Norma's Volunteer Story, Part 3

This is a series about Norma, a woman who becomes a CASA volunteer. It is fictional, but based on real events. Each Wednesday we will update the blog with the next segment. At CASA we always need volunteers, but right now we are extremely low on volunteers and there are hundreds of children in the South Plains who are waiting for a special person like Norma......like you. Please call 806-763-2272if you would like to be that person.

Part 3 of Norma's Volunteer Story:

Kathy:

I hope Ben has dinner ready tonight, she thought. My feet and back are killing me and I just don’t feel like cooking, on top of everything else today. Kathy unlocked the apartment door and scooped up the crying Rose from her playpen as she headed to the kitchen to deposit the baby in her highchair. Ben had made dinner, sort of; soup and pop tarts. She grabbed a pop tart and took a bite as she got the formula can down from the cabinet so she could make a bottle for Rose. The bite soured in her mouth as she realized there was enough for only one more bottle. Kathy sighed and made the last bottle of formula. She realized she would have to stay on her feet a bit longer and go to the store once Rose was asleep.

“Ben?,” she called as she emptied the last of the money tin’s contents into her pocket. “Ben - I have to run down to the store to get more formula for Rose, alright?,” she called from the kitchen. “And keep the door locked. Don’t answer it for anyone.”

“Okay Mom,” Ben replied. He and Robert were watching a football game on the television in the living room. Kathy put her coat back on and headed out of the apartment, locking the door behind her. She headed down the stairs and out into the brisk, cold evening. On her way to the store to get Rose’s formula, she passed a liquor store and decided to reward herself for all of her hard work this week. She liked to take a drink now and then, once the kids were in bed. She went into the liquor store and purchased a fifth of vodka. Outside, she mixed it with a bottle of orange juice and headed to the grocery store.

When she got to the store to purchase Rose’s formula, she realized she didn’t have enough money left to buy it. She couldn’t return the vodka, as it had already been opened. She looked at the formula can and thought of baby Rose wailing for her breakfast in the morning. Kathy looked around and then tucked the can into her jacket and headed for the doors. Kathy’s heart was beating out a staccato rhythm in her chest as she approached. Her heart tripped, stuttered and sped up as a manager with a stern look on his face approached her just as she reached the doors. 

“Ma’am, I am going to have to ask you to come with me,” he said haltingly.

Kathy looked at the man and his pinched face and then over his shoulder as the sliding glass doors parted for the next incoming paying customer. The man cleared his throat and gestured towards the back of the store.

She sighed and cringed as she knew she was still on probation. The fact that she had a bottle of vodka in a brown paper bag hidden in one of the many pockets in her coat wasn’t going to do anything to help her situation. The reason she was on probation in the first place was because of alcohol. Kathy sat in a cold plastic chair in a small office waiting for the police to come and take her away. They wouldn’t care that she just needed to feed her baby. They wouldn’t care that she works two jobs and never gets any help and never gets to take a break. They wouldn’t care about her or her children. But, they would care if they were home alone. They might take them away and who knows where they would go. So, when Kathy was arrested for theft and violating her probation, she never said a word about the three hungry children, alone and watching television in an apartment by themselves, just half a block away.

Norma's Volunteer Story, Part 2

This is a series about Norma, a woman who becomes a CASA volunteer. It is fictional, but based on real events. Each Wednesday we will update the blog with the next segment. At CASA we always need volunteers, but right now we are extremely low on volunteers and there are hundreds of children in the South Plains who are waiting for a special person like Norma......like you. Please call 806-763-2272 if you would like to be that person.

Part 2 of Norma's Volunteer Story:

Kathy:

Every day at 5 a.m., Kathy got up, bathed and dressed herself and the baby and fed the family. As soon as the boys were off to school, she would head to Rose’s daycare which was located half a block from her first job at a retail store as a cashier.  She had to work a second job to afford daycare for Rose during the hours she worked her first job. Her second job was washing dishes at a restaurant. Many nights she had to leave her oldest, Ben, in charge -  he was such a good helper. Sometimes he even had dinner cooked when she got home. He worked hard to make good grades and made sure his brother, Robert, also did his homework. He usually turned on the TV to keep baby Rose entertained. Ben’s idol was Tom Brady, quarterback for the New England Patriots and he loved football and quoting statistics. Kathy told him that as soon as she got a better paying job, he could try out for the school football team.

Norma:

After three days of checking the mail like a child rattling presents under the Christmas tree in happy anticipation, the packet finally came. Norma sat down at the kitchen table again and began to go through the information Amanda had sent her. There were a couple of brochures, an annual report filled with statistics and a letter explaining what the first steps of the training process are. The recommendation given was to talk to family members and friends to get their take on whether or not this was the right fit. Norma decided to call her sister and talk to her about it. They had always been close and had shared most of their lives together. Norma picked up the phone on her way into the kitchen to heat some water for tea. She dialed her sister as she filled the kettle and set it on the blue flame of her old, tiny gas stove.

“Hello?” Vikki answered after the third ring.

“Hi Vikki, it’s me. I want to run something by you and see what your thoughts are,” Norma said.

“Okay, shoot,” Vikki replied.

They talked about the packet Amanda sent Norma in the mail and about the meeting set for the following week. They discussed the many aspects of volunteering and of working with children who have been mistreated.

“I know you, Norma,” Vikki said. “You have the biggest heart in Texas and I think this would be a great thing for you to do. Just ask a lot of questions.  You will make the right decision and you will have my full support no matter what. Just keep me posted so I know what to pray for.”

“Of course I will. Thanks for your support. I don’t think I have been this excited about something since the last time gas was under $2 a gallon.” They chuckled at her joke and then said their goodbyes. Norma promised to call her after the meeting next week, and as the days waxed and waned, her anticipation grew. What if she wasn’t strong enough emotionally to do this? What if she didn’t do something right and the child suffered because of her mistake? She had cleaned every room in her home and reorganized her closet twice in an effort to work through her thoughts.

Check back on 12/12/12 for Part 3 of Norma's Volunteer Story.

Norma's Volunteer Story

This is a series about Norma, a woman who becomes a CASA volunteer. It is fictional, but based on real events. Each Wednesday we will update the blog with the next segment. At CASA we always need volunteers, but right now we are extremely low on volunteers and there are hundreds of children in the South Plains who are waiting for a special person like Norma......like you. Please call 806-763-2272 if you would like to be that person.

Norma:

Norma Jackson was sitting in her favorite chair, watching the end of the evening news, when she saw a commercial for CASA. It was something like this one: http://www.youtube.com/user/casaforchildren?feature=results_main

She had been looking for something to do with her time since her last child had moved away to college and working with kids was something she had always enjoyed. She hastily scrawled the number on the edge of a napkin and tucked it into the book sitting on the table beside her. ‘I will call tomorrow,’ she decided and then watched the end of the news and headed to bed. The next morning, Norma sat down at her kitchen table. Armed with pen, paper, hot coffee, the napkin and the phone, she settled in and prepared to call. One ring…two…

Kathy:

BEEP!! BEEP!! BEEP!! BEEP!! BEE... CRASH!!!

Kathy Price turned off the alarm by smashing the snooze button with her work-calloused hand, clumsily, and reached out to turn on the lamp with a yawn. She stretched and yawned again before getting out of bed and headed to the kitchen. On her way she leaned down to pick up a book off the floor. It was one of Robert’s many. There was a picture of an owl on the cover and the title was “Whooooo Are You?”.

“I’ll tell you who I am,” Kathy said to no one in particular. “I am an average, middle class American. I have three children; Ben, who turns fifteen this year, Robert who is nine and my Rose. My Rose will be nine months old next week.” She smiled thinking of her children. Then her smile slowly faded and her mouth settled into a bitter, grim line.

“The shiftless men who helped me create these beautiful babies are nowhere to be found. Ben’s father, Jason, remarried and now he and his wife have a new baby. Jason doesn’t want anything to do with me or with his son. He doesn’t send any money either. Does he think fourteen year old boys’ clothes, shoes and food grow on the nonexistent trees in my nonexistent backyard? Almost the same can be said for Robert and Rose’s father, Ernie Price. After our divorce a year and a half ago, I haven’t heard from him other than a couple of money orders that came with letters for Robert. Then there wasn’t anything for a long time and we had to move because I couldn’t keep up with the rent on my own. I won’t be able to afford this place much longer either,” she muttered out loud as she pulled the clothes out of the dryer and carried the hamper over to the couch.

That thought led to the almost empty coffee tin on top of the already empty refrigerator. Kathy did not make enough money at her two jobs to need bank account. The coffee tin was her bank account. As soon as she got her biweekly paychecks, they were cashed and spent on rent, food and bills. Plus, winter was approaching and that would probably mean deciding between heating the apartment or buying diapers. She shook her head as she went about her morning routine.

Norma:

“Good morning and thank you for calling CASA of the South Plains. My name is Amanda. How may I help you today?”, a voice rang out cheerily across the line. Norma smiled and asked how she could learn more about what CASA is and what their volunteers do.

Amanda told Norma “the mission of CASA of the South Plains is to recruit, train, and support community members, like you, to serve as volunteer who advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the foster care system.”  

Amanda collected Norma’s contact information and promised to mail her a packet. She then transferred the Norma to Peggy, one of the recruiter/trainers at the CASA office, to talk further about becoming a CASA Volunteer.  Norma was intrigued with everything Peggy had to say.  She mentioned a CASA pre-service training class was scheduled about five weeks away.  If she decided to move forward, and had the time, she could certainly sign up for the upcoming training. She wasn’t sure if she could really do this or not but she was willing to take the next step. Peggy suggested she watch a few volunteer testimonials to see what motivated others to volunteer for CASA. She agreed to come in to the office to meet with Peggy and do the initial paperwork necessary to begin the process. They scheduled the meeting for the next week.

As Norma hung up the phone, she realized there was more to CASA than she initially thought.  She continued to mull over her conversation with the recruiter. Knowing her time was quickly going by she put the thought aside, thinking she’d have more time to explore this when she received her paperwork and attended the interview; for now she had to get ready for work. 

Check back on 12/5 for Part 2 of Norma's Volunteer Story.