When Spring Warren worked as a teacher, she often wondered what it would be like to focus on just one child who truly needed it. The answer came when she saw a newspaper ad. “I kept seeing a newspaper ad pop up in the Winters Express about becoming a CASA volunteer. I wanted to do it but worried about not having the time or the skills. Eventually I ignored the fear and just picked up the phone and called.”
Spring applied for and completed the CASA training and has been with her first CASA child for almost a year. Since it takes an hour of driving time to get to her CASA child, Spring has come up with creative ways to stay in contact between visits. “She doesn’t have a phone so I started writing her letters and I brought her paper, envelopes and stamps so she could write back to me. When she hadn’t written, I asked her why and she told me she didn’t know how to mail a letter so I taught her how. Spring continues, “Even after she knew how to send a letter she was still a hesitant reader and writer. Nevertheless, I continued to write and told her that if she wrote back, I would put a five dollar bill in my responses to her. That has given her a little more interest in challenging herself to write. As a writer myself, I love the practice it gives her reading and writing.”
Another accomplishment Spring holds dear is finding her CASA child a bike. “The first day she got the bike she rode it around with a big smile on her face, acting goofy, and having fun. It was a day we really enjoyed together.”
Spring says the advocacy side of being a CASA is a balancing act. “I knew I would care about my CASA child but I had no idea just how deeply I would care. When I see a problem, I want to just jump in and make it better – but it’s not my role, or, unfortunately, even within my abilities. Instead, I need to step back, assess the situation, think about which parties to involve, and try to facilitate a good outcome through working with those parties.”
Spring’s current CASA child has been reunited with her mother. At one visit, Spring was talking to both her CASA child and her CASA child’s mother about how at some point, the courts will no longer be involved. “I told my CASA child that I hoped we could still be friends forever and both she and her mother agreed that was a good idea. At the very least, I know we can be pen pals now.”
Thank you, Spring, for answering your call to make a difference for a child. We are very grateful.
