Philanthropy

Kappa Alpha Theta's national philanthropy is CASA. A Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer is a trained citizen who is appointed by a judge to represent the best interest of a child in court. Most of the children helped by CASA are victims of abuse and neglect. CASA volunteers determine if it is in the best interest of the child to stay with his or her parents, to be placed in foster care, or to be adopted. Once a recommendation is made to the judge, CASA volunteers follow through with the case until a final decision is made about the child. It has been seen that children who have been assigned CASA volunteers tend to spend less time in court and less time within the foster care system than those who do not have CASA representation. Judges have also seen that CASA children have better chances of finding permanent homes than non-CASA children. The National CASA association is a non-profit organization that represents and serves local CASA programs. Nationally, there are over 11,500 CASA volunteers in local organizations. These volunteers are provided with training, technical assistance, research, news, and public awareness. Locally, CASA programs are funded by a states Department of Justice. Many programs are funded through various organizations, such as Theta. The National CASA Association is funded through private grants, federal funds, memberships, and contributions. To learn more about CASA, please visit their website. Epsilon Rho's signature event of the fall is Rock la CASA, which is held every year during Orientation Weekend to welcome both new and returning students to campus. Rock la CASA is a band concert held in The Hawk's Nest dining facility. We were very lucky to have had three fantastic groups perform this year: Danny Rocco, The Smyrk and J-Wok and the Pedestrians. Thank you to everyone who performed and everyone who attended the event! Rock la CASA raised over $1,500 towards CASA this past year, and we hope to raise even more in the coming year!