Thank you 2021! — CASA of Central Virginia

2021 has brought us another year to be thankful for so many things. Every year has challenges, but thanks to our supporters, those challenges are made much easier. Here are a few of the things that we want to say a special “thank you” for.

1 - CASA Volunteer Advocates

In 2021, our volunteer advocates continued advocating for local children who suffered abuse or neglect. They gave of their time, energy, and talents to be sure that even the smallest voices were heard. 78 CASA volunteers made a difference in the lives of so many children in our local community. We think our volunteers are real life superheroes and we celebrate them everyday!

The Honorable Cary H. Payne inducted this new group of CASA volunteers in Summer 2021. Pictured left to right are Mike Chittum, Megan Chittum, The Honorable Cary H. Payne, Robyn Troyer, Mary Dawn Slagle, and Michelle Deutsch.

2 - Board Members

We have 19 board members who work hard to support CASA of Central Virginia. They are great ambassadors and supporters of our mission by giving their time and talents to ensure we have financial sustainability. We appreciate that they are a working board and are grateful to work along side them.

New board members for 2021 included Mike Farnsworth, Kevin Birnbaum, Cristina Peniche, Nikki McVey, Seth Mullen, and Alexander Jackson. (Not pictured is Alesha Slaughter)

3 - Staff Members

Our staff is comprised of 10 ladies who all have the same goal, seeing that every child who needs a CASA, gets one. We all have different roles, but we work together to support each other and our volunteers. We are so thankful to be able to come together and work in our offices once again. 2021 has made us more grateful to be able to see each other and work together to recruit, train, and support more volunteers.

Our staff members enjoyed a Christmas lunch and time together. Pictured from left to right, Amy Lingenfelter, Joann Williams, Lorna Rexrode, Jamie DiNardo, Jameisha Carter, Kandel Berry, Kelli Diaz, and Allison Stronza. (Not pictured is Bre Piatt and Cristy Horsley)

4 - Donors

The giving of our donors is so inspiring. They go above and beyond to support CASA of Central Virginia in so many ways. We could not do what we do without them and their generosity.

5 - Grantors

We are supported by a number of corporations and organizations that also help ensure our financial sustainability and we are grateful to each of them for their faithful support. The past two years proved difficult in holding our typical fundraisers which have brought in a large portion of our budget in the past. Thankfully, our grantors have also stepped up and continued their support and have given so generously.

The AEP Foundation gave us a generous grant to help us with our goal to recruit a more diverse volunteer base. Larry Jackson, External Affairs Director for Appalachian Power, presented the check to Kelli Diaz, our Recruitment & Development Director.

6 - In Person Events

When the pandemic struck in early 2020, we had no idea that if would effect our fundraising efforts for so long and cause us so much uncertainty even as we began planning for in person events in 2021. Our first in person event was a collaboration with Big Brothers Big Sisters to hold our second annual Fore the Kids Golf Tournament. 29 teams played golf on a beautiful sunny day in September. We are so grateful to each sponsor, supporter, and volunteer of this event.

Allison Stronza, Executive Director of CASA of Central Virginia, Ash Gorman, Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Virginia, Kelli Diaz, Recruitment & Development Director of CASA of Central Virginia, and Stephanie Ward, Vice President of the CASA of Central Virginia Board of Directors were ready to register teams at the Fore the Kids Golf Tournament.

7 - Superhero Run

Our Superhero Run was back in person this year and we could not have been more excited to see all of the sponsors, participants, and volunteers on race day! This is one of our largest fundraising events and it did not disappoint in 2021. We saw the generosity of this community in full force for this race and it made us proud!

The yellow heat was one of three heats for the Kid’s 1 Mile Run at the CASA Superhero Run!

8 - Mustaches 4 Kids

The mustache growing season has become one of our favorite times. Watching growers from across our community work to raise money for local non profits who help children is not only inspiring, but also a lot of fun! CASA of Central Virginia is so thankful for M4K Lynchburg and that we are one of the charities that receive a portion of the money raised. 2021 was a record breaking year! M4K Lynchburg raised $510,000 to support 25 local charities. This donation is a large portion of our budget and we are so humbled that we can be a part of M4K. Thank you to every grower, supporter, and sponsor of this event. Let’s grow this thing for the kids!

M4K Lynchburg’s Chris Boswell and Lanny Duncan with CASA of Central Virginia board members, Stephanie Ward, Nikki McVey, and Butch Jefferson and staff members Allison Stronza & Kelli Diaz at the annual Stache Bash.

9 - CASA Blanca and Shoe Sale Ticket Holders and Sponsors

In March 2020, we had already sold more than half of our tickets to our black-tie gala, CASA Blanca as well as many VIP tickets to our annual Shoe Sale. Sponsors were also already in place by then for the events. We scrambled to make decisions for both events and reached out immediately to our ticket holders with offers to refund their tickets or hold them until the rescheduled event. No one asked for a refund, not one person! We also reached out to our sponsors and every single one was understanding and flexible about rescheduling. We are so grateful for everyone’s patience and understanding as we navigated this uncharted territory. We have rescheduled these events for 2022 and are so excited to be able to hold these events again.

Shoppers at one of our previous Shoe Sale events, a Lynchburg favorite for more than 20 years.

10 - CASA Sidekicks

There are so many people who work together to ensure that CASA is making every effort to ensure that each child who needs a CASA is able to have one. Some of these are the foster parents, social workers, GALs, the Judges who make the difficult decisions for these children; churches, newspapers, local tv stations, radio stations who give us a spotlight to share CASA; committee members and other volunteers who donate their time and talent to CASA. Together we make a dynamic team!

Al Billingsly, former board member/current volunteer and Priscilla Harlan, CASA volunteer advocate, seen volunteering at the CASA Superhero Run.

If you are part of CASA of Central Virginia in any of these ways, thank you. If you would like to be, let us know by emailing us at volunteer@cvcasa.org.