Menu
CASA kids give back to McCook office
Nate James
McCook Gazette
McCOOK, Neb. -- Greed was defeated this year as three children decided to renounce their own money to donate toys back to a program that they previously benefited from.
Klayton, Kailee and Kelsey live in Grand Island with their foster mother Virginia 'Gina' Donnoe and foster father Stacey Donnoe. To spare the child discomfort while they were in court, the children often came to the CASA offices for a reprieve.
CASA, or Prairie Plains CASA, stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children. The program was started in Seattle due to a judge being concerned over making decisions about abused and neglected children's lives without sufficient information according to prairieplainscasa.org. The Seattle judge conceived the idea of using trained community volunteers to speak for the best interests of these children in court. The program was so successful that judges across the country began utilizing citizen advocates.
The CASA offices have games, craft and toys and is a nice place to feel comfortable while children's parents are in court, said Kellie Soden, a CASA volunteer.
"These kids really wanted to give back to other kids. At first I thought they were just going to bring used toys, but they mostly bought new stuff. According to their foster mom, they spent some of their own allowance and basically they wanted to give back and show their appreciation," she said.
"[The children] always worry what's going to happen at court and these toys help keep their minds off things," Soden continued.
Although organizations and adults often donate to CASA, this was the first time in recollection that some of the "customers" have given back to it. "We do have people and adults and organizations that donate to CASA but this is the first time that I'm aware of," she said.
The Nebraska CASA Association began in informally in 1993 and in 1995 Judge Cloyd Clark worked with community leaders to form Prairie Plains CASA in Red Willow, Furnas and Hitchcock counties. The organization currently has 10 volunteers advocating for 22 children. More than 1,000 CASA programs are in operation with 70,000 women and men serving as CASA volunteers, according to prairieplainscasa.org.
The McCook CASA office is located on the 2nd story of the Masonic Temple building on 322 Norris Ave. in Suite 6 across from the Keystone building. For more information about the program, contact Cathy McDowell at (308)-340-6832 or catherinemmcdowell@q.com.