BELL COUNTY, Texas — A court appointed special advocate or a CASA advocate's main job is to take care of children in the foster care system, but outside of that, many advocates volunteer in their communities.
This past week, advocate Christine Yacynych participated in Read Across America where she read to students at Raye-Allen Elementary in Temple.
"It's just another avenue to be involved in children's lives," Yacynych said.
She added that doing things like this is a nice change of pace sometimes. She said CASA advocates already like to work with kids, so when they get a chance outside of advocacy, it's even better.
CASA of Bell and Coryell Counties also works to hold their own events that get them engaged with the community.
On March 4, they held a Saint Patrick's Shenanigans and 5K Fun Run.
Periodically, they will hold open houses to allow people in to see and hear what CASA is.
They also hold events that share the importance of men being involved with CASA.
No matter how CASA works within the community, they strive to make a difference in every child's life in their area.
Today, over 100 advocates are assigned cases in Bell and Coryell County, but more are needed. In those two counties alone there are currently at least 2,000 children in the system, so the need for advocates is clearly present.
Their goal is to have enough advocates to support every child in the system.
To learn a little about the history of CASA, click here.