This year has been filled with amazing opportunities that have encouraged VOICES to dream even bigger for the future. Together, we sustain, elevate and accept nothing less than hope that results in more CASA volunteers and more youth served by a child advocate.
We are deeply grateful and cherish every supporter, those that have been with us for years and those just joining our mission. You are making this happen!
Cherish your holiday season… cherish your community… and cherish the opportunities that lie ahead for your own journey.
In The Spotlight – Cherish the child
Cherish the child who bravely looks up and toward the future.
Cherish the child who lets memories flow and chooses trust and new experiences.
Each day children walk in their own shoes — carrying the fullness of their young lives. They demonstrate courage in ways both small and profound. While champions like CASA volunteers help clear the path and create safe spaces, only the child can actually take that step forward. In those steps, we witness purity and resilience.
During the holiday season, we are especially mindful of how to bring love, comfort, and joy into their hearts. These moments of celebration are more than traditions — they help build a foundation of hope and positivity.
Let us work toward a world where a child’s courage is recognized in the moment. Let our encouragement be constant. Let us lead by example, following in their remarkable footsteps.
May we be inspired by each child — and in turn, inspire others.
Cherish the Child, every day.
My CASA Journey – Cherish the CASA Volunteer
When you ask Google for the definition of Cherish, three statements pop up:
- protect and care for (someone) lovingly.
- keep (a hope or ambition) in one’s mind.
- hold (something) dear.
Cherish is the perfect definition of a CASA volunteer’s journey with a child. This holiday season as they help build gingerbread houses or bead colorful bracelets they hold a child near and dear. They are keeping hope alive as they watch a teen’s eyes light up at Zoolights or shop for that specific pair of jeans. As 2025 comes to a close, we reflect on all the moments where a caring adult chose to say yes to becoming a CASA volunteer and helped a child feel cherished. One volunteer, one child, and one day at a time.
Want to make a difference in your community?
If this story speaks to you come join us at our next information session, and learn what it really means to become a CASA Volunteer.
Positive Outcomes – Cherish the magic
Thank you for the wonderful gifts contributed so far—we’re truly grateful. There is still more impact to be made, and your support can make a difference. Shop now or help spread the word by sharing our holiday gift list.
Every single gift reminds these children that they are seen, valued, and supported by a caring community.
Your action today helps ensure no child is left without the joy and comfort they deserve.
Shop our Amazon List make a difference now.
In Focus – Tax Credit
As we move through the holiday season, many of us are celebrating with loved ones and creating memories. For children experiencing foster care, this time can highlight the absence of familiar faces, routines, and a sense of stability. CASA volunteers bring consistency, compassion, and hope during a season that can otherwise feel uncertain.
If you are able, now is the time to share the holiday spirit. Your tax credit or gift today helps ensure each child feels seen, supported, and cared for during this meaningful time of year.
QFCO Thresholds:
$626 if single
$1,251 if married filing jointly
Don’t wait. Your gift today helps us ensure youth experience joy this season and have the support of a trained and dedicated CASA volunteer.
Tax Credit Benefits
VOICES is a Qualified Foster Care Organization. You can receive tax credit benefits for your donations in the 2025 tax filing year! QFCO #10010
#BeTheirVoice
Community Voice – Together for Children, Together for Families, This Holiday Season and Beyond
The holidays remind us how deeply we all long to belong. For children living in foster care, this season can intensify the need for connection, stability, and familiar traditions. CASA volunteers play a vital role by helping children stay close to siblings, preserve meaningful routines, and feel that they truly matter. Kinship caregivers—grandparents, relatives, and close family friends—also shine brightly during this time of year.
Across Arizona, community partners strengthen this circle of support year-round. Following is a highlight on three organizations making a meaningful impact:
- Arizona Children’s Association – Through their Kinship Navigation Program, Arizona Children’s Association helps relatives and kin caregivers access vital resources—from legal guidance and support groups to benefit applications and advocacy.
- Child Crisis Arizona – Child Crisis Arizona offers parenting classes, emergency support, pool fence safety, and practical help like clothing and school supplies. They also create community through support groups and family events.
- Duet | Partners in Health & Aging – Duet extends services to grandparents raising grandchildren, offering support groups, legal workshops, and respite opportunities tailored to their unique challenges.
How you can help?
- Become a CASA Volunteer. Join one of our information sessions to learn what it takes to become a volunteer.
- Donate. Your gift helps us find, equip, and support CASA volunteers.
- Share with your circle. Word of mouth is one of the largest ways we find volunteers. By sharing with your network, you enable others to step up for our community.
- Volunteer, donate, and share.
Education – Cherish the gift of being present
During the holidays, we often focus on what we can give: toys, treats, traditions, and experiences. But for many children living in foster care who are carrying trauma in their bodies and histories, the most meaningful gift is something far simpler: a regulated, attentive, emotionally present adult.
Presence is more than being in the same room. It is a skill that can be learned, practiced, and strengthened. Neuroscience shows that a child’s nervous system reflects the state of the adult they are with. When we offer steadiness, patience, and genuine attention, the child’s body registers safety. Safety opens the door to connection, trust, and learning.
Here are three evidence-based practices you can use with any child this season:
Use rhythm to support regulation.
Bilateral, rhythmic movement helps calm the nervous system. Walking side by side, tossing a ball back and forth, or tapping hands and feet to a steady beat can help a child settle without needing to talk about their feelings first. These simple activities engage both sides of the brain and lower stress.
Regulate your own breathing and tone.
Children scan the adults around them for cues. Slow breathing and a soft, predictable tone of voice communicate safety more strongly than words alone. How you show up physically matters as much as what you say.
Offer choices that are real and doable.
Even small decisions like choosing a marker color or picking between two activities can restore a child’s sense of control. Trauma often takes away a child’s ability to make choices, so offering appropriate ones is a powerful act of healing.
These skills do not require special materials or perfect circumstances. They can fit into a car ride, a holiday visit, a short phone call, or a few minutes before bedtime. They also create the kind of moments children remember long after the season ends.
