Thank You — We Raised More Than $42K on NH Gives Day

CASA CEO Marty Sink says Thanks for NH Gives Day donations

Click for a special message from CASA President and CEO Marty Sink

Simply saying thank you hardly seems to express how grateful we are to all who helped make NH Gives Day a success.

Together more than 180 donors gave more than $42,000 in just over 24 hours to help ensure New Hampshire’s victimized children are paired with a volunteer to advocate on their behalf so they can thrive in safe, permanent homes, free from the debilitating cycle of abuse and neglect.

Our $15,000 goal was exceeded, and a $5,000 match from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield was completed, in less than 3 minutes.

Across the state, more than 14,000 donors contributed more than $3.3 million to nonprofits in just 24 hours, showing the generosity and spirit that time and time again reminds us that New Hampshire is a great place to live.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created some significant challenges this year and every day we worry about the safety and well-being of the many at-risk children in this state who are isolated in their homes in unsafe situations. With a more than 50% decrease in new abuse and neglect cases being reported in New Hampshire, we are expecting a surge in cases down the road.

More volunteers will be critically needed to make sure every child who needs one has a voice. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a CASA volunteer advocate, visit our Become an Advocate page to learn more.

 

CASA Appreciation Day: Thank you to our advocates!

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Dover Training Virtually Graduates 22 New Advocates

2020 has been the year of notable pre-service trainings. Back in January, we had our largest training class ever with 29 new advocates from Manchester. Shortly after that, our Dover class of 22 began their 40 hours of training. The group, once meeting face-to-face, was disheartened to learn that their classroom style of learning would have to take place virtually for the second half of their training. The friendships they made with one another during class made the transition bittersweet; sad to part ways with one another, but happy to distance themselves to prevent spreading any harm. The group completed training and attended graduation through their screens in the comfort of their own living rooms.

In the training, they are provided an overview of the CASA program, given a brief history of national child protection laws and how they came to be, and receive training on New Hampshire laws. They are provided with information about the social and mental health issues that may be involved in their cases, which can help them understand the different types of homes the children are in. During training, they are introduced to the strong support system that is offered to all advocates: CASA program managers, peer coordinators, support groups and on-going trainings to continue learning and growing as an advocate. Under the current circumstances, their support is all available virtually until it is safe to proceed with life as normal. Our new volunteers are ensured that they will never be alone during their cases, even during difficult times like these.

Now that they have finished their training, these advocates will be assigned their first case. With a growing need for volunteer advocates, these individuals will find that they have an immediate role in New Hampshire’s family court system to represent the best interests of abused and neglected children.

With the stay-at-home order in place, there are fewer mandated reporters around children who may be subject to neglect or abuse. WMUR’s Amy Coveno posted a response video to the recent decrease in reported abuse cases, saying, “keep a special eye on the children of New Hampshire, and their moms and dads, this is a hard time for all of us.” Advocates are needed now more than ever, so we are offering two online training sessions for anyone in New Hampshire who is interested in volunteering. Grab a friend and complete the application together, set up an interview, and join us in protecting New Hampshire’s most vulnerable children.

Curious about becoming an advocate? Join CASA-NH Director of Recruitment Diane Valladares and advocate Lisa Brown for a virtual information session! In the comfort of your own home, we will answer all of your pressing questions or concerns via Zoom. Click here to register for the Tuesday, April 14 or Wednesday, April 15 sessions. Alternatively, if you are ready to become a CASA, click here to start your application.

Thank you to our Dover class for willingly transitioning to an online platform and finishing the required 40-hours of pre-service training.

Celebrating our Advocates at Snowfest at Loon Mountain

Although the weather was unfortunately uncooperative for Snowfest at Loon Mountain this year, those who braved the drive to Lincoln said that the ski conditions were great. Despite the short turn out, we had a record-breaking 280 registered guests this year. WOW!

Since 2000, Loon Mountain has invited CASA volunteer advocates and their families to ski, snowboard, snowshoe, and tube all day long for free as a very generous thank-you for the hard work they’ve committed themselves to. Then-General Manager and CASA board member Rick Kelley initiated this day of thanks all those years ago. Though Rick couldn’t make it to Snowfest this year, we presented our beautiful For the Child print to Loon Vice President of Mountain Operations, Andrew Noyes, on behalf of the staff and mountain ambassadors as a thank you for two decades of giving to our advocates.

Over the years, Snowfest has gone through several iterations including in most recent years serving as a community fundraiser with a fun and unique snow golf competition.

Guests enjoyed a continental breakfast, provided by Loon, and a great assortment of lunch items and finger foods, provided by The Common Man’s Foster’s Boiler Room. Sam Adams opened up their bar at lunch time and even provided free samples, as well as a game station. Cape Cod’s own Palmer Egan joined us for his fourth year to provide live entertainment. Emcee and committee member Steve Friedman, from 92.5 The River, played fun games throughout the party for a chance to win some free prizes!

We had two raffles filled with great prizes. Winners from the gold raffle won Blizzard skis, Tecnica Boots, and bindings from Rodger’s Ski and Sport in Lincoln, a season pass to Loon mountain and its affiliates, a Sam Adams cooler filled with Sam Adams gear, Southwest round-trip tickets, or Dion snowshoes. Our silver raffle was filled with donated prizes from local businesses: family fun packs to New England amusement parks, date nights in various locations around the state, signed New England sport memorabilia, bracelets, gift cards… the list goes on! Congratulations to our raffle prize winners, and a special congratulations to Allen Durant, the CASA volunteer who won the free advocate raffle basket filled with self-care items.

This year’s event also raised $25,000 in sponsorships, raffle ticket sales, and registration fees from non-advocates that joined us for the day. All funds raised will go back to CASA so we can continue to recruit and train more advocates to speak on behalf of New Hampshire’s abused and neglected children.

Thank you to all who joined us, and we hope to see everyone at Snowfest next year on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021.

Thank You to our 2020 Sponsors

Event Sponsors

 
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Friend Sponsors

Amoskeag Beverages/Sam Adams

Devine Millimet

Grace Limousine & Shuttle

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care

Liberty Hill Construction

Merchants Auto

Nixon Peabody

Penny Pitou Travel

Seacoast Ski Club

Woodstock Brewery Inn

 

First Training Class of 2020 Graduates A Record 29 New Advocates

Our first class of 2020 was so large that we had to split it into two different groups! We had well over 30 trainees in this group, with 29 graduates and a handful that are wrapping up their final units. Now, we have 29 new advocates that have completed 40 hours of intensive training and are eager to begin advocating for the rights of our state’s most vulnerable children.

The comprehensive training serves to provide trainees an understanding of their role as CASA volunteer advocates. They are provided an overview of the CASA program, given a brief history of national child protection laws and how they came to be, and receive training on New Hampshire laws. They are provided with information about the social and mental health issues that may be involved in their cases, which can help them understand the different types of homes the children are in.

Though this necessary 40 hours of training serves as a foundation to their futures as a CASA, support does not stop there. During training, they are introduced to the strong support system that is offered to all advocates: CASA program managers, peer coordinators, support groups and on-going trainings to continue learning and growing as an advocate. Our new volunteers are ensured that they will never be alone during their cases.

Now that they have finished their training, these advocates will be assigned their first case. With a growing need for volunteer advocates, these individuals will find that they have an immediate role in New Hampshire’s family court system to represent the best interests of abused and neglected children.

If you are interested in becoming a CASA, click here to start your application. If you have questions about the process, the commitment, or any other concerns, feel free to join us at one of the many informational sessions hosted around the state for those who are curious, including a pizza party at our Berlin Office (2 Main Street, Berlin) on March 12. Keep an eye on the events posted on the CASA-NH Facebook page as we continue to post these meetings there. Alternatively, you can call the office at (603) 626-4600 to speak to someone directly before applying.

Thank you to our largest class: Pam, Lyn, Lisa, Kay, Jonathan, Doug, Dave, Cyndi, Carol, Bethany, Alexa, Bill, Bonnie, Debbie, Gayle, Jillian, Kathleen, Terri, Thomas, Andrea, Debbie, Emily, Marge, Michele, Mike, Peter, and Tracy!

View the photos below to read the message each of them wrote to their future CASA kids.

Annual John Zahr Memorial Golf Tournament Raised $48,000 for Endowment

We had over 30 teams and 19 sponsors gather at the Passaconaway Country Club on September 17 for a 18-hole tournament to benefit CASA’s endowment fund in honor of John Zahr, President of Harvey Construction and longtime supporter of CASA.

In its ninth year, the tournament raised $48,000. Since its inception, it has raised a total of $457,000, the net proceeds of which have been contributed to CASA’s endowment fund named in John’s memory. This year, three teams and one individual donated all of their winnings back to CASA, giving an additional $1,650. Thank you to first place team Harvey Construction, second place team Charron LLC, third place team Empire Sheet Metal, and Tony Brock of Longchamps Electric for your generous donations!

The tournament was created in 2011 in the year following John’s untimely death, when his friends and colleagues came together to establish this tournament as a way to give back to CASA, a charity John was passionate about. Each year, a committee of his peers reaches out to businesses and friends for sponsorships and players to hit the links in memory of their friend.

“Many of you have been coming here for a long time, and we’re really grateful for the support,” said Marty Sink, President and CEO of CASA of New Hampshire. “The efforts from this tournament over the last nine years have raised over $450,000 for CASA.”

Thank you to all of our sponsors:Fulcrum, Longchamps Electric, Miller Engineering & Testing Inc., Kaloutas Painting, Granite State Plumbing & Heating, Reliable Equipment, The Milestone Group at Morgan Stanley, Redimix Companies, Academy Roofing, JDS Flooring Associates, Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Co., SNHU Arena, Daltile, Harvey Construction Corp., Galaxy Glass & Aluminum Inc., Belletetes Building Materials, Fred & Jill Urtz, and Kevin & Debbie Duffy.

Manchester Training Graduates 12 Advocates, 1 Staff Member

CASA of New Hampshire recently graduated 12 new advocates and 1 new staff member in Manchester this January. These 13 individuals completed 40 hours of pre-service training and will now begin advocating for children in the system that need a voice in court.

The 40 hours of training is broken into ten units. These units prepare new CASAs to preform difficult tasks that they’ll be facing in the process of advocating the child’s best interests. As a CASA, they will be going to court, counseling sessions, parent or IEP meetings. Because of the training, they are now well versed in respectfully confronting conflicting parties; such as parents with addiction, DCYF workers with different opinions, or loving foster parents with strong thoughts. Patience and complete lack of bias are two key concepts that CASAs leave with.

A graduate from the Manchester training said she is excited to get started.

“When the children of New Hampshire are at their most vulnerable, they need adults to step up and step in to represent their best interests,” Shannon Monroe-Davis said. “CASA of New Hampshire training and support gives me the ability to be the voice that speaks for these children. I’m ready to get started!”

There is a constant need for new volunteers, so if you’re considering becoming an advocate, you can view the 2019 training schedule here.

At the end of training, each new volunteer advocate was asked to write a message to a CASA kid from the sample case they simulated. Read their words of encouragement below!

Congratulations and welcome to the following advocates, and thank you for your dedication to New Hampshire’s children! Pictured are: Kelsey AuCoin, Cindy McNickle, Charmaine Bennett, Elizabeth Melendy, Deven Freihofer, Jane Sobolov, David Hill, Caroline Brenner, Pamela Hay, Shannon Monroe-Davis, Jami Wyman, and Cydney Dodge.