Story and Photo provided by CASA for Kids for Payne and Logan Counties

Gwen Lee is the October CASA Volunteer of the Month! Gwen is described as the “ideal volunteer” by her case supervisor.  Although Gwen is an active retiree, staying busy with travel, she always finds time to be involved with her assigned cases and represents them professionally and passionately in court.  Ms. Lee’s Aunt Janie was one of the original CASAs in Seattle in the 1970s.  She was a role model for Gwen, and her aunt’s legacy lives on in the work she is doing. Ms. Lee has experienced how CASA involves so much more than the courtroom, and provides a way to be there for kids who need someone in their lives: a listener, a mentor, a spectator and supporter at sporting and school events.  The relationship with these children extends beyond the court case sometimes, as Gwen saw a relationship continue after a successful adoption, when the child just needed an adult from their past. Gwen calls the time with these children “a gift.”  She has been a volunteer with CASA for six and a half years and “can’t imgine (she’ll) ever stop…it’s too rewarding”.  

There are 124 children in Payne County and 216 in Logan County who need CASA volunteers.  Please consider CASA today by visiting www.casaforkids.com.