- PEAS & CARROTS
Thoughts from a CASA Volunteer
- I remember looking through the Junior League manual trying to find something to sign up for as my placement. I wanted something easy; self-scheduled; something I could do quickly and get it over with. I had a not-so-wonderful provisional placement. I unwrapped gifts for the homeless that League members the year before had wrapped; and , then I re-wrapped the gifts in fresh paper. I did not know that homeless people were concerned about "fresh" Christmas wrap.
- Needless to say, I was not an enthusiastic League provisional. As I looked through the League manual of placements, I came across Dallas CASA. It said some junk about helping abused kids, working with lawyers, and a lot of other stuff I skipped over. And there it was: "self-scheduled". The exact words I was looking for!!
- I called the previous committee chair and asked her a lot of questions about the hour commitment. She said each volunteer kept track of her own hours, and they scheduled the hours as needed. Yippee!! Hours when needed. She also said some stuff about making a real difference in some abused kid's life and a lot of other facts and figures and things I really wasn't interested in. I was still focusing on "hours when needed."
- I signed up right away. I have a full-time job. I am a youth director at a large church. I'm in charge of more than 100 kids, run a summer day camp, and take seven youth trips and retreats a year. I'm always gone or busy . I needed something easy that wouldn't take up a lot of my energy or time. Dallas CASA was the place for me!! Or so I thought.
- After two weeks of training, I was assigned my first case. Yeah, all I could think about was "hours when needed." I did find training really interesting, but I didn't have the time to get too involved. I read or really just skipped through my file assigned to me through CASA by some judge in the Dallas court system.
- The child assigned to me was Adrian. He was abandoned by his mother, no father was around,and his grandmother was
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- getting too old to take care of him. He had been in different foster homes and state placements and just bumped through our legal system. He was only four years old. I decided one afternoon to call Adrian's caseworker. (The League committee chair had just called me and asked how I was doing on my case.) I set up a meeting.
- I remember driving up to pick Adrian up at the Juliet Fowler Home. I was looking for a sweet little abandoned boy who was four years old. I imagined myself reading Barney books and all sorts of stuff that only four year olds love. I pulled up to Juliet Fowler, and there was this huge kid out front. He said, "Are you Brandi?"
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Being afraid of this huge man, I whispered, "Yes." He replied, "Good, I am glad you have a jeep, because I don't fit in just any car." As it turned out, in reading his file, or shall I say, skimming through the file, I had made a horrible mistake. Adrian was not four years old. He was 14, almost 15. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed. Adrian at the time stood 6'4" and weighed in at 420 pounds. I was glad I had a jeep too!
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What happened over the next few months was truly a gift to me, a not-so-committed or dedicated League member. Adrian and I became friends. I helped locate his father. Adrian got involved in all sorts of projects and finished the PALS program.
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I remember his first Christmas after I became his CASA volunteer. He had received a gift from Wednesday's Child, one of the many agencies that had tried to help Adrian find an adoptive home. He had asked me to help him exchange the gift at Incredible Universe. The gift had Incredible Universe tape and wrapping so I agreed. What he really wanted was $10 less than the actual gift, and he didn't want a refund. I didn't think it would be a problem. I sure am wrong a lot!
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I was told by the assistant manager, without a receipt, I couldn't exchange it. After speaking with three other assistant managers (all age 16), I finally spoke to the floor manager and then the general manager. I was getting tired and angry. I'm a pretty big person myself, and I have a loud voice; so,
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