April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and CASA of Jefferson and Gilpin counties is hosting its second annual Champions for Children breakfast.
The CASA (court appointed special advocates) group will host the free, one-hour breakfast at the Denver Marriott West, 1717 Denver West Blvd., on Wednesday, April 9, 7:30-8:30 a.m. Registration begins at 7 a.m.
“We struggle with finding enough volunteers and making sure people have the right information about us,” said Melissa Hellmuth, marketing and development manager with the CASA. “We finally have gotten to the point where we can host an event like this so people can learn more about our mission and the work we do.”
According to Leah Varnell, executive director with the group, the Jeffco and Gilpin CASA has been around for 15 years, and trains volunteers who are appointed to court cases that deal with child abuse and neglect.
“It’s tough work, and takes a special kind of person to do it,” she said. “Many of them don’t have a lot of background working with kids, but have a passion to work to make sure children area safe.”
There are more than 570 cases of child abuse and neglect in the two counties, and so the program needs as much financial and volunteer support as possible.
“Our volunteers No. 1 job is to gather as much information as possible to give the judge so he or she can make the best decision for the child,” Varnell said. “We have found that when judges have the volunteers working, the get a better sense of what the child needs.”
According to Hellmuth, the breakfast will include talks from CASA leaders, a representative from the Family Crisis Center and a 19-year-old former CASA member, who had a volunteer work with him during his childhood.
“Awareness is our greatest challenge, and so this is a great opportunity for people to hear directly how the work we do affects people,” Varnell said.
For Hellmuth, the breakfast is a chance to awaken in people a desire to help the children who need it.
“I hope by the end of the event they’re inspired to take action, whether that is in the form of donations, volunteering, or spreading the word,” she said.
For more information, call 303-271-6539 or visit .
