Tradition of Giving
There was once a very poor man with three daughters. Because he could not afford a dowry, his daughters could not marry. Their father could not support them and began considering selling them into servitude. But, a bishop learned of the girls’ circumstance. One night, the bishop secretly dropped a bag of gold down their chimney. The bag of gold fell into the eldest daughter’s stocking that had been hung by the fire to dry. The next night, another bag of gold fell down the chimney. And again on the third night. The family received one bag of gold for each daughter so that she could have a dowry. And that is how the legend of Saint Nicholas began, a kind bishop known for helping the poor and giving secret gifts.
I have been blessed with a wonderful family and many traditions. But, perhaps the oldest and most important tradition that we can observe this year is the tradition that started with Saint Nicholas in 4th century Turkey: the tradition of giving. This holiday, let’s come together to support our community’s most vulnerable children.
Daniel Stark is proud to announce that its December charity of the month is CASA of Brazos Valley.
CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates. The organization advocates for children who have been abused or neglected and removed from their homes. These children are typically placed in foster care or with relatives. This is a traumatic time for most children, so CASA helps navigate each child through the foster care system and into a safe, permanent, and nurturing home as quickly as possible. Each volunteer is assigned to one child or sibling group at a time. That volunteer follows the children throughout the duration of the case and reports any concerns to the court. Because of this individualized approach, CASA is poised to detect and solve problems early, avoiding placement changes, court delays, and additional court hearings. Having a CASA on average shortens a child’s time in the foster care system by seven months. Because each CASA is an unpaid, highly trained volunteer, you can be sure that every dollar donated will be put to use towards the benefit of the children. More than 85% of funding goes directly to the youth through special initiatives or by recruiting, training, and supporting volunteers.
Each year, CASA provides more than 7,500 hours of one-on-one advocacy to abused and neglected children who have been removed from their homes and placed into foster care. More than 750 children have been provided a CASA since they began serving the community in 2001. CASA of Brazos Valley serves Brazos, Burleson, and Grimes counties.
If you would like to help CASA serve the children of our community, you can find out more information about CASA at http://voicesforchildreninc.org/. For those of you who would like to help but do not have the time to volunteer or the money to donate, Daniel Stark is making it easy for you to contribute to CASA this year. All you have to do is like our Facebook page during the month of December, and Daniel Stark will donate to CASA on your behalf. For every new like it receives on its Facebook page, Daniel Stark will donate $1 to CASA of Brazos Valley.
I am proud to be a CASA volunteer, and I hope you will join us in supporting this wonderful organization!
