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.