Sixth Judicial District CASA / GAL

Buy a ticket and your money will be matched 3 ways! Also, you may potentially win a guided elk hunting trip on private land with a shot at a cow and a bull! Adults get to shoot cow, while Kids shoot bull elk. Ticket purchase donations will be matched by our sponsors: TOM BROKAW, RON DOLLENS, & DENNY WARE.

All proceeds benefit the Sixth Judicial District CASA/GAL Program.

Price $25 per ticket
Drawing October 27, 2010
Hunts held November 5, 6 & 7, 2010

Tickets available at:

Farmers Market at the CASA Booth in Livingston
The FORT in Big Timber
ACE Hardware In Livingston

- or -

Mail a check to P O Box 1827 in Livingston, MT 59047 & we will send you a ticket.

This could be YOU!…..Past winners and their prizes.

***Winners must be residents of Park or Sweet Grass Counties & of legal hunting age. Limit of 4 tickets per family.

Become a CASA Volunteer TODAY!

Step 1: Visit our web site and determine if this is the type

of volunteer work for you.

Step 2: Complete application, pass background check and schedule an interview

with CASA Program Director.

Step 3: Complete 30hours of training in Oct. 2010.

Step 4: Now you are ready to be assigned a case!

Your services will be making a positive difference in a child’s life!

Thanks to everyone who donated items, attended the evening, made purchases and cash donations to our CASA: A Treasure to Cherish event on June 18th.  We appreciate your support and participation which helped to make our fundraiser a huge success. The benefit hosted close to 160 people and the evening was filled with fun and dancing. Special thanks to Gail McCormick, Katie Killfoil and Ann Schilling for their planning and decoration ideas. The place looked wonderful and the event ran very smoothly. Thanks for making a positive difference to our children and our community.

The Sixth Judicial District CASA/GAL program will have a booth at the Livingston Farmers Market beginning June 22 and ending September 30th 2010. The Livingston Farmers Market is sponsored by the Western Sustainability Exchange and will be held each Wednesday afternoon from 4:30 to 7:30 PM in the Sacajawea/Miles Park, next to the Bandshell. This year, CASA/GAL booth will be selling water and donuts to help raise money for our program.

Our donut machine got a makeover this year and we are hoping to produce more donuts then ever! Also, there will be volunteer information to those who want to help join our cause or are interested in CASA’s objectives.

Welcome!

The CASA/GAL Program in Park and Sweet Grass Counties advocates for abused and neglected children in the judicial court system. This year we are facilitating a one of a kind event that will ultimately benefit our treasured children and give them a voice.  General information includes:

The Date: June 18, 2010    Location: The Elks in Livingston        Time: 6-11pm

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The Food

There will be a cocktail buffet catered by Zac’s Montana Kitchen.  Chef Zac Kellerman has established his reputation as one of the best-known caterers in Montana, recognized for his gracious ability to accommodate challenging requests from clients large and small, while maintaining the highest standards of quality.  To see and learn more about this delicious food service visit: http://www.zacsmontanakitchen.com/

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The Music

Steam Powered Airplane has played at many private and public functions.They are a four-piece bluegrass band based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The band plays the traditional acoustic instruments: banjo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, upright bass as well as occasional dobro and telecaster. It has recently been awarded third place at the internationally renowned Telluride Bluegrass Festival. To hear and see the band visit: http://www.steampoweredairplane.com/

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Live and Silent Auction

Some of the live and silent one of a kind auction items include: a cruise, wine tasting, dinner with a famous mystery guest and many, many more valuable treasures.

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Door Prizes

Just for coming, you might win 2 tickets to the 4th of July Rodeo, 2 Summer Fest Passes, Empire Twin Theater Tickets or a Goodie Basket by Dalonda Rockafellow.

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If you are interested in purchasing a ticket or reserving a table for 8 people, please call with your name and number at (406) 222-4904 or email linda@casajd6.org. Space is limited so get your reservation in today!

Thank you for your interest in our first benefit!

CASA Award Presented to Local Program Director at State Conference

Justice Rice honored Program Director Ann Schilling of the 6th Judicial CASA/GAL as the CASA Director of the Year. Ann has been the driving force since the local program began in Park County 2002.  Judge Nels Swandal wrote that she has created “a well organized and successful non-profit organization that operates smoothly and effectively in child abuse and neglect cases.  CASA’s positive image and well recognized work is largely due to her dedication and ability to raise the bar in all areas of this field.”
Ann supervises 31 volunteers serving 21 children in Park and Sweetgrass County.  Ann is always available to help the volunteers in writing a report or guiding an investigation. Ann has also served more than five years on the state board of CASA of Montana, most recently as chair of the nominations committee. In addition, each year she arranges dinner for a group of 40 to 50 bike riders in the Park-2-Park Montana event, and even a small bus to take them from their hotel to a local church for the meal.

For more information and more details on CASA of Montana go to www.casagal.org, call 406 443 2448 or
e-mail info@casagal.org.

YOU are invited to visit our

New Office in

The Plaza Complex!

From 9am-3pm on Wednesday, April 7th, we will be hosting an open house at our new location.

See our new  volunteer station & have a snack!

There is a CASA Volunteer TRAINING Wednesday March 17th at 5:30 in the District Court Room in Livingston.   Presenters will be from Montana Youth Challenge and Junior Achievement of MT. These programs offer solutions for children aging out of the system  and teach youth the key concepts of work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy.

Montana Youth Challenge

Livingston – The Sixth Judicial District CASA/GAL Program, Inc.  of Park and Sweet Grass Counties has just been awarded certification by the National Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association.   This certification recognizes that the local CASA/GAL is in compliance with National CASA’s high standards for quality child advocacy.

According to Michael Piraino, CEO of the National CASA Association, “The National CASA quality assurance process is very rigorous, and reflects our commitment to ensure every child we serve has the most powerful volunteer advocate working on their behalf.  This certification says, “The Sixth Judicial District CASA/GAL Program, Inc.  has demonstrated to us a strong capacity to provide excellent services to the abused and neglected children within their community.”

The Sixth Judicial District CASA/GAL Program, Inc.  was started accepting cases January 2004. Currently all children with cases have been assigned a CASA who works hard to ensure the child’s best interest is protected.  When speaking on our local CASA programs volunteers, Wm Nels Swandal said they are, “dedicated advocates who are genuinely concerned for the children and are generous with their time. They spend hours investigating each case and compiling thorough reports which are essential in determining the best interest of the abused and neglected children.”

About the National CASA Association
In 1976, concerned over making decisions decision about abused and neglected children’s lives without sufficient information, a Seattle judge conceived the idea of using trained community volunteers to speak for the best interests of these children in court, helping to ensure that they will live in a safe and loving environment. So successful was the Seattle program, that soon judges across the country began utilizing citizen advocates.  In 1990, the U.S. Congress encouraged the expansion of CASA/GAL with passage of the Victims of Child Abuse Act.  Today, there are more than 950 National CASA member programs across the country, with more than 70,000 men and women serving as CASA or Guardian Ad Litem volunteers.

The January 2010 Edition of  Montana Best Times Newspaper recently printed an article called, ” Child advocate fearlessly stands up for kids.”  The article highlighted a 16 year CASA volunteer Sherri Noel of Eastern MT, who is very dedicated speaking up for abused and neglected children in Montana. She describes some of her experiences while working on cases and tells about her involvement with the CASA program.  To read the complete article contact Montana Best Times @ http://www.casagal.org/images/SherryNoelArticleComplete.pdf