The evening begins at the Hilton Garden Inn Toledo Downton ballroom where cocktails and appetizers will be served. There will be a brief presentation highlighting our 2026 selected local charity that TOPI is supporting this year. Following this, we will sit down to a delicious catered Indian dinner. As always, the event is capped by cocktails, desserts and dancing.

Friends of CASA serves as the board and community support extension of Wood County CASA program and is a non-profit organization 501c3, EIN 34-1781863. The Friends of CASA board’s role is to advise and strengthen the CASA mission by supporting volunteer recruitment, training, retention, community awareness, resource development, and responsible oversight of funds used to support CASA volunteers. Since 1988, Wood County CASA has depended on trained volunteers to advocate for children who have experienced abuse or neglect in their homes and who are involved in the court and child welfare systems. CASA volunteers contribute approximately 10 hours per month in support of children involved in the court system. Responsibilities include visiting with the child, attending school and Child Protective Services meetings, communicating with parents and other significant individuals in the child’s life, completing monthly documentation, preparing court reports, and attending court
Hearings.

Research has shown that children who were appointed a CASA volunteer are much less likely to return to the child welfare system. CASA Volunteers play a critical role in supporting families in ways such as securing safe and permanent housing as well as other necessary support services that can aid in the reunification of families. Children with CASA volunteers have higher rates of case monitoring and service referrals compared to children without. Children with CASA volunteers tend to achieve better outcomes as reflected in their academic and behavioral performance in school. Oftentimes the CASA volunteer is the one consistently dependable adult in the child’s life. All of this is pertinent to understanding why retaining experienced volunteers is crucial to the program as well as recruiting new volunteers to ensure all cases are assigned a volunteer and we do not need to turn away cases due to lack of available volunteers.