judge Soukup felt he did not have sufficient information to make informed decisions in cases involving children. From his vision, CASA has spread across the country. There are now over 900 CASA programs nationwide with over 70,000 child advocates! Since its inception in 1977, CASA volunteers have advocated from more than 1,000,000 abused and neglected children.
The first CASA program in Kansas was developed in 1981 in Wichita, KS. In 1988 Sunflower CASA Project began in Riley county. Our program then branched out to Clay county in 1991 serving all of the 21st Judicial district. Then in 2001 we expanded again to Pottawatomie county, a member of the 2nd Judicial district.