The girls in Girl Scout Troop 172 led by Troop leader, Debbilyn Day, are learning about doing good deeds as they make memory books for Los Angeles county foster children. The girl scouts are currently working on their, “Caring for Others,” patches and when they heard of the plight of those children less fortunate than they, they voted unanimously to do their part in making other children’s lives a bit brighter.
Due to confidentiality reasons, the girls will never meet the foster kids they are helping, however this did not dissuade them. The girl scouts were educated about children removed from their homes due to abuse and severe neglect. They were told that some children languish in the foster care system for years and are separated from everything they hold near and dear.
“Unfortunately, it is not uncommon where children from the same family are placed in separate foster homes, sometimes great distances from one another where regular sibling visitation does not occur,” explained Melinda Murphy, Program Supervisor for the Court Appointed Special Advocates program (CASA). She added that the children and their siblings do see one another at Court appearances and it is on these dates that CASA volunteers will be taking pictures of the children visiting together, developing the pictures and putting them together into memory books by the time the foster children leave Court.
The girls in Troop 172 are glad they can help.
“I don’t want the kids to be sad,” said 8-year-old Girl Scout, Tori Alandy.
CASA is currently accepting volunteers. CASA advocates for foster care children in Court and in the community. They are appointed by Judges and provide the Court with recommendations as to the child’s best interests.
For more information about the program, please call 661-945-6483. CASA can be found on the web at www.casala.org