C-mail,
your CASA connection
October, 2009
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Typically each year, in the spring and fall, the local CASA Program Director’s around New York State come together for a meeting. This year’s fall meeting was held at the Embassy Suites in Syracuse, New York on September 29th and 30th. It was sponsored by CASA: Advocates for Children of New York State (CASANYS) and coordinated in conjunction with the NYS Unified Court System CASA Assistance Program. The agenda was established with the assistance of the local programs and combined some hard work, decision making, new information shared, and some fun. Thirty-two members of the CASA network, including 19 local CASA Program Director’s, 7 other local CASA program staff, Darlene Ward, Statewide Program Manager, CASA Assistance Program, and the staff of CASANYS, Robin Robinson, Don Finelli, and Cindi Alois attended.
Linya Bell, Executive Director of The Resolution Center of Jefferson & Lewis Counties, is seen here facilitating a discussion and activity as to what the future legislation needs are for the CASA network statewide. The purpose was to provide feedback to the CASANYS Board of Directors and NYS UCS CASA Assistance Program. (Picture 1)
The agenda often includes guest speakers, offering updated, pertinent information related to the cases, services, collaborations, or individuals CASA programs work with. The first presentation was provided by Christine Waters and Shelly Tsai, from The Parents with Psychiatric Disabilities Legal Advocacy Project (PPDLA) at Legal Services of Central New York, Inc. They discussed the vulnerabilities of parents with psychiatric disabilities when faced with the loss of custody of their children and termination of parental rights. What is being done to better represent these parents and how CASA can help?
A second speaker, as seen below, is Gerard Wallace, Esq., Director of the NYS Kinship Navigator and Co-Chair of the NYS Kincare Coalition. He presented on the broad-based coordinated efforts which provide comprehensive services addressing the multiple needs of kinship caregivers and their families. National statistics reflect that 2.6 million caregivers are grandparents and the numbers appear to be rising. The data also demonstrates that children in informal kinship care have better outcomes than children in foster care. (Picture 2)
The participants were also provided a fun opportunity when contemplating the difficult scenarios they face in the CASA world. Amy Miller-Plumley, Executive Director of CASA of the Southern Tier, and Kathy McGowan, Deputy Director for CASA of Albany/Rensselaer, are seen below playing the “What if” game, filling the room with laughter. (Picture 3)
Picture 2
Picture 3
The Center for Community Alternatives Onondaga CASA Program hosted its sixth annual “Light of Hope" Breakfast at Drumlins Country Club on Tuesday, September 22, 2009 with approximately 200 guests in attendance.
Their annual “Light of Hope” Award was presented to the Honorable Minna Buck. In 1982 Judge Buck ran for Family Court Judge and became the first woman elected to the post. During her tenure and subsequent retirement in 1995 she kept up her involvement in numerous volunteer endeavors. Minna Buck has served on the National CASA Board of Trustees as well as the New York State CASA Board of Directors. Judge Buck has been and continues to be a strong supporter of the Onondaga CASA Program. She is currently a member of the Onondaga CASA Advisory Committee.
This year, Betty Carroll, Program Coordinator for the Onondaga CASA Program, decided to invite Susan Grant, Program Officer, Northeast Region from National CASA. Unfortunately, Susan was unavailable. However, Betty was pleasantly surprised to receive a call from Sally Erny, Chief Program Officer, National CASA, stating that she would love to participate. The Center for Community Alternatives Onondaga CASA Program's “Hero” Award was presented to April Stone and CNY Infusion Services for their continued sponsorship of the annual “Light of Hope” Breakfast since 2006. The "Light of Hope" Breakfast this year was a huge success both as a friendraiser and a fundraiser!
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Three local Albany Antique Appraisers donate time to assist
CASA: Advocates for Children of New York State.
CASANYS hosted an antiques appraisal day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., October 17 at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Schenectady. Appraisers who graciously donated their time included: Mark Lawson, of Mark Lawson Antiques (jewelry, watches, coins, currency and Oriental rugs); Nancy Toomer, of House of Rose Antiques in Niskayuna (glassware, china, table linens and silver); Dennis Holzman, of Holzman Antiques in Albany (rare books, maps, prints, paintings, furniture and decorative accessories). Appraisers offered a verbal evaluation for $5 per item or $10 for three. For more information on any of these appraisers, check out their websites listed below.
Mark Lawson: http://www.marklawsonantiques.com/
Nancy Toomer: http://www.houseofroseantiques.com/
Dennis Holzman: http://www.holzmanantiques.com/
Click on these links for the OCTOBER and NOVEMBER calendars.
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Onondaga CASA
Onondaga CASA recently hired La-Quell Whitney as their new Volunteer Specialist. Although she is new to this position, she has been working at Center for Community Alternative for the past three years with youth services. She can be reached at lwhitney@communityalternatives.org or 315-422-5638, ext. 250.
Genesee County CASA for Children
Genesee County CASA will have three new volunteer advocates complete training on October 27th. They will also be holding their annual House Party in mid-November, which is one of their largest fund raisers all year.
CASA Volunteer Trainings
CASA: A Program of Boys & Girls Clubs of Buffalo
CASA: Boys & Girls Club is training 10 new volunteers beginning Saturday, October 3, 2009. The volunteer training will continue through Saturday, October 31.
Other Trainings and Webinars
Tues., October 27 (Session A) at 9:00 a.m. PT or Thurs., October 29 (Session B) at 1:00 p.m. PT
National CASA Webinar - Supporting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Youth in Care
After attending this webinar, you will be able to: Articulate the experiences faced by LGBTQ youth in care; identify three ways you can be an effective ally for LGBTQ youth in care; identify three online resources that support LGBTQ youth in care. Register for Session A or register for Session B.
November 6, 2009, Kingsborough Community College, MAC Rotunda, 2001 Oriental Blvd., Brooklyn, N.Y.
NYC’s 6th Annual Criminal Justice & Treatment Conference - Meeting New Challenges Together: Criminal Justice and Treatment
Sponsored by: Addiction Treatment Providers Association and The New York Association of Drug Treatment Court Professionals in collaboration with NYS & NYC Criminal Justice Agencies, Treatment Providers & Community Based Organizations. More information and registration.
November 12, 2009, 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m., Holiday Inn - Plainview (Long Island), 215 Sunnyside Blvd., Plainview, N.Y.
NYCON presents: Duties and Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards - Presented by Doug Sauer, CEO, NYCON, Inc.
Duties and Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards provides a fundamental overview and general orientation to board members, focusing on the key knowledge and skill areas needed to develop and maintain a well run board. More information and registration.
November 18, 2009, NYCON, Mid-Hudson Regional Office, 85 Cannon Street, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. - Free
NYCON presents: Poughkeepsie Nonprofit Wellness Clinics - with Mike West Esq., Legal Advisor, & Jennifer Lockwood, Membership & Capacity Building Advisor, Audrey Grifel, Capacity Building Advisor
The Nonprofit Wellness Clinics is a free service offered to NYCON members in the Poughkeepsie area. On March 18th, you can make a 45 minute appointment to have your questions answered for free by one of our expert technical assistance providers. More information and registration.
November 20, 2009, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., Holiday Inn - Elmira, 760 E. Water St, Elmira, NY 14901
NYCON presents: Understanding Your Legal Obligations as a Nonprofit Board Member - Presented by David Watson, esq. Sr. Vice President, Legal Accountability & Compliance Services
Understanding Your Legal Obligations as a Nonprofit Board Member provides a fundamental and practical understanding of the laws that govern their actions as board members and suggests best practices for managing risk. More information and registration.
Let CASANYS know when your next Volunteer Training is to begin as well as any In-Service opportunities you would like to share with other programs, so that we can list them in next month's newsletter.
by Don Finelli
Are you an online shopper or do you know anyone who shops online? If so, iGive.com is an easy way for others to donate to your program by simply shopping online or searching the web. Several local programs are already familiar with iGive.com – CASA of Chautauqua County, CASA of Jefferson and Lewis Counties, Voices for Children-CASA, Capital District CASA, and Onondaga CASA are currently registered.
Here’s how it works: A penny a search and a portion of each purchase will be donated to your program. iGive.com has over 730 stores, companies, and services listed for your donors to choose from when shopping. For example, if I were to buy a television off of the iGive site, I would go to the Stores A-Z link and then select Best Buy. If I were to then order a set from Best Buy for $1107.08, the CASANYS account on iGive would increase 1.2% (a total of $13.29 in contributions). CASANYS would receive a check at the end of each month once we have earned over $25.00 in contributions. Once your program is registered, you can check your Cause Stats page to see how much your program has raised, view a list of donation checks sent to your program, and see an estimate of their next check. For more information and to register.
If we spread the word and take a few minutes to register we could be getting some good shopping deals on the web and contributing to our programs at the same time. Give it a look and happy shopping!
Other media websites to consider when looking to fundraise:
Network for Good
Create The Good
Guide Star
JustGive
Bid2Care
We offer here some activities for children of different ages. Volunteers are encouraged to print them out and put them in their CASA bags to take along when they visit the children. We are eager for feedback and welcome any suggestions for additional activities. Please e-mail us at newsletter@casanys.org.
Some Halloween Activities
For Younger Children:
- Craft Project: Complete instructions for a couple of Halloween craft projects.
- Activity Page: Hats, Pumpkins, and Brooms Adding Game.
- Coloring Pages: Create your own Pumpkin, Cat, Lion, or Mouse Halloween mask!
- Halloween Word Search
- Maze: Help the jack-o-lantern through the maze.
- A Halloween Puzzle
Halloween DeliveryWhen a young assistant of the orthopedic surgeon was bringing in a skeleton which had to be presented in the doctor's office she stopped in the waiting room and became aware of everyone gazing at her inquisitively. She gave them her best smile and said," I am bringing him to the doctor." An elderly woman said sympathetically, "My dear! It's kind of late for the doctor, is not it?" - Author Unknown
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The information contained in Direct From Albany is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by CASA: Advocates for Children of New York State. This communication, including any attachments, may contain privileged and/or confidential information or knowledge that is otherwise protected from disclosure. It is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity addressed above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are strictly prohibited from any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication. If you received this communication in error, please contact the sender immediately and destroy the material in its entirety. Thank you for your cooperation.
The information contained in Direct From Albany is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by CASA: Advocates for Children of New York State. This communication, including any attachments, may contain privileged and/or confidential information or knowledge that is otherwise protected from disclosure. It is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity addressed above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are strictly prohibited from any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication. If you received this communication in error, please contact the sender immediately and destroy the material in its entirety. Thank you for your cooperation.
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