Light of Hope
by Barbara Tuthill-Richardson
For Amarillo Area CASA, the “Light of Hope” support program is bringing a new perspective to their advocates and the community. What started as an idea to involve founding members of CASA has become a thriving group that not only provides funding to the program, but also gives special appreciation to volunteers.
To start the project, Executive Director Barbara Tuthill-Richardson sent invitations to the four founders of Amarillo Area CASA. Those members all agreed to participate financially and have now raised more than $10,000 for this arm of the organization. The group has developed rules of procedure that have been approved by the program's board of directors, and has a representative who sits on the board. This top-down support has led to Light of Hope's tremendous success.
To entice potential members to the group, founding members sent out letters to people they know in the community, encouraging them to participate. In order to become a Founding Life Member, a participant was asked to contribute $300 to the cause. Through this letter, interested parties were asked to join in the mission of Amarillo CASA to “recruit and train a diverse group of court appointed community volunteers to advocate for abused and neglected children in the pursuit of safe and permanent homes.”
One of the most exciting elements of the Light of Hope group is the Volunteer Appreciation Committee. Each month, a Volunteer of the Month is presented with a token of gratitude at his or her place of business. The committee has obtained donations from local businesses like Wal-Mart to create a gift basket for the honorees. According to Barbara Tuthill-Richardson, bringing these baskets to the advocate's work place has increased awareness of the CASA program in Amarillo.
Another committee in the Light of Hope support network is the Hospitality Team. This group's members come early and set up prior to volunteer trainings. Other members bring food to the trainings and have also secured food donations for some of the events. Additional committees in Light of Hope include the Executive, Nominating, Special Events and Projects, and Corporate and Community Partners.
More information regarding this exciting initiative will be posted on the Texas CASA web site, www.texascasa.org, or feel free to contact Barbara Tuthill-Richardson at 806.373.2272.
