Applause for CASA Volunteers

All across the country, people are honoring and celebrating volunteers during National Volunteer Week. Young or old, from all walks of life, volunteers selflessly donate their time and talents to help wherever there’s a need.

Here at the National CASA Association, we celebrate our volunteers every day. We are grateful for the 74,000 men and women who have stepped up and made a commitment to fight for the rights of children in the foster care system.

Recently we asked our Facebook community and members of the local and state CASA programs to name the top qualities every CASA volunteer must have. We used their answers to create an audio collage. Some of the responses were:

• Compassion and understanding
• Empathy, dedication and patience
• Tenacity
• Ability to do what is in the child’s best interest
• Ability to put your emotions on hold
• Ability to listen without judging
• A sense of optimism
• Communication skills
• Assertiveness
• Honesty and discernment
• Calm even when frustrated
• Good networker
• Knowledge of child development
• Ability to resolve problems through collaboration
• A nonjudgmental, open heart
• Patience and persistence

One respondent wrote, “A quote I keep on my desk: Aim with your heart, adjust with your head and always, always do all you can.” We know our CASA volunteers are doing all they can for the children they serve.

Thanks to all the CASA volunteers who stand for the children. You are making the world a better place, one child at a time.

CASA volunteers serve 240,000 children every day. But 400,000 children are still waiting to be matched with a CASA volunteer.  Find out how you can volunteer.