Closing 2021 & Welcoming 2022!

It is time to close the books on 2021 and what a year it has been! Together we have been able to accomplish some amazing things. While it has been a year of constant upheaval and uncertainty, CASA has been able to remain steadfast in its advocacy for children. We provided a CASA Advocate to more than 500 children, trained 50+ new volunteers (during a pandemic) and raised more than a million dollars.

Every aspect of our lives – health, school, work, travel – has been upended and we have had to compromise, sacrifice, and learn to deal with the unknown. We are so grateful to all our Judges, Attorneys, Social Workers and Court Investigators, who continue to come to work under less than desirable conditions. But mostly we are thankful for our Advocates who were steadfast in visiting children during very chaotic times.

On a very sad note, we lost Dianne Starkey on December 28, 2021. Many of you worked with Dianne in her role as an Advocate Supervisor from 2012-2019; she also served as a CASA Advocate both prior to and subsequent to her employment at CASA. She was a true Champion for Children and treated all children as if they were her own.

Midnight on New Year’s Eve brings with it a unique kind of magic, where the past and the future exist at once in the present. As we countdown to midnight, we are sharing the burden of our history while committing to the promise of tomorrow.

As we look forward to 2022, a search is underway for our new Executive Director. Many have reached out to me expressing sadness that I was leaving; however, the news of my departure has been greatly exaggerated. In June, I agreed to step in as Acting Executive Director as a temporary placeholder while a search committee was formed and a job description created. While I am grateful for this opportunity, my strengths lie in providing support to our Advocate Supervisors and I look forward to returning to that role. I have always felt I will know when the time is right to leave, however now is not that time, as I still feel there is more work to be done!

CASA would not exist without our wonderful staff, our Board of Directors, our Advocates, and our donors, who all came together in 2021 to ensure abused and neglected children did not fall through the cracks of the pandemic. We appreciate your dedication to the children of Worcester County and the impact each of you has had on our community.