CASA Needs Volunteers
Child abuse has reached epic proportions in Texas: Last year 66,817 children were confirmed victims of abuse and neglect, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Worse, most of those who die from abuse are younger than five.
One way to protect children is to pair them with a CASA volunteer.
CASA, which stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate, volunteers work with the court system to advocate on behalf of abused and neglected children. Volunteers ensure that foster children receive the care they need and also speak-up for the children in court.
The CASA program in Texas recently launched a statewide public awareness campaign featuring former First lade Laura Bush to draw attention to the need for more volunteers.
CASA volunteers come from all walks of life — you do not need to be an attorney or a social worker to volunteer! The only requirements are that volunteers must be at least 21-years-old and able pass a criminal and CPS background check.
Becoming a CASA volunteer really can make a difference in a fragile child’s life. In fact, CASA volunteers help shorten the time a child spends in foster careand children with a CASA volunteer are less likely to re-enter the child welfare system once their case is closed, according to a 2006 study conducted by National CASA and U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Programs.
If you’d like to learn more about becoming a CASA volunteer, log on to www.becomeacasa.org.
Education Foundation Seeks School Supplies
It’s back-to-school time, and that means lots of kids needs school supplies.
For needy children, purchasing the necessary supplies can be tough, so the Round Rock Partners in Education Foundation would like to help.
The organization seeks monetary donations to help purchase school supplies for low income students. Currently 30% of children in the Round Rock ISD, some 13,000 kids, qualify for free or reduced lunch, an indicator of poverty. These children are eligible to receive free school supplies from the Partners in Education Program.
The group encourages folks to go online and “adopt” a student for $10. You won’t know the identity of the student, but you’ll provide them with all of the supplies they need to start the year!
For more information, or to make a donation online, log on to www1.roundrockisd.org/educationfoundation, and then click on “Our Fundraisers”.
First Annual Young Latinas Award
Latinitas wants to showcase bright young Latinas in Austin, so they’ve launched the first annual 20 Under 20 Award.
The contest is open to Hispanic girls between the ages of 10-19 who are making a difference in their communities.
Parents, teachers and others (including girls themselves) may nominate deserving girls by going to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YNSRBQB and answering a few questions. For more information, call 447-4440 ext. 137
The deadline for nominations is Aug. 15.
Latinitas is an Austin-based nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of Hispanic girls through media and technology outreach. Girls involved in the organization produce an online magazine (www.latinitasmagazine.org) read by 30,000 people each month!
Kids Get Noticed for Giving
Eleven local kids got a pat on the back from Kohl’s Department Store in its national Kids Who Care Scholarship Program.
Earlier this year, Kohl’s asked kids, parents and teachers to nominate kids who excel at volunteering. The organization then narrowed down the nominees to a group of top volunteers who in turn received a $50 Kohl’s gift card and a shot at a college scholarship.
In Texas, 159 kids made the cut — 11 of whom live in Central Texas. They are:
Austin
Scott Barnhart, 7
Erin Green, 18
Dorothy (Dotty) Woods, 11
Cedar Park
Naveen Bhat, 8
Scott Morrison, 17
Georgetown
Madison Thompson, 10
Hutto
Shirdelle Cummings, 16
Named a regional winner and awarded a $1,000 scholarship for her book drive that raised 10,000 books for the Dell Children’s Hospital library!
Kyle
Joshua Waylon Hamill, 12
Leander
Taylor Nelson, 13
Braden Singleton, 7
Pflugerville
Matthew Evans, Age: 17
Bad News, Fellow Texans: We’re Fat!
A new national study now ranks Texas the 12th fattest state in the country.
The study, F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2011, by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, says one in three adults in Texas is obese. Even more disturbing: more than 20% of children and adolescents in Texas are obese.
On the upside, Texas is working to fight the obesity trend. The state’s school meals standards are now higher than USDA requirements, and the state has implemented farm-to-school programs that bring fresh fruits and vegetables directly from farms to school kids, according to the report. The report also commends Texas and 21 other states for requiring that children receive body mass index (BMI) screening, or weight-related assessments other than BMI.
Austin, meantime, seems to be the lone healthy holdout in our fat state: the American College of Sports Medicine ranks Austin/Round Rock #16 on its American Fitness Index — the only city in Texas to make the list! — due to our propensity to eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies and exercise moderately several times a week.
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