Wednesday hardworking volunteers attended the swearing in process while receiving their certification. These volunteers will work with children who are undergoing the process of recovery from abuse, through companionship with the child, and working with the judge to determine what will be best for the child while they undergo the legal process.

CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates, a volunteer program where a judge will appoint a volunteer to a child suffering from neglect or abuse to help the child get through the overburdened legal process.

The CASA Volunteers you see here are Jeanie Gilbert, Barb Mcintosh, Michelle Grier, Tony Martinez, Rebecca Steele, Pat Cooper, and Dawn Lydic.

All of the volunteers take a special pride in helping these children.   “I see alot of people out there lacking in priority skills, or don’t have an understanding of what  abuse and neglect is all about. With their actions they can pout themselves in harms way , I defiantly want to be a strong voice  for those children that do not have a voice within thew court system or within their families.”  says Tony Martinez, a new sworn in volunteer.

Last year, more than 75,000 CASA volunteers helped 240,000 abused and neglected children find safe, permanent homes.