Lexington woman earns CASA Volunteer of the Month award while working full-time

CASA volunteer Barbie Carter

Barbie Carter stays busy working full-time at Lexmark, but that doesn’t stop her from enjoying family time or hobbies like photography. It also hasn’t stopped her from making a difference in her community as a CASA volunteer. In fact, it was through her workplace’s Women @ Work group that she discovered CASA of Lexington.

Now, Carter, one of many Lexmark employees who serve as CASA volunteers, is one of CASA of Lexington’s Volunteers of the Month for January. She has advocated for children from four different families over her nearly five years of service.

“Barbie has been a tremendous source of support for foster parents, often helping to intervene to get the attention of the social worker or other parties to a case when needed,” said Liz Noffsinger, Carter’s Volunteer Manager who nominated her for the award.

Noffsinger said Carter has been a dedicated volunteer, even traveling long distances across the state when children were placed far away from where their case originated.

Carter said she loves building relationships with the children for whom she advocates. CASA volunteers are matched with children in the local family court system who have been abused or neglected. They visit children monthly, talk to adults involved in the children’s lives and bring reports and recommendations back to the judge. Children who receive a CASA volunteer are more likely to do well in school, more likely to receive services they need while in care and less likely to re-enter the foster system after their case closes.

“As a CASA volunteer, you are the person who can focus on one case and really get to know the people involved,” she said. “This helps you get a better view of what the child needs, so you can be a voice for that child. What I find most rewarding is getting to know the people involved and being able to influence and help in a tangible way that really makes a difference in one child’s life.”