Advantage Trailer Donates Court Bags for Children Through CASA of DuPage County

As part of our mission to support our local community, Advantage Trailer runs an annual holiday giving program. The goal is to get our employees involved in donating either money, items of need, or time to a local organization. This year, we supported CASA of DuPage County by filling and donating court bags.

CASA of DuPage County is a non-profit organization that “recruits, trains, and supports volunteer citizen advocates to effectively speak to the best interests of abused, neglected, and dependent children in DuPage County’s juvenile court system.”

While CASA is a national organization, the programs are set by each county. There are 38 counties involved in the state of Illinois, DuPage County being one of them. It also happens to be the second largest in the state, behind only Cook County.

Since 1993, CASA of DuPage County has assisted over 2,000 neglected children, provided over 7,000 annual volunteer hours, and driven over 61,000 miles a year. A volunteer advocate gives neglected children a voice in court, and while the statewide representation is just 43%, every abused, neglected, or dependent child in DuPage has an advocate.

Among the many ways to support the organization is by donating gift cards for advocates or foster families to purchase specific needed items for the children, basic toiletries, or court bags to give the younger children something to do while they wait at their court appearances.

We chose the latter for this year’s holiday giving campaign, encouraging our employees to purchase and bring in coloring books, activity books, crayons, colored pencils, markers, pens, pencils, reading books, notebooks, and small toys. We divided them up and created 20 different bags full of items to keep kids entertained during what is likely a boring or frightening experience.

If you would like to support CASA of DuPage County, either as a volunteer or to provide a donation, visit their website or reach out directly to Development Director Vicki Shaw.