CASA of Santa Barbara County Spreads Holiday Cheer to Hundreds of Children

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Santa Barbara County, a nonprofit that trains volunteers to serve as advocates for children who have experienced abuse or neglect, handed out personalized gifts to 518 children in an annual event made possible through community donations.

Each child was encouraged to ask for what they wanted for Christmas — “This year’s wishes ranged from the ‘cool shoes everyone else has’ to specific dolls, toy cars, clothing, warm jackets, 71 bicycles (with helmets), and much more,” said CASA Executive Director Kim Colby Davis — and the organization made these wishes come true, thanks to the help of 18 businesses, nine community groups, three schools, and hundreds of individuals that donated time, money, or effort to the cause.

“The way our community shows up for kids is amazing. Many of the donor groups we work with come back year after year to support our gift drive,” Davis said. “People go above and beyond anything we would ever ask of them to get just what the kids wished for. I cannot even express how touched we are by the thoughtfulness of each gift. It is inspiring to see that our community understands how important it is to give each child something they need or especially wish for at Christmas.”

She said that the work of collecting the Christmas “wishes” of 518 kids was an effort on its own, made possible only through the work of more than 159 CASA volunteers and county social workers. She also thanked the long list of donors, whose contributions have been documented on CASA’s social media pages for the past few weeks. These include Montecito Bank & Trust, Martha’s Angels (Santa Barbara County Probation), the Chumash Foundation, and workers with the UA 114 union chapter, who helped build dozens of bikes on the wish list.

The event is also a reminder of the year-round work CASA does to provide support and safety to children who are going through some tough situations in their lives.

“Christmas is a special time at CASA,” said Kira Cosio, CASA’s community engagement director. “It is wonderful to see our community so involved. We do similar work all year round through the advocacy of our dedicated CASA volunteers, who make sure that kids have what they need to be safe and thrive in school and at home. With 56 children on our waiting list, we urgently need to find community volunteers to commit to be an advocate for a child.”

This year’s Christmas wish event served around the same amount of children as last year, Davis said, and CASA is hoping to continue to be able to fulfill the wishes of children who are navigating foster care and the court system in Santa Barbara County.

“I wish that we could share the joy we see on the faces of the children receiving their gifts or detailed stories of the difference our wish granters made in a child’s life.” Davis said. “We must respect the dignity of each child and family, so we do not share those details, but we are so honored that the community trusts us to take care of them at Christmas and all year long. Our CASA Christmas wish is that more community members decide to become CASA volunteers, where they will see a child’s case through the journey of foster care to a safe home to grow up in.”

To get involved or volunteer to become a courts appointed advocate for children, visit the CASA website for more information.