CASA inducts volunteer advocates in Appomattox

APPOMATTOX, Va. — CASA of Central Virginia inducted five new volunteers at its induction ceremony on Thursday, May 9. The ceremony took place at the Appomattox Courthouse.

Kelli Diaz, recruitment and development director, provided a brief welcome to the new volunteers and their family and friends. The Honorable Marvin H. Dunkum Jr. officiated the swearing-in of the new advocates. A reception followed the ceremony.

These five new Court Appointed Special Advocates just completed an eight-week training course. They each attended eight in-person classes, weekly web-based assignments, and two court observations. Each of them will be meeting with their advocate managers (CASA staff) within the next week or two to discuss available cases and get their assignments.

Currently, CASA of Central Virginia has a waiting list of 112 children, and that number rises daily. All of these children have gone through some type of abuse or neglect and, as a result, are in the court system. These new volunteers will be assigned to one or more of these children, depending on how many children are in the family for that particular case, which will reduce the waiting list and make a major impact on each of these young lives.

This is also in the current issue of the Times Virginian newspaper. Support local journalism by purchasing the issue at a local newsstand or subscribing at www.timesvirginian.com/subscriber_services to receive the print edition or view the full article in the e-edition version.