About Us

The non-profit organization now known as Friends of Alaska CASA (FAC), formerly CASAs for Children, has been supporting CASA volunteers and the youth they serve since 1991.

FAC was born when a generous CASA volunteer wanted to donate funds to the CASA program. She discovered that the state program, Alaska CASA, administered by the Office of Public Advocacy (OPA) in the State of Alaska, was unable to take her donation. A non-profit was formed to receive and distribute that generous donation. Today, our organization continues to collaborate with State and Tribal programs, raising funds to meet our shared goal of providing a CASA volunteer for every child who needs one.

As a public/private partnership, FAC provides vital support to the CASA program, helping it to advocate for children, while augmenting state support with donations from the private sector. FAC is a member of the National CASA Association.

Our Mission

The mission of Friends of Alaska CASA is comprised of the following three elements:

Our Purpose

FAC supports CASA Programs in Alaska, including the State of Alaska’s CASA Program within the Office of Public Advocacy and Tribal CASA Programs.

Our Values

  • Supporting Volunteers: We honor the wonderful CASA volunteers who give their time, skills, energy, and love to make sure that abused and neglected children have a voice. How we support them.
  • Advocacy: CASA volunteers advocate tirelessly for the children they represent, thereby helping to ensure that every one of them has the greatest chance of success in life.
  • Diversity: Alaska is a diverse state. FAC is helping the CASA program recruit male and female CASA volunteers of every race, ethnicity, and age group.

Our Goal

Help CASA programs achieve the goal of providing a CASA volunteer for every child who needs one by 2016.

Supporting Volunteers

Friends of Alaska CASA devotes funding every year to help recruit new CASA volunteers, honor our existing volunteers, and support them in their work. When you donate to FAC, here are some of the ways your money will be spent:

Recruiting

  • FAC participates actively in the volunteer recruitment process; for example, we secured a grant from the Rasmuson Foundation to pay for audio-visual equipment for use at recruiting events, we staff information booths at local events, and we attend civic organizations to speak on behalf of the CASA program.

Training

  • FAC supports the training of CASA volunteers by paying training expenses, funding a portion of the biennial CASA conference in Anchorage, and providing scholarships for CASA volunteers to pursue other local and national training opportunities. Apply online!

Recognition

  • We help honor CASA volunteers by funding local recognition events.

Financial Assistance

  • We help defray expenses that CASA volunteers may incur during their service; for example, we pay a portion of fuel expenses to help volunteers who must travel long distances to visit the children they represent, we offer phone cards to those whose casework requires long-distance calls, and we help volunteers in some regions pay for parking while attending meetings and court hearings.