March 21. Child Health and Development Month #2
“History will judge us by the difference we make in the everyday lives of children.”
- Nelson Mandela
This month, as the Foundation highlights organizations that work to help kids, here are organizations that we have supported for many years.
CASA | Powerless Children...Need Powerful Friends (The Foundation supports CASA in DuPage, Kane and Kendall Counties)
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children) works to recruit, train and support volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused, neglected, dependent and vulnerable children in the court system.
After the Department of Children and Family Services has determined a child is in an unsafe living situation and has been removed from his/her home, a CASA volunteer is appointed to the child. The CASA volunteer then attends hearings regarding a child’s temporary placement and, in time, helps a judge make the best decision for a safe, caring and permanent home for each child (which can take years).
Recently, the Executive Director of CASA DuPage County shared the following story in a communication where she reported that “(T)he need for our services has been tremendous in the past few months as sadly we have seen a substantial surge in the number of children removed from unsafe homes in DuPage County. In fact, in the last six months of 2022, our cases nearly doubled from the first six months of the year.”
A recent “Advocate Spotlight” was on a volunteer who has been a CASA since March 2015 and has been advocating for a 9-year-old girl, now 17, for 8 years. The girl is currently living in a residential facility specializing in the type of services she needs. The ED continues:
“(The CASA volunteer) said she will most likely be with (the girl) until she ages out of the system at 21, when she hopes to still be part of her life. The CASA volunteer tells us despite the challenges this girl has faced, her teen has a great personality and is able to make connections with many different types of people. She enjoys art, makeup, hair and nails and would like to attend cosmetology school one day. At one of her visits, the CASA volunteer brought her a mannequin for her to practice on until she enrolls in the beauty program.”
“The CASA volunteer remains a CASA for this teen girl—as she is the only consistent adult in her life and the one who carries all of her history. This young woman has been in the foster care system since she was 3 years old, in and out of foster homes and residential facilities. She has no contact with any family members, including her two younger siblings who were adopted by one of her previous foster families. The CASA volunteer told us, ‘I can’t even imagine not being a CASA right now.’ In reference to her current case, ‘I want to be there to encourage her, help her and guide her, because I’m the only person she’s got'."
WATCH THIS VIDEO TO LEARN ABOUT THE IMPACT OF A CASA here.
BUILD | Hope Lives Futures (Chicago)
Created in 1969, BUILD (Broader Urban Involvement & Leadership Development) is a nationally-respected gang intervention, violence prevention and youth development organization based on Chicago’s West Side. Its mission is “to inspire hope and offer opportunities so youth facing systemic obstacles can achieve positive futures.”
Each year, BUILD’s programs and services reach over 2,500 youth, helping them build “hope, resilience and a path to a promising future.”
BUILD’s main programs include:
INTERVENTION: Saving lives
PREVENTION: Growing hope
EDUCATION: Building futures
ENRICHMENT: Building self
MENTAL HEALTH & WELLNESS: Investing in strength
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Strengthening neighborhoods
Recently, BUILD completed its Build The Future campaign, a $24 million campaign to bring the young people of Chicago’s neglected West Side a building which takes up a full city-block campus. In 2021, the Foundation did a pledge drive for BUILD and this campaign and raised $54,700. The renovated space, which was just unveiled, contains 51,000 square feet and is surrounded by playfields and gardens. The new campus:
Expands hours and days to serve youth and the community and expands capacity from 100 at the current site to 2,000 at the new campus
Contains a full-sized gym, track and fitness center
Art studios & classrooms, galleries, performance spaces & fully-equipped recording studio onsite
Makers lab, woodshop and computer center, all hosting new workforce programs onsite
Adds youth homework spaces
Expands mental health center for youth and their families
Contains a public café and community garden, new greenspace, play field and outdoor community event space
Pictured here: The architectural drawing of the site as shown on the original campaign for Build the Future. Built in the Austin neighborhood, By The Hand says the new community center "loudly expresses" its belief in Austin's young people.
Find out more about BUILD here.
By the Hand Club for Kids | One Person Can Change Everything (Chicago)
By The Hand began in 2001 with 16 children from Cabrini-Green. As it describes its growth: “Since then, we have witnessed transformation within the lives of our kids—and within our organization. Thanks to the countless people who started with one step, one gift, one prayer, one student, we now serve more than 1,700 kids.”