November 2023

CASA JEFFERSON NEWSLETTER
NOVEMBER 2023

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​November is National Adoption Month. It is the month when the broader community
acknowledges the efforts of those whose lives have been impacted by adoption and who facilitate
the process. This month helps spread awareness and encourages all of us to learn about adoption.
National Adoption Month celebrates the families who have grown through adoption. It also
recognizes the journey of the many children who are still waiting for their destined families. It
further highlights the thousands of children worldwide in need of adoption, and how easy
it is to make a difference even if you cannot adopt.
 
   HISTORY OF NATIONAL ADOPTION MONTH           
Every year, there are more and more children in need of finding secure and safe families.
National Adoption Month sheds light on the process and the positive impacts of adoption.
The state of Massachusetts was the first to promote adoption-related efforts in 1976. Governor
Mike Dukakis announced the first week of November as “Adoption Week” to promote awareness
of the need for adoptive families for children in the foster care system. The idea slowly grew in
popularity and spread throughout the nation. Following this, in 1984, President Gerald R. Ford
made adoption week a national event. As the popularity of this week grew, more states
started participating, and it became difficult to fit all the events into a period of seven days.
This was when President Bill Clinton extended the week-long event into a whole month, which
came to be known as National Adoption Month, which is celebrated globally.
 
National Adoption Month is a chance for all — individuals, families, businesses, organizations,
communities, states, and the government — to celebrate adoption. Adoption is encouraged as a
positive way to grow families and take children out of foster care. Many fundraising drives,
recognition dinners, community activities, and awareness campaigns are held all across
the nation to observe this month.
 
National Adoption Month also includes National Adoption Day, November 18th.
This day is observed in courthouses all across the country, where thousands of adoptions are
finalized simultaneously on the Saturday directly after it. Courts are encouraged to deal with
the backlog of adoptions on this day. 

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CASA Jefferson is excited to announce details for our
upcoming CASA Jefferson foster children Christmas Party!

Grinchmas Winter Fest Celebration Party

When: December 15, 202
Time: 5:30pm – 8pm
     Where: Marrero’s Lyons Club
           ​2334 Barataria Blvd
          Marrero La. 70072 
 
Invitations will be mailed to all CASA Jefferson children’s caregivers address on file.
​Christmas gifts will be given to our CASA Jefferson foster children at the party.
 Advocates, please encourage caregivers to rsvp asap.
 
Also, any advocate interested in helping with the Grinchmas Winter Fest Celebration Party,
please talk to your Advocate Coordinator.

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Adopting a child from foster care is a great way to help a child while growing your family. Today
there are more than 117,000 children and teens in foster care who are waiting for the love and
security that a permanent home provides. Children enter foster care through no fault of their own,
because they have been abused, neglected, or abandoned. These children are in the temporary
custody of the state while their birth parents are given the opportunity to complete services that
will allow the children to be returned to them if it is in the children’s best interest.
Just more than half of children who go into foster care return to their birth families. For children
who become available for adoption, many are adopted by a relative or their foster parents.
Adopting from foster care is similar to other types of adoption in that after
all of the decision making, paperwork, and preparation are completed, a dream of family is fulfilled.
But foster care adoptions are different in a few important ways:
Though it is possible to adopt a baby from foster care, the children who are available for
adoption generally range from toddler to 21. The median age is eight years old.
Because all children in foster care have experienced some form of trauma, parents who
adopt from foster care undergo specific training to understand the effects of
trauma and help children heal.

(For more details, go to: https://www.adoptuskids.org/adoption-and-foster-care/overview/adoption-from-foster-care)

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​Tuesday, November 28, 2023 is Giving Tuesday,
a movement born in 2012 as a local experiment. It has grown into a worldwide
independent nonprofit that encourages people to do good in their communities.

At CASA Jefferson, we continuously make it our business to end the suffering of those most
vulnerable among us: foster children. Our volunteers advocate for the safety and wellbeing of
children in the foster care system because we believe that every child deserves to grow in a
safe and loving home.

Make an Impact by Donating with CASA Jefferson

Become a part of our impact, on this Giving Tuesday and give a child the chance
to change their story. Consider donating what you can this Giving Tuesday with Casa Jefferson.
 
To donate, access CASA Jefferson’s Face book page
https://www.casajefferson.org/giving-tuesday.html    
and help us reach our fundraising goal of $10,000 this
Giving Tuesday November 28th, 2023!

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             NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYs         
​     CASA VOLUNTEERS

Allison Ulrich
Christopher Cazenave
Daimon Ponthieux
Lisa Stigler
Jacquie Bonano

          NOVEMBER ANNIVERSARY         
​      CASA VOLUNTEERS
 
Alice Reese - 11yrs
Bruce Blenkarn - 7yrs
Cynthia Zandi - 5yrs
Kathy Horridge - 1yr
Lenora Clemons - 14yrs
Lorenza Lawless – 7yrs
Mary Vastola – 15yrs
Richard Saxer - 11yrs
Shane Wilson - 5yrs
Shanna Johnson - 5yrs

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Our Mission is to break the cycle of child abuse and neglect through volunteers advocating
for safe, nurturing, and permanent homes for foster children in our community.
 
Our Vision is to have volunteers recruited, trained, and assigned to every child in the
foster care system in Jefferson Parish.

New Advocate Volunteer Pre-Service Training classes
are Self-Guided & completed ON-LINE from the comfort of your home.

​As of November 1, 2023, we have 55
children waiting for a volunteer to advocate for them.

Please have family/friends/coworkers call 504 533-8757 and speak to
​Margaret Ether to learn more about becoming a CASA Jefferson volunteer advocate.