Saturday, Nov 24, 2018
A little funky music, sweet wine, and happy voices filled the Downtown Lady on Friday evening, a special event to benefit CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children.
Owner of The Downtown Lady, Craig W. Morgan, said friends approached him with the idea to help raise funds and awareness for the group, which serves children who are going through the court system and need advocates to help them through. “I am definitely about community. Everything positive we can do for our community needs to be done,” Morgan said.
CASA Executive Director Suzanne Hughes said Friday’s “Turkey Wobble” is part of CASA’s effort to raise awareness of their needs in the community. Even with the 111 volunteers the organization has, there are many children needing to be served, Hughes said. “We’re the second largest program in the state, and we continue to need new volunteers,” she said.
Muskogee’s organization also trains all volunteers in the state with Susan Massey, a 21-year CASA employee, handling the training online. “We couldn’t have the success of this program without her,” Hughes said.
Board President Dylan Lucht said they hoped the event would also serve as a “friend-raiser” of sorts. “What we’re really trying to do is draw awareness. The struggle is finding people who can do this, and one of our board goals is to get out in the community and hopefully meet people who want to volunteer.”
CASA plans a few fundraisers/friend-raisers a year, including their Black and White Ball and CASA Country Dinner. Thursday, CASA is sponsoring the first showing of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” at Muskogee Little Theatre. The group invited all their volunteers and their families, but if anyone is interested in attending, they are welcome to call the office to see if there are seats available, Hughes said.
Those interested in either making donations or becoming a volunteer can visit the CASA website at www.casaok.org or contact Training and Outreach Coordinator Jenny Crosby at (918) 686-8199.
This article originally appeared int he Muskogee Phoenix on 11/24/2018. Access the original article here.