WELLSBURG - With the help of many monarch butterflies and several volunteers, A Child's Place Court-Appointed Special Advocate marked National Child Abuse Prevention Month with a candlelight vigil Thursday on the Wellsburg Town Square.
Participants had an opportunity to sponsor one of 44 butterflies that were released to kick off the event. The winged insects were supplied by butterfly breeder Heather Tokas.
The release was an addition to the event, in which luminaria are placed along the town square to represent each child involved in abuse and neglect cases in Brooke and Hancock counties.
That number has grown to 267 since the program was begun 10 years ago, said Rhonda Stubbs, its executive director.
A Child's Place CASA provides training for court-appointed volunteers who visit such children's homes to determine if their parent or guardian has fulfilled court-ordered actions such as drug abuse counseling or parenting education.
During the ceremony, Michelle Figaretti, a field representative for Gov. Joe Manchin, read greetings from the governor, who offered encouragement to all who help victims of child abuse and neglect.
CASA volunteer John Simakis of Weirton admitted it's not an easy job. Volunteers with the program tend to come and go, and even he took some time off. But he came back, he said, because other volunteer work didn't give him the same level of satisfaction.
Simakis explained the physical work, such as taking notes during court appearances, isn't difficult; it's the contact with children who have less than happy home lives.
"But you can see the difference you're making," Simakis said.
Stubbs noted children removed from abusive homes become wards of the state, meaning it must provide for their care until they are adopted, so the courts' general goal is to reunite the children with their parents, with the children's safety an overriding consideration.
The outcome of a case isn't always what he expects, but there are happy endings, Simakis said.
Stubbs said more volunteers are needed, with about 10 children on a waiting list for advocates. She and Jennifer Fritz, volunteer recruiter and coordinator for the program, fill in where they can, she said.
Each volunteer must undergo a background check, interview and self-paced training course and is administered an oath vowing to keep the cases confidential.
Stubbs said the nonprofit group has been dealt a financial blow by the recession, though it's always depended partly on fundraisers.
A jewelry sale and swap will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Follansbee Park Community House.
Richard Saxon of R.E. Saxon Jewelers will be on hand from 9 a.m. to noon with jewelry cleaning machines and to inspect and evaluate jewelry, with proceeds going to A Child's Place CASA.
Buyers of broken and old gold also will be on hand. Admission is $2 during the early bird hour of 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and $1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Stubbs said A Child's Place CASA received a boost in March from a celebrity server night held at Undo's in Weirton. The four-hour event raised more than $1,200 through tips and a silent auction. Many items for the auction were donated by members of the Franciscan University of Steubenville softball team, who also collected personal hygiene items for children served by A Child's Place CASA.
The group also has received help since January from about 200 volunteers participating in Disney's Give a Day, Get a Day promotion, through which they receive free admission to a Disney theme park for volunteering. Stubbs said the volunteers made meals for volunteers participating in training sessions, cleaned the group's office and assembled about 1,000 newsletters. Among them were Jim and Lori Ondos of Pittsburgh and their sons, Logan, Cody and Bradon, who assisted with setting up the luminaria.
(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)
