Every day, 850 kids enter the foster care system in the US because they cannot live safely at home. That’s enough kids to fill two elementary schools or 425 camp bunks. Enough kids to field 70 soccer teams.
In Houston alone, nearly 2,000 children were removed from their home last year and 4,300 children are currently in foster care.
As a Child Advocates volunteer or supporter, you understand the vital role volunteers play in the lives of our city's most vulnerable abused and neglected children.
Last year in Houston, 610 court appointed advocates served 1,782 children. Unfortunately, that left over 2,500 waiting for their own advocate.
By joining the Forgotten Children Campaign, you can help close the gap by raising money to put a trained, committed advocate into the life of a local child who needs a safe, permanent home.
Evey dollar raised from this campaign directly benefits Houston's children and Child Advocates, Inc. as we strive to provide an advocate for a child in our city.
Child Advocates,Inc.
Child Advocates, Inc. is Houston's only Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program. Our 610 volunteer advocates will work more than 50,000 hours and drive more than 300,000 miles to serve 1,850 abused children this year. We receive no local United Way funds so we rely heavily on gifts from people (and groups) like you for 80% of our budget. Despite serving more children with volunteers than any other CASA program in the nation; unfortunately, there are still 2,500 children in Houston waiting for their own volunteer advocate. Visit www.childadvocates.org to learn more about how you can volunteer in Houston.
About National CASA
On any given day, 500,000 children in the US are living in foster care because they cannot live safely at home. But only half of these kids have someone who speaks out just for them—a Court Appointed Special Advocate, or CASA volunteer. CASA volunteers (sometimes called Guardians Ad Litem, or Child Advocates) are appointed by judges to be the independent eyes and ears of the court, watching over and advocating for a child until the child is placed in a safe, permanent home. The National CASA Association links a network of 954 local CASA programs in 49 states. Last year, 59,000 CASA volunteers served 240,000 children and youth living in foster care, getting them into safe, permanent homes sooner and saving taxpayers an estimated $582 billion. It’s a huge return on a very modest investment—the cost to provide a Child Advocate in Houston is just $1,725 a year. Please visit www.casaforchildren.org to volunteer in another city. |
