One Volunteer Shares Her Story At our Fall Gala CASA volunteer Donna Hajduk shared an experience that reminded us how our CASA volunteers are making a difference.
Donna is a retired school principal. She returned to teaching briefly last spring as a long-term substitute at Lyman Gilmore Middle School in Grass Valley. She was happy to serve as the substitute teacher for a sixth grade class, but was concerned because she had a long-scheduled court date for her CASA case. She knew she needed to go, because she didn’t want to let her CASA kids down by not being there for them in court. She said, “I was torn about getting a sub for a sub. Sixth graders eat subs in May!”
The day before she had to go to court, she told the sixth graders in her class she would be absent and “begged” for their cooperation with her substitute. She hoped they might be more understanding if she explained why she would be away. Donna told her students what a CASA does and that she would be going to court on behalf of her CASA kids.
After the bell rang, Donna was approached by one of the most challenging kids in the class. He asked to speak to her. He told her, “You don’t have to worry about me being bad for the sub.” Tears came to his eyes as he told Donna it was important for her to be there for her CASA kids. He said, “A few years back, one of you people really helped me. I was put in a foster family, because my parents were making dumb choices. A CASA got my family and me back together.” He paused, then added, “My parents are not so dumb, anymore.”
In Donna’s own current CASA case, the three children she advocates for are back home with their parents with the prospect of their cases being closed at the next hearing. They may have a story they want to share someday.
We cannot always measure our success in our work with children by the results we see today. We must remember our work sends ripples into the future.
