For the Kids Who Need Us Most

For me, it all started with a cup of tea.

In 2023, a friend invited me to CASA of Placer, Yuba & Sutter's Spring Tea. I didn't know much about CASA at the time, but she did, and she wanted me to see it for myself. I'm so glad she did. What I found that day was a room full of stories, stories of children who had been failed by circumstances beyond their control, and of ordinary people who had chosen to step in and be the one constant in a child's life. My friend introduced me to a mission I didn't know I needed to be a part of. I felt the impact before I ever fully understood it. Something stirred in me that day that I couldn't shake.

That feeling stayed with me. I continued going to the Spring Tea in the years that followed, and each time I left more moved than the last. It grew. And in 2025, it led me here, to joining the CASA team. Even though I'm still relatively new, being on the inside only deepened what I already felt at that tea. I stopped seeing the mission from a distance. I started seeing the faces behind the case files, the weight these children carry, and the extraordinary difference one dedicated advocate can make.

I couldn't just watch anymore.

So I took the next step. I completed my CASA training, I raised my hand, and I just received my very first case. My first child. My first chance to be that one consistent person for a kid who needs it most.

Children in foster care are navigating one of the hardest experiences imaginable, separated from everything familiar, moving between homes and schools, appearing before judges in courtrooms they don't understand. A CASA volunteer is trained to be the one constant: someone who listens, advocates, and makes sure that child's voice is heard where it matters most.

I've seen what this work does. Now I get to be part of it.

But none of this happens without your support.

This Big Day of Giving, I'm asking you to invest in the children of our community who need it most. Every dollar goes toward recruiting and training new advocates, supporting active cases, and ensuring more kids have someone genuinely fighting for them.

You don't have to become a CASA to make a difference. Your donation is what makes all of this possible. Every gift, no matter the size, moves us one step closer to making sure every child in foster care has someone in their corner. Five dollars, fifty dollars, five hundred dollars, it all adds up to something powerful. It all adds up to a child who feels seen, heard, and fought for.

Please give today. Because every child deserves one person who shows up and your gift helps make sure they get one.

❤️Kara Wilson