For information, please contact:
Susan Nissenbaum, CASA Foundation Board Member
(775) 853-5338
PRESS RELEASE
August 29, 2012
CASA “Speaking From The Heart” Volunteer Recognition Dinner
PROVIDING A VOICE FOR WASHOE COUNTY’S ABUSED AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN
VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION DINNER HONORS VOLUNTEER ADVOCATES
RENO, NV (August 29, 2012)-Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), a national organization that recruits, trains and supports volunteers to represent the best interest of abused and neglected children in the courtroom and other settings, is honoring the efforts of Washoe County volunteers at the 2012 “Speaking From The Heart” recognition dinner. The event, held at Silver Legacy Resort Casino on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at 6 p.m., acknowledges the countless hours that volunteers devote to children in need in the over-burdened legal and social services system. These volunteers often remain the one constant in their lives until placed in a safe, permanent home.
The “Speaking From The Heart” dinner welcomes nationally renowned speaker Mike Tikkanen, who will share his years of experience as a Guardian ad-Litem (GAL) and his observations about the millions of seriously abused and neglected children entering American’s schools and justice system each year. Mike Tikkanen, the author of Invisible Children, and founder of Kids At Risk Action (KARA), has devoted many years to advocating for the rights of children.
A CASA’s reward is often comes in the words of children who’ve had a Court Appointed Special Advocate. What they say demonstrates the power and magnitude of a CASA volunteer’s work. One young woman said, “I believe my focus and worldview – that it is not the falling that matters, but the rising every time we fall – is in large part due to the attention that my siblings and I received from our CASA volunteer”. As to the meaning it holds for volunteers? Susan, a CASA advocate since 1994, puts it succinctly. “It has been and remains one of the most rewarding and meaningful experiences in my life.”
Please join the CASA Foundation at the “Speaking From The Heart” dinner to recognize and honor Washoe County’s 120 outstanding volunteers on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at Silver Legacy Resort Casino. Doors open at 6 p.m. with no-host cocktails and a silent auction, dinner begins at 7:15 p.m. with keynote speaker Mike Tikkanen to follow. Cost for the dinner and presentation is $80 per person. For more information regarding reservations, information, volunteer opportunities or to make a donation the Washoe County CASA Foundation, please call (775) 233-5849.