
Chances And Services for Youth
NEWSLETTER
Navigating Through Unfamiliar Territory
As a nonprofit agency focused on serving families, Chances And Services Youth (CASY) operates several programs serving children from “cradle to college”. Our mantra is ‘Every Child, Every Age, Every Chance.’ As our community tries to navigate through unfamiliar territory and face new challenges, we know the families we serve need us more than ever. During the shutdown due to COVID-19, the CASY staff worked remotely and continued to provide support and resources for our families and children. We are releasing a new CASY quarterly newsletter to keep our community informed of our efforts as we continue to provide the children of the Wabash Valley with the best services possible.
2019 CASY Annual Report
Check out Chances And Services for Youth's 2019 Annual Report. Due to COVID-19, CASY was unable to host its Appreciation Night event and unveil its 2019 Annual Report. The annual report is a snapshot of all programs provided by CASY and a review of their accomplishments in 2019. Please click on the link below to review the 2019 Annual Report.
http://casyonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Casy-Annual-Report-2019-for-site-upload.pdf
Crew For Kids Fundraiser
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Wabash Valley partnered with Crew Carwash for its eleventh annual Crew for Kids fundraiser. On July, 24th, Crew gave away a FREE FastWax with the purchase of any wash and a donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters. Bigs and Littles held up signs, collected donations, and had a lot of fun interacting with the community! Together, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Wabash Valley and Crew Carwash raised $3,150! Thank you to everyone who supported Crew for Kids. If you are interested in becoming a Big/mentor or signing your child up as a Little/mentee, please email Morgan at mdeighton@casyonline.org.
Youth Leadership Collaboration
Chances And Services for Youth believes collaboration is key! Recently, CASY’s iLEAD and VOICE programs decided to join forces. Together, the two programs build leadership and personal growth through youth-driven services and hands-on experience. The focus is on teen leadership development and peer-to-peer education in regards to tobacco, alcohol, and drug prevention and cessation, including empowerment within a grassroots framework. The group’s ‘CORE Leadership Council’ works with the community to formulate social media campaigns, spearhead the annual Wabash Valley Youth Leadership Summit at Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods College, as well as promote educational and fun activities. iLEAD/VOICE embraces the idea of youth empowerment and the impact of peers educating peers. We encourage parents to sign-up their middle-school-aged student for iLEAD/VOICE by contacting Kbrown@casyonline.org.
2019 Wabash Valley Youth Leadership Summit
Team Leadership Building - Identify the Issue & Actionable Teamwork
Experiencing Dorm Life
2020 Summer Camp Recap
Summer Camp Rave began June 1, 2020, just in time for many parents to venture back to work following quarantine due to COVID-19. Chances And Services for Youth felt it was important to offer this service to working parents struggling to find care during interesting times. This year, 28 children attended the summer program. Children in grades kindergarten through fifth grade took part in activities that helped identify feelings, literacy, physical fitness, and character development. The beginning of the summer began very differently in comparison to previous camps. Indiana was just coming out of a state-wide stay-at-home order. There were several restrictions regarding all types of activities, such as day camps, playground usage, public pools, and field trips. Teaching children the importance of social distancing while ensuring they feel safe and nurtured was a priority of Camp Rave staff.
Upon the opening of playgrounds and pools, our campers were finally able to enjoy the park and splash pad at our facility. At the turn of COVID-19 stage 4.5, campers were finally able to enjoy a field trip to the Terre Haute Climbing Cafe. Campers also enjoyed a field trip to the equestrian department at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and swimming thanks to a partnership with the Wabash Valley YMCA. When Indiana declared a mask mandate in public places for everyone age eight and older, Camp Rave staff jumped to the challenge of educating campers about the importance of mask-wearing to keep themselves and their peers safe. When the Vigo County School Corporation announced that school would start a week later than anticipated, Camp Rave added an extra week of camp to assist those families that required child care. Camp Rave campers and families remained healthy during our 11 weeks together.
BenchWorx - Mobile Woodworking Classes for Youth
Terre Haute Climbing Cafe
Building Relationships
Supporting Essential Workers
Child Care Resource and Referral(CCR&R) supports families, early education programs, and communities across 24 counties in central Indiana and is funded by Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration. CCR&R is one of five agencies in the state working to create and sustain the infrastructure of early education while supporting those working with and utilizing those programs.
Since March of 2020, many have been living in an overwhelming and unsure environment. The words “essential workers” became very familiar to everyone. We wanted to ensure that we were providing the necessary support to our clients to help alleviate as much concern as possible.
Most don’t recognize child care programs as “essential workers”, but they are! Without child care, employees with small children can’t work. We have been working to support programs in attaining the necessary materials and resources needed to continue to care for children or even to continue to stay open during these difficult times. By providing up-to-date data, we have been able to help communities to assess the current state of child care so that they are better able to support their working families and keep their economy viable.
Serving Nutritious Food To Families During Difficult Times
The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) federal program that provides reimbursement for nutritious meals and snacks served to participants enrolled in eligible child and adult care facilities. Currently, CASY serves 145 licensed family day homes in 12 counties within West Central Indiana.
In March, when Governor Holcomb announced the stay-at-home order due to COVID-19, several businesses, child care facilities, and CASY staff were deemed essential. But due to safety reasons, CACFP staff had to discontinue on-site monitor reviews. Eventually, a waiver allowed sponsors, including CASY staff to conduct “desk/virtual” reviews. CASY’s personal “desk/virtual” review procedure was so successful, the IDOE CACFP office asked CASY’s Director to virtually present their procedure at the IDOE’s Annual CACFP Sponsor training. CASY’s review checklist is now being used by other CACFP Sponsors throughout the state.
Since March, the West Central Indiana CACFP providers were still able to serve families and children more than 270,000 nutritious meals and snacks despite challenging times.
For more information on the CASY Food Program go to http://casyonline.org/food-assistance/
Child Passenger Safety
Safe Kids Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians are available to train parents and caregivers to select, install, and adjust car seats and booster seats. Correctly used child safety seats can reduce the risks of death by as much as 71-percent. The best way to keep your child safe in the car is to use the right car seat in the right way.
Chances And Services for Youth partnered with CRADLES of Clay County at their Brazil location on July 24, 2020, for CRADLES open house. Eleven car seats were checked and nine new car seats were provided by CASY. Educational material and resources were distributed to families. Upcoming car seat clinics are being scheduled for surrounding counties. The next car seat clinics will be held on August 28, 2020, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at Walmart East and September 4, 2020, in Sullivan, Indiana.
A Jury Of Your Peers
The Teen Court program is looking forward to resuming court hearings on August 25, 2020, with the help of Indiana State University's Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity. For the last two years, we have partnered with Phi Alpha Delta. The students volunteer as jury members and attorneys. The students are learning valuable lessons in the courtroom while helping the youth of our community. The partnership has helped our program grow in many ways. Teen Court receives referrals from the Juvenile Justice System, and hearings are held twice a month. For more information about the Teen Court program and how to get involved, please contact Holly Mullenix at hmullenix@casyonline.org.
Big News For Sullivan County
Meet Rachel Reed, the new Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Coordinator for Sullivan County. Rachel was raised in Sullivan and currently lives in Sullivan with her family. Rachel co-chairs the Sullivan Wellness Coalition, is a member of Rotary and a board member of the Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce.
Rachel hit the ground running with her new position. The Sullivan Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Coalition has been working to increase the number of Indiana Tobacco Quitline Preferred Network providers. Sullivan TPC is pleased to announce the addition of three new Preferred Network providers. The City of Sullivan, Brampton Brick, and the Southwest School Corporation are all now Preferred Network providers to the Quitline. Becoming a Preferred Network provider gives them the unique ability to refer individuals directly to the Quitline, provide free material on tobacco education as well as up-to-date resources; free of charge.
About Us
By providing services and investing in our local community, CASY has a unique opportunity to identify and respond to the needs of clients, partnering organizations, and the communities we serve.
Email: bearl@casyonline.org
Website: http://casyonline.org
Location: 1101 South 13th Street, Terre Haute, IN, USA
Phone: (812) 232-3952
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CASY.Inc/
Twitter: @CASYTerreHaute