Jeff Kunz is no stranger to volunteering. He was highly involved in his children’s activities when they were little and he is now president of the Woodland Kiwanis club. After thirty years in management at AT&T, Jeff is now retired. One night he and his wife were out with Jim and Georgia Corbett and Yolo County CASA came up in the conversation. “Georgia talked about her role on the board of directors and the mission of the organization. It really resonated with me because I had always wanted to be a big brother and this sounded very similar.”
Jeff has been with his CASA child, a pre-teen boy, for nearly eight months. “He was painfully shy at first but he’s been opening up slowly and it’s been neat to see him become more outgoing.” In fact, Jeff advocated for his CASA child to play sports through school to open social opportunities for him. “His living situation doesn’t give him many opportunities for extracurricular activities so that’s where I can step in and try to make things happen.”
On their visits, Jeff says they really enjoy going geocaching, and one moment in particular stands out. “We were having the hardest time finding one of the treasures and we had gone back a second and a third time to look. He finally spotted it and we both were really excited. I took that moment as an opportunity to talk about hard work and perseverance and then took him out to eat and celebrate. I know it seems really basic but he doesn’t get a lot of that in his life.”
To anyone considering becoming a CASA volunteer, Jeff is encouraging. “There is so much benefit to watching your CASA child come out of their shell and get to enjoy experiences they wouldn’t have the chance to do because of your involvement. I encourage anyone interested to apply to the trainings. There is a child out there right now who needs you.”
