CASA Angel Tree lighting kicks off holiday season in Lincoln County

A crowd gathered at the Bluebird in Stanford Monday morning to light the CASA Angel Tree and help brighten the holidays for abused and neglected Lincoln County children.

“We are here today to light this CASA Angel Tree and bring some much-needed light and happiness to children, many of whom have suffered more in their few short years of life than many of us will in our lifetimes,” said Melynda Jamison, Executive Director of Lincoln County’s CASA program.

Children on the tree have open family court cases and are served by CASA volunteers, who visit them regularly and advocate for their best interests. There were 15 Lincoln County children on the CASA Angel Tree this year, and attendees selected all of them during the event.

Attendees who chose a child’s wish list from the tree will now go shopping for gifts for them. The gifts will be brought back to the CASA office in downtown Stanford. Then, CASA volunteers will deliver them to the children’s caretakers in time to be wrapped for Christmas or any other holiday being celebrated in the home.

In the first two years of the Lincoln County CASA Angel Tree program, community members have purchased gifts for 40 children. Once all children on this year’s tree get their gifts, that number will be 55.

Jamison said there are still many more children in Lincoln County’s family court system who do not have a CASA volunteer. She encouraged anyone with a heart for helping kids in need to consider becoming a CASA volunteer.

The next regional in-person training class for new CASA volunteers begins Jan. 9 in Lexington and a full schedule is available at www.casaoflexington.org/training. Online training classes are also available, and in-person trainings for volunteers in Garrard and Lincoln counties are scheduled throughout the year.

For more information about the CASA Angel Tree program, visit www.casaoflexington.org/angeltree.

MORE INFO

If you would like more information about the CASA program in Lincoln County or if you would like to become a volunteer and change the trajectory of a child’s life, you can email info@casaoflexington.org or call the Lincoln County CASA office at (606) 442-1355.