Guest column: A simple gift

By Naomi Asher

A simple envelope can hold a heartwarming gift.

At the beginning of October, CASA of the Tennessee Heartland got one of those simple envelopes. It contained a check and a note from a teacher at Clinton High School.

One of their students, Kaylain Tolbert, had raised money for CASA as a candidate for Homecoming Court. Kaylain chose to give her donation to CASA.

While many of the other students chose organizations that others had chosen in years past, Kaylain chose CASA. She babysits for a CASA volunteer’s children, and this volunteer encouraged her to look into the cause.

When she heard about CASA’s mission to empower volunteers to advocate on behalf of abused and neglected children in juvenile court, Kaylain decided to raise as much money as she could. Her heart was touched by children who get lost in the court systems and the volunteers who speak out for them.

Kaylain was moved by the knowledge that not very many people had heard of the organization.

“None of the other students around school even knew about CASA,” Kaylain said. “When I started to tell them about it, they got passionate about it too.”

That passion she created among her classmates helped to to raise more than $100 selling homemade Oreo cake balls. She didn’t believe she would win Homecoming Court—and couldn’t believe it when she did. With a heart like hers, it’s clear why she did!

Since this experience, Kaylain is excited to help CASA any way she can. She is thrilled knowing that her small donation helps make it possible for CASA volunteers to be the voice of children in our community.

CASA looks forward to having Kaylain as a volunteer advocate when she turns 21!

If you are interested in learning more about CASA of the Tennessee Heartland, please visit our website, www.casatnh.org.

Naomi Asher is executive director of CASA of the Tennessee Heartland.