JFS and The Giving Brick will be among the activities at CARnival for CASA — a fun, safe, socially distanced event in which families load the kids in the car and drive through stations with lots of great activities, giveaways, a raffle, and sweet treats and lunch for everyone in the car.
The reinvented event invites everyone to drive through a CARnival where they will stop at stations to enjoy many of the activities of a traditional carnival but from the socially distanced safety of their car. The benefit for Jackson County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13, at Unity Village, 1901 N.W. Blue Parkway in Lee’s Summit. Tickets for CARnival for CASA are $30 per child or $60 per car. The public also can sponsor CASA kids for $30 each.
Originally founded as an NCJW program, Jackson County CASA is now one of the nation’s largest CASA nonprofits expected to advocate this year for 1,250 children removed from their homes for their safety. CARnival for CASA will raise funds to recruit, train and support Jackson County CASA volunteers.
CARnival for CASA will feature more than 16 activity stations and balloon twisters, a stilt walker, princesses and mascots and more to entertain between booths. Just a few of the activities include are exotic animals and birds, classic cars, music, arts and crafts, a raffle, temporary tattoos and a bubble machine where each child also gets their own bottle of bubbles. At one of the stations, each child will pick a color or number which leads to either a prize, watching someone get a pie in the face or watching someone get dunked. At another booth, volunteers will decorate participants’ cars and take a photo.
There will be popcorn, cotton candy, f’Real ice cream shakes, boxed lunches from Cosentino’s Price Chopper for everyone in the car and much more.
There also will be lots of stuff for the kids to take home including sets of LEGOS from The Giving Brick, a nonprofit founded by Matt Gould that sanitizes and compiles used LEGO pieces into complete sets. JFS will distribute T-shirts and other items from its teen anti-suicide program, You Be You, which stresses that it is okay to be different.
JFS also will provide 100 boxes of food available for those who choose to take them. The boxes — containing canned vegetables and soups, body wash, toilet paper, a cleaning product and a pamphlet outlining JFS services that can help families served by Jackson County CASA — will be disseminated by JFS volunteers who will be available to answer questions.
This can be especially helpful to families housing the abused/neglected children served by Jackson County CASA, who attend the event thanks to generous donors. Those families also will have the opportunity to accept free back-to-school supplies, masks and hand sanitizer.
Many of the CASA kids have never been to a carnival and those attending past events have called it the best day of their lives. In addition to all the fun, CARnival for CASA provides a chance for children who have experienced abuse and neglect to just be kids rather than foster kids and to put aside all the trauma for a day.
Kids who have a CASA volunteer are far less likely to be re-abused and far more likely to find a safe permanent home. For the past eight years, 95% of children who had CASA volunteers have not been re-abused or re-entered the court system.
CASA volunteers — with on-going support from professional staff — work to provide critical information to judges, helping them make the best possible decisions regarding where the children should live and what medical, therapeutic and educational services they need. Often, CASA volunteers are the single constant in these children’s lives as they navigate the court and foster care system.
More volunteers are desperately needed. There is no need for any special skills or education to be a CASA volunteer — just a heart for helping children, a background check and training. The hours are highly flexible and currently are virtual. While each case is different, a CASA volunteer usually spends about 10 hours a month meeting with the child, speaking with others involved and attending meetings or court hearings.
For information about volunteering as a CASA or for tickets to attend CARnival for CASA, visit casakc.org or call Jackson County CASA at 816-984-8200.