Letter: Bryce Wagner

From: Bryce Wagner

President, Advocates for Children

Columbus

During the holiday season, we worry ourselves with finding the perfect gift for everyone on our list. This usually means running from store to store or scouring the Internet in search of the right items. As we search high and low for presents for our loved ones, it’s easy to lose the giving spirit once we have crossed every item off our list.

This year, I hope you’ll add the gift of hope to your list, a gift that you can give just by spending 10 to 15 hours a month helping a child less fortunate than those you’ve been so busy shopping for.

Every day, more children in our community find themselves the victims of abuse and neglect. The reasons for this are longer than your shopping list, but there is no doubt that locally we are experiencing a crisis. Indeed, the demand for advocates for these most vulnerable members of our community has never been greater.

Our community is blessed to have a dedicated team of passionate volunteers working tirelessly to represent the best interests of our abused and neglected children. Advocates for Children recruits, trains and administers those volunteers as it works to confront child abuse and neglect.

In the last year, through its volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs), Advocates for Children has provided advocacy for 604 of the abused and neglected children of our community during the most difficult time of their young lives. Despite our best efforts, we saw a record number of children removed from their homes in 2015 because of abuse and neglect, and we currently have 275 children on our waiting list in need of an advocate to take up their case.

This is where you come in. By volunteering just 10 to 15 hours of your time each month, you can make a lifelong difference for these young children by serving as a volunteer CASA. No special background or expertise is necessary, just a commitment to improving the well-being of our children.

As a volunteer CASA, you will be trained to manage every situation you may encounter and you will be supported at all times by the experienced, dedicated, nationally recognized staff at Advocates for Children. You will ensure that the best interests of the children you serve are always front and center. And you will make a lifelong difference for each young person you work with.

Give the gift of hope to local victims of child abuse and neglect and join the team at Advocates for Children. Make the resolution that none of our children will go another year without an advocate to stand by their side and help guide them safely to a permanent home. Call Advocates for Children’s office at 812-372-2808, or visit us online at apowerfulvoice.org. You can’t give a better gift this holiday season.