CASA of Lexington’s February Volunteers of the Month Began Serving During Pandemic
CASA of Lexington’s February Volunteers of the Month are both in their first year of advocating for abused and neglected children. They chose to speak up for abused and neglected children during one of the most difficult years in recent history, and both say they have found the experience extremely rewarding.
Jenica Hall
“It is extremely heart-wrenching to witness what these children had to endure, but so gratifying when you know you have had a big impact on their life,” Jenica Hall said.
Hall has been a CASA volunteer since June 2020, and she has worked hard on her first case to make sure a teenage girl is getting therapy and can rebuild a healthy relationship with her parents, said Dennis Stutsman, Hall’s Volunteer Manager.
“Jenica has worked to make sure the child feels safe in her placement, and has assistance in meeting her goals for her educational and future employment plans,” Stutsman said. “Jenica has been a great support in helping her teen to advocate for herself in maintaining independence as she charts her own life forward.”
Hall said she heard about CASA of Lexington from a friend, Crystal Shepard. Despite the pandemic, she signed up for CASA volunteer training and completed CASA of Lexington’s virtual training course over the summer.
“What I have found to be the most rewarding is I am advocating for these children when they cannot, and helping them have more opportunities and resources they may not have had before,” she said. “CASA is the most rewarding organization I have ever been a part of!”
Terri Potter, also a CASA Volunteer of the Month for February, said she is also very glad she made the decision to volunteer.
Terri Potter
“After retiring from teaching, I was looking for a volunteer experience in which I could help children and allow me to have a flexible schedule,” she said. “I had a friend who was fostering a child and was working with a CASA. She explained what a CASA did and how important that was for children who are in the court system.”
Potter reaches one year of CASA volunteering this month, and she just closed her first case. She has already been assigned to another.
“I have been grateful to be an advocate for children who aren’t able to advocate for themselves, and hopefully help families find the best possible outcomes for their unique situation,” she said. “I was hesitant at first because several people I talked with thought volunteering as a CASA might be depressing. I am new at this, but what I’ve found so far is that there are so many really good people – like social workers, judges, attorneys and others – who are doing their best every day to help children in Kentucky. I find that uplifting!”
Potter’s Volunteer Manager Kyrsten Adkins said she is kind, patient and objective.
“She recently had a case that included cultural and language barriers, but Terri collaborated with numerous parties to ensure those barriers were being addressed,” Adkins said. “I believe if Terri had not been involved, working closely with a parent, relatives and others, this case would have had a different outcome. Her determination and hard work kept this case from falling through the cracks. It’s not often that when a case closes, an attorney who represents a parent thanks the CASA for their dedication to the child and family, but in this case, that’s exactly what happened.”
CASA of Lexington was able to train Hall and dozens of other new volunteers in 2020 thanks to a new 100% online training curriculum that keeps everyone safe while they learn how to advocate for children’s best interests. CASA of Lexington’s next online training begins Feb. 23; another round of trainings are slated to begin in April. For more information, email info@casaoflexington.org.