Page 8 THE VILLADOM TIMES
Area
IV • March 27, 2013
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) for Children of Bergen County will hold its eighth annual dinner event -- Casino Night: Bet on the Children -- April 18 from
Donovan, Konners to be honored at CASA benefit
6 to 10 p.m. at Seasons, 644 Pascack Road in Washington Township. This event coincides with National Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness month. During the benefit, Bergen County Executive Kathleen A. Donovan will be honored, and Phyllis and Ken Konner of Wyckoff will receive the Angel Award for their commitment to CASA. In the 300-year history of Bergen County, Donovan is the first, and only, woman to serve as county executive. She is also the first woman in the history of State of New Jersey to be elected to this position. She has worked diligently over the years to support many initiatives for children in her service to Bergen County. “I am delighted to be honored by such an amazing organization, like CASA, and look forward to working together even more closely in the future,” Donovan said. The fundraiser will feature a bountiful buffet throughout the evening, including over-the-top hors d’oeuvres, carving stations, fish and pasta dishes, and desserts. There will be an open bar, casino-style play all night, and special auctions. Tickets are $125 each and may be obtained by calling Chrystal Henion at (201) 336-7520. Donations are also being accepted for the auctions. Ads for the journal and sponsorships are available beginning at $25. Call Henion for information. CASA is a private, nonprofit organization serving children in foster care throughout Bergen County. Although affiliated with National CASA and CASA programs throughout the USA, CASA for Children of Bergen County is solely responsible for raising all of the funds needed to run the program each year. In recent years, funding for the Bergen County chapter has been cut
Time to think
Ramsey Brownie Troop 4027 represented India and performed a modern Indian dance at the Tenth Annual International Night sponsored by the Ramsey Girl Scouts in honor of World Thinking Day. The event was held at Dater School. The girls learned about the culture of 10 countries, sampled traditional foods and enjoyed performances representative of each country.
and donations are needed to keep the program going. CASA volunteers are the voice of the children; they speak and advocate on behalf of the county’s abused and neglected children in foster care, ensuring that they receive proper services while in foster care and that they are placed in safe, permanent homes as quickly as possible. Each CASA advocate has a one-on-one relationship with the child he or she serves, and each advocate works on behalf of only one child or one family of children at a time. Currently, CASA for Children of Bergen County assists about one third of the more than 600 children in foster care each year, but its goal is to serve more. Additional funds would allow more volunteers to help more children. Casino Night is being organized by volunteers. The chairs are Karen Cedzidlo and Melissa Goetz. Committee members are Charlene Barbetta, James Boyan III, Suzanne Curry, Jeff Golden, Maxine Horvath, Gaurang Kalsaria, Kip Kramer, Debbie Levy, Mark Levy, Jerry Maroules, Nancy Nachman, Diane Pattin, Julie Pummer-Ohl, Bob Varettoni, April Wuestfhoff, and Caren Zisk. Sponsors to date include PSE&G, Inserra Supermarkets, The Varettoni Family, S&S Tile and Stone, and TechLink. For more information about CASA, email info@bergencasa.org or visit www. bergencasa.org. To make a monetary donation, become a CASA volunteer, or sponsor a child, call Jennifer Murrin at (201) 3367520, e-mail, or visit the website.