All children deserve to be safe, and treated with respect and dignity. All children have a right to a loving home where they can rebuild friendships and learn and grow. This isn’t just important; it is a fundamental obligation of our society to protect the rights and needs of our children during the most vulnerable time in their lives.
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)/Prince George’s County trains and supports highly trained adult volunteers that advocate for children in the foster care system. We fight for their rights and needs until they are in safe, loving, permanent homes. A CASA volunteer is very often the only adult a child has been able to rely upon in their entire lives. It’s that simple-a qualified, caring adult can not only change a child’s story, it can change everything.
It’s also incredibly effective. When a child has access to a CASA volunteer, they are half as likely to languish in the foster care and child welfare system, and that much more likely to find a safe, loving home. But today we only have the resources to help about 40% of the children in our foster care system. That means more than 300 go through the system every year without the hope a CASA volunteer can provide. In order to meet the needs of the juvenile court, even more volunteers must be recruited, trained and supported by a professional staff.
There are many ways to support CASA/Prince George’s County. Your contribution of time, treasure, or talent can all help to Change a Child’s Story.
Ways to Change a Child’s Story:
- Become a volunteer.
- Make a tax deductible gift. You can make a donation through our secure server by clicking here or by sending a check to: 6811 Kenilworth Avenue, Suite 402 Riverdale, MD 20737. For planned giving, stock or bond transfers call our Development Coordinator at 301-209-0491.
- Designate CASA/Prince George’s County through the United Way: 8840, the Combined Federal Campaign:43792 or the Maryland Charity Campaign: 52-1772617.
- Purchase toiletries, cleaning supplies or self-stable food for our transition-aged youth. You can use our Amazon Charity List to purchase and ship items directly to CASA’s offices.
- Attend a CASA fundraiser; or host or sponsor your own fundraiser.
- Donate professional services (such as advertising, printing or technical services), meeting space and/or in-kind merchandise (school supplies, gift cards, etc.).
- Educate or inform others about the work of CASA by preparing or delivering PR material.
- Invite CASA to speak to your employer, social organization or group.
- Hold an in-kind donation drive to collect school supplies, toiletries, cleaning supplies, shelf-stable food or holiday gifts for our youth.
- Sponsor a night of training or provide an in-kind donation of a meal for approximately 25 adults to defray training costs.
- Put our flier in your organization’s newsletter
- Serve as a Board Member. Complete and submit the nomination form.
- Contact Us with other ideas you have!
Donating to CASA
Please review our Donor Bill of Rights for CASA’s commitment to our donors.
85% of CASA’s annual income is used for program services.
CASA was named a Platinum Participant by the Candid (formerly Guidestar Exchange) for our commitment to transparency. CASA has also been selected as a Critical Nonprofit by Spur Local, formerly Catalogue for Philanthropy. For information about how your donation will help abused children, learn about our Impact. Our Annual Report is also available for review.
All questions regarding donating to CASA can be directed to our Development Coordinator.
