Monday, August 31, 2009

CASA Community Member of the Week


Name: Trevor B.
Role: Board Member – Secretary of the Friends of CASA
Picture: Trevor, with girlfriend Tracy R.


What interested you about the CASA program?
The mission of CASA immediately caught my attention. The fact they/we are able to have such a great impact on children that are less fortunate in the Washtenaw County area is very important to me.

Tell us a little bit about your previous Work and/or Volunteer Experience and/or Education:
I started my own Financial Practice in Ann Arbor about 5 years ago, which includes tax preparation, accounting, and other financial services. I was born and raised in Ann Arbor, MI, then attended Colorado State University, and returned to Ann Arbor about 6 years ago. I have coached baseball at the high school level well as some very successful youth baseball teams. I enjoy working with working with kids and making a difference in the local community.

Hobbies/Fun Fact(s) about Yourself:
I enjoy playing golf, softball, and reading books in the areas of finance and taxation.

What is your favorite quote of all time?
“A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” – John Shedd
“What we learn with pleasure we never forget” – Louis Mercier

How did you hear about the CASA Program?

I had the pleasure of meeting Cheri Dunn (Friends of CASA board member), through a networking group that I created called A2BI. We started discussing CASA and its impact in Washtenaw County and the conversation sparked my interest. After talking to Cheri and Marianne and seeing their passion on this subject, there was no question this was something that I wanted to become involved with.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

CASA Booth at Ann Arbor Art Fair 2009

Contributed by: Emily Mills


This year we traded in the red, white, and blue umbrella for a really (awesome) CASA tent. We enlisted the help of our attention-seeking "Forgotten Children" and fitted our table with a CASA tablecloth - which kindly doubled as a blanket for Angie (Friends of CASA board member) and me on Saturday morning.

While we didn't end up selling tickets for our Rockin' the CASA event, the save-the-date cards caught everyone's attention. Thank you, Cheri!! They are so fabulous! We recruited some volunteers and several more were interested in joining our mailing list for more information on CASA.

While I didn't get the opportunity to meet everyone who volunteered for the Art Fair, those I met were outstanding. I must extend a special thanks to Lakshmi (CASA volunteer) - Thank you for holding down the fort when the promised Art Fair storm hit.

I admit I'm sorta new to the nonprofit world, though I've been interested in it for some time. I'm not sure why I'm surprised by how great everyone is, but I guess it's because I haven't been somewhere before where everyone is really just so genuine and great. It's amazing. And I love it. I just admire and am so proud to get on board with the spirit of this work. The spirit of all the volunteers. And the spirit of the cause.

Thank you to everyone who joined me at the Art Fair and made our booth a success: Jane, Marianne, Lakshmi, Renee, Susan, Cheri, Trevor, Ava, Bob, Dean, Deb, Julie, Caroline, Gini, Linda, Angie, Donna...(and Renee, Gini, Donna, and Ava again) for all your time!