Community Support
Not that far away from your job, your church, and your home, there are children in need. Parents struggle with addiction, mental health issues, and poor choices. All of these come to bear on the youngest and most vulnerable members of our community: children. These babies, toddlers, preschoolers, kids, and teens find themselves living away from their parents, meeting with strangers, and trying to make sense of it all. Our Court Appointed Special Advocates are there to help them through the confusion, the adjustments, the anger, and the hopeful reunification. CASAs are faces that they see weekly. They are people who can be trusted and who are entrusted with hopes, dreams, and plans for the future. CASAs give these children a clear voice in a complex system. The need is great, and we are lucky to have CASAs in Kent County who are up to the task. The number of children who need CASAs far exceeds the number of trained CASAs, however. Community support for this important work is crucial to ensure the continued vitality of this program.
2009: The number of child protective cases handled in Kent County decreased in 2009. Whether this was the result of improved prevention services is unknown. The cases that made it to court in 2009 were, nonetheless, some of the most difficult and challenging presented within the last decade. The human toll is immeasurable. Our CASAs were there, however, to help at every stage of the process, whether for 6 months or 5 years. It is a commitment like no other, but how else can you make change in the world if not by positively affecting the life of a child?
CASA of Kent County continues to garner critical funding from a variety of community grants. Considerable support has been gained through the partnerships of these important partners. We are grateful for our scope of support and for all the individuals, groups and initiatives that do so much to uphold the work of CASA of Kent County.
Amway
Baldwin Foundation
Dyer-Ives Foundation
Grand Rapids Community Foundation
Kent County
Rotary Club of Grand Rapids - East
St. Robert of Newminster
Schmidlapp Fund
Sebastian Foundation
State of Michigan
Steelcase Foundation
Steve & Cindy Van Andel Foundation