Kroger Community Rewards

Can you believe that we are less than a week away from November?!?

We all know what that means—Thanksgiving dinner!!

Those of you who shop at Kroger can put your turkey, yam and pumpkin pie purchases to work for CASA. Please consider registering your Kroger Plus card in their Kroger Community Rewards program.

This program is truly “free money” for CASA and won’t cost you a penny. Your sale prices, gas points, etc., are not affected at all.

Signing up takes only a few minutes. Here are the steps:

Simply register online at krogercommunityrewards.com

1. Be sure to have your Kroger Plus card handy and register your card with CASA after you sign up.

2. If you do not yet have a Kroger Plus card, they are available at the customer service desk at any Kroger.

 

3. Click on Sign In/Register

4. Most participants are new online customers, if you are, too, you must click on SIGN UP TODAY in the ‘New Customer?’ box.

5. Sign up for a Kroger Rewards Account by entering zip code, clicking on favorite store, entering your email address and creating a password, agreeing to the terms and conditions

6. You will then get a message to check your email inbox and click on the link within the body of the email.

7. Click on My Account and use your email address and password to proceed to the next step.

8. Click on Edit Kroger Community Rewards information and input your Kroger Plus card number.

9. Update or confirm your information.

10. Enter our NPO number (80175) or name of organization, select organization from list and click on confirm.

11. To verify you are enrolled correctly, you will see your organization’s name on the right side of your information page.

12. REMEMBER, purchases will not count until after you register your card(s).

13. Do you use your phone number at the register? Call 877-576-7587 to get your Kroger Plus card number.

Thank you and

Shop For CASA!

CASA has teamed up with Macy’s for a unique fund-raising activity! On Saturday, October 16, 2010, Macy's will host the 5th annual Shop for a Cause benefit.  You can see more information here! Since 2006, Shop for a Cause has raised more than $34 million for regional and local charities across the country. This is your opportunity to take part in this event.

For only $5 you can buy a special shopping pass good for the third Saturday in October. (For those of you who make your autumn weekend plans around the Buckeyes, OSU plays Wisconsin in a night game that week.) CASA keeps the five dollars. You get some great deals!

When you Shop for a Cause on Saturday, October 16, 2010, you'll receive 20% (or 10%) savings* on almost all of your purchases, including regular, sale and clearance merchandise*, and 25%* off a single purchase. And, you will be eligible to win a $500 gift card, no purchase necessary.

We hope you’ll consider helping CASA by purchasing your shopping pass today.

Please send a check for five dollars ($5) for each pass desired along with a self-addressed stamped envelope to: CASA of Franklin Co., 373 S. High St., 15th flr Columbus, OH 43215 or simply stop by our office in the courthouse.

*Exclusions and restrictions apply. See savings pass for details.

(614) magazine features CASA volunteers!

Check out the September issue of (614) magazine which profiles CASA of Franklin County and two of our great volunteers!  Way to go Meredith and Caleb!

Read the article here!

And pick up a copy of (614) today!

Become a CASA Ambassador!

CASA of Franklin County wants to take you out for breakfast with 500 other CASA friends!

This year marks our 10th Annual “Speak Up for Children” Breakfast.

The breakfast will be Tuesday, October 5th at 7:30AM at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

This is our largest, most important, and only “official” fundraising event of the year and we need everyone’s help to make it a success.

I am asking that each of you consider becoming a CASA Ambassador for the 2010 Breakfast.

In this role, you will invite people to fill a table of 10 at the free, one-hour Breakfast and help spread awareness about CASA. When people attend the Breakfast, we hope that as learn more about us and our work, they become motivated to make a financial contribution. Guests will be asked to consider making a contribution or pledge. However, there is no hard-sell or pressure to do so.

As current volunteers you are in the best position to share with others about your role, and about the importance of CASA’s mission and vision in Franklin County.

We will work with you, step by step, when you decide to become an Ambassador. We have plenty of materials and a Toolkit designed to walk you through the process of who to invite, how to invite, and how to keep track of it all.

 

Please let me know if you are willing and able to help CASA with this critical need. You can email akonarski@casacolumbus.org or call 614-462-4885.

Thank you, as always, for the work you do already as Guardians ad Litem. You truly make a difference for the abused children of Franklin County!

Charity of the Day!

CASA of Franklin County will be featured as the Charity of the Day on GoodSearch.com and GoodShop.com on 6/18/2010!!

Did you know you can help CASA of Franklin County every time you shop online and search the web by adding our new toolbar! Each time you shop at one of more than 1,300 participating top stores (from Amazon to Zazzle!), we will earn a percentage of the purchase price – at no extra cost to you! (you may even save money as the toolbar also includes coupons and deals!) It also includes a Yahoo powered search box and each time you search the web, about a penny is donated to CASA-FC!

Add our toolbar here - http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/casa-franklin-county

Or, if you’d rather, you can go directly to GoodSearch.com to do your searches and GoodShop.com to click through to the stores to do your shopping!

Last year we made enough money to help defray costs for meals during volunteer training!

You can use GoodSearch and GoodShop every day, but be sure to check us out on their homepage on 6/18/2010!
 

CASA Day at the Clippers!

Columbus Clippers, our team is number one, Columbus Clippers, our fans are half the fun,
No matter who they're playing,
      they'll always play 'em well,
Columbus Clippers, ring your bell!



Most central Ohio sports fans know this catchy tune from ball games at “the Coop” or at the award-winning, new Huntington Park, and eagerly shake our cow bells after the last line is sung. Yes, Minor League Baseball has a long, proud history in our city--one written since 1977 by the Columbus Clippers.

The Clippers have a well-deserved reputation as a committed, engaged community partner.

On June 15th they will welcome CASA of Franklin County to the ballpark in an effort to promote awareness of CASA’s mission as well as the amazing work of CASA/GALs.

CASA staff will be on-hand to answer questions, distribute brochures, and offer CASA goodies to interested fans. Who knows? You might even leave the park that day with a new foam CASA baseball!

This game is one of the Clippers’ famous “Business Day Specials” so the first pitch is at 12:05! Come down to the Arena District and be part of the fun.

See you at the game!
 

Kurts Cares Program!

The final frost of the spring appears to be behind us! I know many of you use this point in the year to begin your gardening and landscaping in earnest. I want to remind everyone that CASA of Franklin County is participating in the Kurtz Cares program.

According to a Kurtz Bros. representative, the “response has truly been unbelievable.”

Recently, the folks at Kurtz Bros. have sweetened the pot. The organization that has the highest total will get a bonus contribution amount of $250! And, any organization with just one purchase on their account will be placed in a drawing to receive a $100 contribution.

Remember at check-out simply mention CASA of Franklin County and/or our account number, “4.” Specific CASA affiliation is not necessary. Please tell any of your friends about this opportunity. Your friends in NE Ohio can help out—Kurtz Bros. have locations there, too.

There’s still time to participate. The first quarter of the program ends on May 31st. If you have any inclination at all to playing in the dirt, I ask you to consider buying your gardening/landscaping materials at Kurtz Bros. this year. There are central Ohio locations in Alexandria, Dublin, Groveport, and Westerville (full nursery there). Same day or next day delivery is available on most orders.

For more info visit www.kurtz-bros.com or www.kurtzcares.com.

As always, thank you for your involvement with CASA of Franklin County.

Lauren's Story

Make a difference!

Lauren's Story is a personal account from a former foster child about what a difference a CASA/GAL made in her life.  Check out the full story here!

Links between economy and abuse

Grim statistics out recently, which further link economics stresses and child abuse.

MSNBC is reporting on higher rates of shaken baby syndrome.

The study cited in the article includes cases at Nationwide Children's Hopital here in Columbus.

Also called Abusive Head Trauma, indicators of this type of abuse include:

- retinal hemorrhages
- multiple fractures of the long bones
-subdural hematomas (bleeding in the brain).

Victims of SBS may display irritability, failure to thrive, alterations in eating patterns, lethargy, vomiting, seizures, bulging or tense fontanels (the soft spots on an infant's head), increased size of the head, altered breathing, and dilated pupils. (wikipedia.com)

As this abuse become more common, we will see more in our own cases here at CASA of Franklin County.

CASA/GAL Receives Public Service Award!

The entire CASA of Franklin County family extends our heartiest congratulations to volunteer CASA/GAL Nancy Heller for her selection as a 2010 recipient of the prestigious Jefferson Award!

Named after President Thomas Jefferson, the award was created in 1972 by the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Senator Robert Taft, Jr., of Ohio as a “Nobel Prize for public service.”


Nancy was chosen for this honor based on her volunteer efforts with both CASA-FC and with Zusman Community Hospice; efforts Nancy states, “are truly labors of love- I get so much more out of it than I feel I put in.”

Profiled recently in an edition of ThisWeek Community Newspapers, Nancy remembered her first CASA case fifteen years ago. The case involved a child who was dropped during a fight between the parents.

"My knee jerk was, 'How irresponsible, how could you do that to a 6-month-old child?' " Heller recalled.

Then the case was dropped by the prosecution fairly early on, and Heller began to question the use of even trying to be an advocate for those who can't speak for themselves in a system that operates that way. A more experienced member of the CASA team took her aside, Heller said. The attorney forced Heller to realize just how important it had been that she had spoken up in court for that infant's welfare.

"We do this because we really care about these children," Heller said.

"I'm the one constant person who sees them in their lives from month to month," she added. "They know who Miss Nancy is."

The Jefferson Awards are bestowed at both the national and local levels with the expressed mission of encouraging and honoring individuals for their achievements and contributions through public and community service. In central Ohio, the Jefferson Awards are sponsored and presented by WBNS 10TV and the Nationwide On Your Side Volunteer Network to recognize individuals who do extraordinary things in their communities without expecting a reward.

You can learn more about Nancy and this year’s other honorees during 10TV’s Award Special airing April 24th at 7:00pm.

Thank you Nancy and Congratulations!!

Awareness and Appreciation in April

In April , the Ohio Family Violence Prevention Center, in the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services, a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety,  recognizes Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Child Abuse Prevention Month and National Crime Victims Rights Week (April 18-24, 2010). Here is a link to the website that has been developed for this month of awareness:


http://www.publicsafety.ohio.gov/NCVRW/home.htm

April is National Volunteer Month!

Upcoming In-service Trainings for Volunteers

CASA-FC is also excited to annouce three more in-service trainings for our volunteers:

Mandatory Annual April Trainings
Each Volunteer needs to attend one of these trainings.
Tuesday, April 13, 6:30-9pm (session full)
Thursday, April 15, 6:30-9pm
Saturday, April 17, 3-5:30pm (session full)
Tuesday, April 20, 6:30-9pm
Thursday, April 22, 6:30-9pm
Saturday, April 24, 3-5:30pm
Tuesday, April 27, 6:30-9pm
Thursday, April 29, 6:30-9pm
Saturday, May 1, 3-5:30pm

Sexual Abuse in Juvenile Abuse and Neglect Cases
Thursday, May 13, 6-8pm
This training will be located at The Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital (http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/ccfa).


Stewards of Children: Sexual Abuse Prevention
Thursday, June 17, 6:00-9:00pm  OR Saturday, June 19, 9:00pm–Noon
This training will be at the courthouse, presented by Child Protection Center of Ross County.

RSVP to these trainings by emailing akonarski@casacolumbus.org or calling Anne Konarski at 614.462.4885.

Do you have ideas for other subjects
you would like to see offered? 

Please let us know in the comments!

KURTZ CARES!

Attention Green Thumbs.

CASA of Franklin County has been approved to participate in the Kurtz Cares program!

Our account number is: Kurtz Cares 4

We have an opportunity to earn money for CASA of Franklin County with every retail purchase made at any Kurtz Bros location. All anyone needs to do is mention “CASA of Franklin County” and the account number (4) and say they would like Kurtz Cares to support our group at the time of purchase. That’s it!

Every three months Kurtz Bros will total all the sales and donate 10% of the proceeds to our organization. Participation is not limited to those of us affiliated with our CASA program -- anyone can mention our name and account number and we'll receive 10% of their retail purchase total as a donation to help support our child advocacy.

To help spread the word, please forward copies of this letter to your friends, family and co-workers. Attached the information to your email signatures, post it on your Facebook pages, publish it in newsletters, and post it on bulletin boards -- spread the word anyway possible! Additional information about this program can be found at the www.KurtzCares.com website.

Kurtz Bros has four landscape supply centers in Central Ohio (Dublin, Westerville, Groveport and Alexandria) and five in Northern Ohio (Valley View, Avon, Garfield Hts, Willowick and Independence.)

Kurtz Bros also has a Wholesale Nursery at their Westerville location that is open to the public. Purchases of nursery stock also count toward our donation total. Get more information on Kurtz Bros products, locations, hours and directions at www.kurtz-bros.com.

Please participate in the Kurtz Cares program and help to support CASA of Franklin County!

April Training

As you are aware, Rule 48 of the Ohio Rules of Superintendence necessitated changes at CASA of Franklin County. Our program and our volunteers must adhere to new standards regarding training, documentation and other best practices. Based on suggestions from our volunteer focus groups, our organization has also made changes to the volunteer monthly update form and annual evaluations. We have also changed our policies surrounding a new updated Volunteer Court Report. It is now our responsibility to train all of you on these changes. To do so, we have scheduled several in-service sessions during the month of April. Attendance is mandatory because Franklin County Domestic Relations court is requiring annual compliance documentation on all CASA volunteers.


The April trainings give volunteers the opportunity to complete the annual paperwork, receive new IDs, and to learn about new initiatives here at CASA of Franklin County that we are excited about sharing. Because attendance at one of the in-service sessions is required, we are offering a very flexible schedule. Trainings will be held after work hours (6:30-9pm) on designated Tuesdays & Thursdays and afternoons (3-5:30pm) on designated Saturdays in April. All trainings will be at the courthouse. The schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, April 13 6:30-9pm

Thursday, April 15 6:30-9pm

Saturday, April 17 3-5:30 pm



Tuesday, April 20 6:30-9pm

Thursday, April 22 6:30-9pm

Saturday, April 24 3-5:30pm



Tuesday, April 27 6:30-9pm

Thursday, April 29 6:30-9pm

Saturday, May 1 3-5:30pm



Rule 48 also requires that GALs complete a 3 hour training every year in one of the following five categories: Human Needs & Child Development, Communication & Diversity, Child Abuse Prevention, Family & Child Issues, and Legal Framework. Fortunately, for CASA GALs the 3 hour training also counts toward the 12 in-service hours required annually by National CASA Standards. Attendance at one of the April in-service sessions will satisfy the Rule 48, 3 hour requirement.

We must provide courthouse security with a list of attendees for each in-service session; so, please mark your calendars now for the date you can attend. You may RSVP by calling or e-mailing Anne Konarski at 614-462-4885 or akonarski@casacolumbus.org. Please RSVP no later than Friday, April 2, 2010.

We truly appreciate your cooperation and patience in accomplishing this monumental task.

T-Shirts!

It costs roughly $1,000 a year to advocate for an abused child in Franklin County, Ohio. And as you can imagine, this money can be hard to come by. For every one of our “CASA for Children” shirts you purchase, $5 will go directly to CASA of Franklin County. This money will help them recruit, screen, train and support community volunteers to be advocates for these neglected children, who are trapped in a heartbreaking situation through no fault of their own.

Click Here for More Information on Buying a Shirt

Volunteer Recognition

Save the Date!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

3-5pm at

King Arts Complex

We will be awarding our volunteers for their service!

Join us for this exciting afternoon.

Two Important Messages

 I am passing along important messages from OHIO CASA and the Supreme Court of Ohio.

As you are aware, Rule 48 of the Ohio Supreme Court Rules of Superintendence created new training requirements for attorney GALs and CASA/GALs. The Supreme Court of Ohio offers courses for Continuing legal Education (CLE) courses that fulfill this requirement for attorney GALs. These courses are designed with attorneys in mind and currently, there are very limited space in these classes for  attorney GALs.

The Supreme Court of Ohio has asked that CASA/GALS do not attend the CLE courses that they offer.  We ask you to respect this request from the Supreme Court and remind you that OHIO CASA and CASA of Franklin County will continue to offer courses that fulfill the annual 3 hour requirement for CASA/GALs.

We are holding several in-service trainings in April that will fulfill the Rule 48 requirements. Every volunteer will be required to attend at least one of these trainings. The trainings will offer complete updates on Rule 48, training on use of the new Court Report, an introduction to a revised Monthly Update form and the opportunity to sign all annual forms (which is also a requirement of Rule 48.)  You will hear more about the trainings in the very near future as we are still compiling all of the compliance information.

Additionally, we wanted to share more information about OHIO CASA. OHIO CASA is an excellent organization, and membership is open to our volunteers.

Membership is $25 dollars and the membership form is attached to this email.  Among many other benefits, OHIO CASA offers an e-newsletter and Volunteer Corner.   Our volunteer focus groups widely stated that volunteers would love a way to communicate with each other.   While the Volunteer Corner is not necessarily interactive, it is an excellent format for volunteers around the state to share their input and suggestions for dealing with situations that all CASA GALs may encounter in their role as a CASA Volunteer. This month’s question is:

 “What are the best methods you’ve found for dealing with a resistant information source (ex. Kin placement that doesn’t feel you should be intruding OR a therapist that doesn’t understand why you have access to information)?

Responses can be sent to andi@ohiocasa.org

All members will receive the e-newsletter from Ohio CASA.  If you are not ready to join, but would like to be on their mailing list, please contact OHIO CASA at ohiocasa@ohiocasa.org.

At CASA of Franklin County we are continually trying to be attentive to your wants and needs and this Volunteer Corner provides a way for volunteers to share experiences. 

Please contact us if you need more information on either of these topics.

Thank you again for all the work you do for abused and neglected children of Franklin County!

OHIO CASA Conference

We are passing along a question posed from the OHIO CASA organization.

The state CASA conference will be held September 30-October 2. OHIO CASA is wondering if people would be interested in appetizers, a cash bar and karaoke on the Friday night of the conference. There may be a small fee involved, around 10 dollars to participate.
What are your thoughts about this? Please comment below!

Thank you for all you do for CASA!

CASA of Franklin County Tee-Shirts!

Many of you have told us that you would like to see more CASA-related apparel than is offered by National CASA. Therefore, we have connected with a company named Greater Than Goods (GTG) to provide CASA volunteers, friends, and supporters with an opportunity to help CASA of Franklin County.

Please check out the designs GTG has created exclusively for our program. The price will be around $20. I know that this amount is a bit high for a t-shirt. However, CASA will make money on each one. So, you will get a unique t-shirt and contribute to CASA at the same time!

Of course, as budgets have tightened in this economy, it’s important that we spend money wisely. Our deal with GTG requires us after six months to purchase from them any unsold shirts remaining in their inventory. You can help us with our ordering by answering a few questions.

1) How likely are you to purchase a CASA t-shirt (for yourself and/or a friend)?

a. Very Likely

b. Likely

c. Probably won’t purchase

2) If you answered “Very Likely” or “Likely”, which design will you buy?

a. Light of Hope design

b. House design

c. I’ll buy one of each!

3) If you answered “Probably won’t purchase”, which design do you prefer?

a. Light of Hope
b. House





Thank you for your assistance!