CASA of Oklahoma County, Inc.

Yay! We did it - 100% employee giving! We love being a partner agency, but we also love being a pacesetter! 🥂Cheers to a successful 2025 campaign!

It's our favorite time of year! Our team spent the afternoon going through nominations for our Cheers to our Volunteers event. Listening to the amazing things our CASA volunteers do for the children in our community reminds us all why we do this work! Stay tuned later this year to hear who our award winners will be!

Last Monday, the Oklahoma County Juvenile Court in partnership with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) hosted an Open House where children in foster care could come and meet their judges, see the courtrooms, and get some back-to-school gear! Many children don’t attend court and/or get to meet their Judges, and we are grateful for an initiative to help children feel welcome and involved in their cases. We are so proud of our Team Lead, Mekka Marion-Johns for serving on the committee responsible for bringing such a great night to fruition.

Participants of the Give 5 program visited CASA on Tuesday to hear about our work and mission. Give 5 participants are retired individuals looking to find meaningful volunteer opportunities. We are happy to have had 3 Give 5 classes visit CASA so far!

Congratulations to our TWELVE new CASA volunteers! Thank you for saying, "Yes!" to this very special role. We are forever grateful!

If you or someone you know wants to learn more about what it takes to become a CASA Volunteer, you can reach out to our Director of Recruitment, Kathy North at [email protected].

Oh no! 😱 Last week our LinkedIn page encountered an issue, and we lost our followers. Go follow our page at the link below to stay up to date with everything happening at CASA!

https://www.linkedin.com/company/casaofokco

At CASA, we love the Olympics, AND we love a potluck - cue the Olympic potluck theme, a charcuterie for champions! 🥇🎉😁

Yesterday, our Director of Training provided a Wealth Gap Simulation for our monthly in-service training. CASA volunteers discussed poverty, wealth, and disproportionality within the child welfare system. Our CASA volunteers discussed ways they can continue building awareness and empathy for the people they work with. If any of our volunteers missed this opportunity, we hope to provide this training again in the fall.

Oops! 🚧 Our website is currently down! 🚧 But don't let that stop you, you can still apply to be a CASA volunteer! Feel free to send us a DM or apply directly here:
https://ok-oklahoma.evintosolutions.com/VolunteerApplication

Calling all innovative thinkers, community leaders, and passionate advocates. CASA of Oklahoma County is recruiting young professionals (aged 21-35) to advance the mission of CASA to provide trained volunteers to be champions for the individualized best interests of children in foster care.

- Do you want to support children in foster care?
- Do you want to use your talents and network to advance CASA of OK County’s mission?
- Do you want to expand your network and meet like-minded young professionals?

Apply today:
https://lnkd.in/gjqkkcsC

Applications close August 1st.

Requirements:
- Serve September 2024 - June 2025
- Attend monthly meetings, second Tuesday of the month
- Attend at least two (2) CASA advocacy events
- Commit to a financial donation that is meaningful to you
- Commit to 1-2 hours of independent work outside of events or scheduled meetings

Contact Gillezeau at [email protected] with questions.

Meet Cindi - CASA Volunteer and newest CASA Collective Member! Cindi has been a CASA volunteer for 13 years and has advocated for 47 children. In addition to volunteering, Cindi chooses to donate to CASA's mission!

When asked why she gives to CASA, Cindi said, "As a CASA volunteer, it’s important to me to help save the future of our children. Their innocence has been stolen. They’re scared and confused. The least I can do is help make their future better and give them hope."

Thank you, Cindi for all you do!

You can join Cindi and honor the work of other CASA volunteers by becoming a member of the CASA Collective. By giving a small monthly donation, you can make a BIG impact over time! Sign up here: https://givebutter.com/x1qSko

P.S.- 👀👀 Check that CASA Collective swag!!

Great minds think alike, but at CASA, they also dress alike! 💙💙

Our Blood Institute joined us at our recent Father's Day Fest in Park! The blood drive was so successful that they brought a donation to CASA! 🎉

Thank you to Our Blood Institute and everyone who came out to the Father's Day Fest and gave blood. We ❤️ this partnership!

📣🎉We have news!🎉📣

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the CASA Collective - our monthly giving club! Our CASA volunteers are extraordinary individuals making a difference in the lives of children in foster care every day.

Not everyone has the time or resources to become a CASA volunteer, but most people can make a small, but meaningful monthly donation to support their efforts. Together we can make an impact in the lives of children in foster care! Will you join us? Sign-up at the link below!

https://givebutter.com/x1qSko

Congratulations to our newest CASA volunteers! Thank you for choosing to make a difference in the lives of children in foster care! Learn more about being a CASA volunteer here: https://okcountycasa.org/volunteer/

We are a proud Way of Central Oklahoma partner agency, and we are even more proud to be Pacesetters for the United Way campaign. Kim and Nichole joined other Pacesetters at a United Way roundtable as we get ready to kick off this year's campaign season!

Don't forget to sign up to give blood at the Father's Day Fest this Sunday!

https://donableapp.com/register/e653B47C-FA1C-EF11-96F5-0022484A1D99

At our final board meeting of FY24, it was a privilege to honor and thank Katie Say and Jack Morgan for their 9 incredible years of board service to CASA of Oklahoma County. We are so grateful for the many ways they supported and led the mission of our organization! We are also very grateful to Lisa Owens who completed her year as Board President.

We're excited to announce our partnership with Donable® Cares, an app that gives back to nonprofits through blood donations! For every blood donation made through the CASA of Oklahoma County link, Donable® Cares will donate $15 to our organization. Schedule your blood donation today!

https://donableapp.com/register/E653B47C-FA1C-EF11-96F5-0022484A1D99

We are only 13 days away from the Father's Day Fest at Scissortail Park! You don't want to miss this event! The Our Blood Institute will be there - save-a-life and sign-up to give blood on June 16th!

https://donableapp.com/register/e653B47C-FA1C-EF11-96F5-0022484A1D99

Need plans for Father’s Day? Join us at Scissortail Park for a free community event with activities for the whole family! Give blood with Our Blood Institute, let the kids get their energy out on inflatables, eat at local food trucks, and shop vendors!

Interested in sponsoring this event? We have several sponsorship opportunities still available – the deadline is May 30th!

https://okcountycasa.org/fdf/

Need plans for Father’s Day? Join us at Scissortail Park for a free community event with activities for the whole family! Give blood with Our Blood Institute, let the kids get their energy out on inflatables, eat at local food trucks, and shop vendors!

Interested in sponsoring this event? We have several sponsorship opportunities still available – the deadline is May 30th!

https://okcountycasa.org/fdf/

Join us in welcoming our newest CASA volunteers, sworn in today by Judge Green! Thank you so much for your hearts for children in foster care! Are you ready to volunteer with CASA? Send an email to [email protected] to sign up for our next training!

Today our staff is wearing our Oklahoma City Thunder colors and wishing the team good luck in tonight's game! Thunder up!

Children with a CASA volunteer get more help while in the system, including more services. Additionally, Children with CASA volunteers report significantly higher levels of hope. A child's hope has been linked to numerous positive outcomes such as academic success, overall wellbeing, increases in self-control, positive social relationships, and optimism. Can you lend your voice to a child?

Foster children who have a CASA volunteer do better in school. They're more likely to pass all courses, less likely to have poor conduct in school, and less likely to be expelled. You can be the voice that helps a child through one of the most difficult times in their life -- you can be a CASA volunteer! Apply today: https://okcountycasa.org/volunteer/

Join us in welcoming our newest CASA volunteer, sworn in today in a special ceremony by Judge Gillett! Thank you so much for your heart for children in foster care! We have three training classes coming up, send an email to [email protected] to sign up!

It was such a privilege to celebrate with the Belle Isle Walmart staff as they celebrated their grand re-opening! On this special day, we were honored to be one of several local nonprofits to receive a $1,000 grant. 🤩

We were so fortunate to have TEEM, The Education and Employment Ministry, speak to CASA volunteers at our monthly in-service training. TEEM is a nonprofit organization dedicated to breaking cycles of incarceration and poverty through education, personal development and work readiness training.

Jamie Patterson, Director of Diversion Services, spoke to volunteers about the different programs that TEEM provides which includes: Reentry Services, Oklahoma County Community Sentencing, the PreTrial Release Initiative, the Veterans Initiative, and Batterers Intervention Program.

Our staff and volunteers had a wonderful two days of learning and networking at the Oklahoma CASA Association conference!