A Call to Action: Volunteer to Help Abused Children
Are you interested in helping children who have been abused or neglected? Creek County is looking for a handful of concerned citizens to stand up for some of our community’s most vulnerable children.
According to the Oklahoma Department of Human Services FY 2009 Statistical Report, 8,605 children in the State of Oklahoma were confirmed victims of Child Abuse and Neglect. Creek County claimed 107 of these children. 17.34 percent of these children were under 1 year old.
Each year, many children in Creek County must be removed from their homes and placed into temporary foster care because their parents cannot – or will not – take care of them. You can make a difference in the lives of these children. Creek County trains people just like you to speak for the best interests of these children in court and to help find them safe, permanent homes.
volunteers are ordinary people who do extraordinary things for children. No special experience is required, as you will be trained along with other caring individuals interested in giving hope to an abused and neglected child. Joy Hellard explains her thoughts on what it’s like being a volunteer “I feel so good when I go home after having a meeting with my child. I enjoy sitting down and playing a game or just talking about her day. I see that smile and I know I am making a difference in her confused world. It is very rewarding for me to be part of a team that is making a difference. Some kids don’t know what it is to be children. They don’t know what love or acceptance is; but we are able to give them that.”
Children with a volunteer benefit in countless ways. They are more likely to be placed in a safe, permanent home; more likely to receive better services; and more likely to have fewer placement changes.
Please call Tanya Garrett at 918-224-6492 or reach her by email at creek_casa@sbcglobal.net to learn more about our Creek County February 2011 training class and to request an application. Training begins Feb. 1, 2011.
Updated 01-06-2011
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