CASA volunteer walks 50 miles to bring awareness to child abuse, neglect
Tommy White received motivation just when he needed it.
About 30 miles into his 50-mile walk to raise awareness and funds for local nonprofit CASA of the South Plains, White began wearing down.
Then he met Vietnam veteran Jerry Bell, who not only donated to CASA and encouraged him to keep walking, but walked several laps with him throughout the day and brought him Ibuprofen so he could walk through the pain.
“Twenty minutes (after taking the pills), I felt like a new man,” said White, also a Vietnam veteran and a Purple Heart recipient. “We talked about the war and about our experiences and how we didn’t get welcomed home, but now it’s all good; how blessed we were that we made it home, what a great life we’re having. I met a friend I didn’t know I had. It was just a blessing.”
White, who has been volunteering with CASA for over a year, began walking in the middle of the night, at 1 a.m. Friday at Charles A. Guy Park. He continued walking into the evening and finished after more than 17 hours.
He was determined to walk 50 miles, in an effort to raise $50,000 for CASA, which provides assistance to children thrown into the legal system. He was accepting donations through an online website through midnight.
“Most of these kids don’t have much, plus they’re abused and/or neglected,” White said. “It’s been quite rewarding and quite honestly, it’s frustrating at times. It doesn’t go like you want it to sometimes, but if they didn’t have me or another CASA, they’ve got nobody who really goes the extra miles.”
Although abused and neglected children are assigned attorneys and other paid advocates, having volunteer advocates provides consistent comfort for the children during a difficult time, said Gabriel Ballesteros, the organization’s communications and marketing director.
“If you’re a young child ... you’ve just been taken from your home, you’ve been put into foster care and you end up moving around from placement to placement,” he said. “Oftentimes what happens is our CASA volunteer is the only one that’s involved in that child’s life from the time they enter care until the time they leave.”
He said, having that consistency makes a huge difference for the child.
Last year, CASA advocates donated 8,591 hours and provided advocacy services for 485 foster youth.
“The volunteer is taking time out of their lives to go ahead and spend time with these kids and get to know who they are and what their needs are and provide a voice for them that otherwise they wouldn’t’ have,” Ballesteros said. “Many times, volunteers have told me that the kids tell them, ‘you’re the only person that’s been there for me through the course of my case and it matters to me that you’re the only one that wasn’t paid to be there.’ ”
CASA volunteers must be 21 years old, and although Lauren Hunter is only 19, she and other students at Texas Tech want to help the community’s abused and neglected children.
Hunter of Tech Students for CASA said the group volunteers at various events the nonprofit hosts. She hopes to become an advocate one day.
“To be able to work with a student organization and volunteer with them for so long and then to one day actually become an advocate would be very special,” Hunter said. “A few of our members were foster kids and had their own CASA advocate when they were kids and they always try to communicate to us how important it is to them.”
Jennifer Jackson, a friend of White’s wife, Cindi, set up an aid station with food and nutrients at 12:30 a.m. to nourish and keep an eye on White throughout the walk. She stayed at the booth the entire time White was walking and was pleased at the number of people who stopped by to learn more about CASA and donate.
“It’s hard on your body, you have to stay fueled ... keep your energy up,” Jackson said. “It’s a good cause, he’s a good person and it was worth being out here to support him.”
Bell, who joined White on and off throughout the day, joined about a dozen people who cheered him on during his last 5 miles.
“(He) exemplifies service above self,” Bell said.
sarah.rafique@lubbockonline.com
No comments:
Post a Comment