ANNOUNCING CASA'S
PENNIES FROM HEAVEN CAMPAIGN

Read on for more information...

We believe that there are a lot of good people in this community that want to help. But a lot of us think: “ I can’t write a big check and my few dollars won’t make a difference”. CASA believes that everyone can and should help because it does make a difference. So, we thought, let’s make it easy.

CASA was meeting with IFW St. Croix Group, LLLP., an EDC company doing business in St. Croix about a donation they wanted to make to the CASA program. We were in a difficult spot. Due to not receiving the full grant approved by the Legislature for operation of the program this past year CASA was looking at cutting back its staff of 2, to 1! At a time when the program has been growing in volunteers wanting to do the advocacy work and in numbers of children being served by the program, a 50% reduction in staff could have been fatal to the future existence of the CASA program. So, we dug in hard and started searching fast for supporters who would help us keep our program going beyond June when our finances would be depleted. We found Attorney Andrew Simpson; Ms. Ulla Neuburger; and Alliance Management LLP who in combination donated enough to get us through our fourth quarter of June-September. In the process, we met some good people at IFW St. Croix Group, LLLP. They believed in us and the importance of the work that we are doing. What could be more important than saving children’s lives? But, they were concerned. If we help you for the next three months, then what happens? Do you have the support of this community? Is your program important to this community?

IFW challenged us, to raise community support for CASA. They pledged to donate up to a target of $20,000 to the CASA program. They said, “we’ll match you penny for penny….” and that was the beginning of it all for the CASA program and our penny campaign. We thought, we’ll raise this money by going to the whole community. Those who can donate a penny and those who can donate five hundred thousand pennies ($5,000).

We established a fundraising committee and have been printing flyers and decorating penny collection jars since.

On September 3 at 8:50 am we showed up at the radio station to do an interview on Mongoose 104.9. Just an interview to ask people to start saving pennies. When we finished at Mongoose we were going to Isle 95 for the same purpose and then we’d return to the office and get on with the business of the day. Just a brief interview to get the word out. What happened on September 3, 2003 was something we will never forget. The power of radio. The power of community. We listened as Roger Morgan at Mongoose asked his listeners to help. VI Limousine started it with a donation of $100. Roger suggested maybe we could raise one thousand of the twenty thousand dollars in the next hour and get our penny campaign started. Seventy minutes later, the community had donated $3000. At Isle 95 it started a little more slowly but wow did it build. Kathleen McManus made a donation of $20 and challenged her listeners. Several hours later, she had pledges of donations for over $2000. Pledges for $5. For $10. For $400. We were in the radio station when a young woman walked in with five one dollar bills. She handed it to us, and said she’d like to have more information about how to become a CASA volunteer and help abused and neglected children.

And now, we have members of this community taking responsibility for this volunteer driven program. Members of this community making donations from a handful of change, to a check for what we hope will be $20,000, to support this program in this community. This is to date, the largest single contribution to our CASA program and we are very proud and pleased that it is being made possible through the collaborative efforts of members from all parts of this community.

CASA has kicked off its Pennies from Heaven campaign and will be accepting donations from now through the end of the year in an effort to reach our target of raising $20,000 from the community at large, and $20,000 in the matching grant from IFW St. Croix Group, LLLP. Each penny or dollar that you donate will be matched making your donation worth twice as much as usual during this campaign. And CASA believes that every penny counts. Anyone can donate individually or by organizing an effort through their church, Rotary Club, classroom, sorority, youth group, boy scout troop, office, etc. Take charge and be creative. Ask everyone in your office to bring their pennies in and you will take charge of collecting them for CASA. We are a private non-profit organization running on the energy and resources of this community.

Although CASA will be soliciting and accepting donations through the end of the year, we hope to stir up enough interest in the community that we will raise a substantial portion of the funds by September 20, 2003. On the 20th CASA will have a Pennies drop-off event at the Sunny Isle Shopping Center for individuals and group leaders to come out and add their collection to the pot.

Sunny Isle and CASA are sponsoring a Children’s Day that will provide information about after school programs important to all children. We’ll have storytelling, dance, and games for children. There will be penny candy, penny balloons and penny face painting available with all proceeds being donated to CASA.

Organizations that are having after school and tutoring programs are encouraged to contact Sunny Isle to participate by having a table to make their materials available to parents.

For more information about the Pennies campaign and how you or your group can participate, or to pick up a collection jar, call 773-2626.

For more information or to make a donation please contact us at:

CASA of the Virgin Islands
3012 Golden Rock
Christiansted, St. Croix VI 00820
Tel: (340) 719-CASA (2272)
email: info@casavi.org