CASA looks to fund next fiscal year
Published 6:15 am Wednesday, January 23, 2019
- Members of the CASA of the 16th JDC staff and board accept a $2,000 donation from Hancock Whitney Bank in New Iberia Tuesday morning. From left, Walter Thibodeaux, CASA board vice president, David O, CASA board member and Hancock Whitney Financial Center manager, Cherrise Picard, CASA board member, Brett Lang, CASA board president, Lexi Baldridge, Hancock Whitney retail sales leader, Kim Lockett, CASA board member, Bonnie Bonin, CASA executive director, Jamaisha Lewis, CASA volunteer, Angela Pontiff, Hancock Whitney regional operational leader, Hester Patout Boudier, CASA board member, Kandi Durocher, CASA board secretary, Amy Delcambre , CASA volunteer and Lorna Davis, CASA advocate supervisor.
The last year has been a busy one for Brett Lang. As president of the Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children for the 16th Judicial Court, he and Bonnie Bonin, the organization’s executive director, have had to take an operation that was floundering and turn it into a functioning and viable group capable of providing services to those most in need — children.
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“We’ve been clearing up the books, organizing the files and rebuilding our relationship with the court,” Lang said Tuesday.
CASA, short for court-appointed special advocates, exists to advocate for the abused and neglected children in the foster care system in Iberia, St. Martin and St. Mary parishes. Since 2015, CASA of the 16th JDC has operated without any dedicated funding. Bonin and Lang took office on July 1 to try to change that.
“We just got funds for part of this year from the U.S. Supreme Court,” Lang said. “We need to apply for the next fiscal year, which starts on July 1.”
The group also is seeking help from the public, specifically the business community, Lang said.
“The community is awesome,” Lang said. “One of our biggest challenges has been to educate people as to what CASA is. We do a lot of that through our social media presence on Facebook.”
One example of the generous spirit is a $2,000 donation the group received Tuesday from Hancock Whitney Bank.
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“We now have two employees, Bonnie (Bonin) and an advocate supervisor,” Lang said. “We just started a training class for new volunteers.”
Lang said the group hopes to develop more volunteers, opening up new training classes every few months.
“This group will graduate in February, then we will start another class in April,” Lang said.
Anyone wishing to volunteer, offer donations or learn more about CASA can call the organization’s office at 359-9016 or go online to www.casa16jdc.org.
