WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., Feb. 13, 2017 — As a part of their senior public relations capstone project, West Liberty University students Morgan Goddard and Brett Cox are accepting donations for the non-profit organization A Child’s Place CASA, Ltd. CASA Executive Director Rhonda Stubbs has assisted the two students in their efforts.
Senior Public Relations major Brett Cox distributes a CASA collection box in Shaw Hall.
The donations will benefit children who have been abused and neglected. Supplies such as diapers, clothing, gift cards, new backpacks, office supplies, school supplies, board books for babies, and books for teenagers are all welcome.
They will be collected in donation boxes located in all of the dorms at WLU. The donations will be accepted from now until April 13.
“We, as a society, agree that we must have systems in place to protect children who are victims of abuse or neglect to guarantee their physical and mental safety and well being. Therefore, we, as a society, must take responsibility for these systems and not expect that ‘just the system’ will care for our children,” said West Liberty University Professor of Social Work Sheli Bernstein-Goff. “More times than not, children who enter the foster care do so with just the clothes on their backs. Often, foster children will move between foster homes with only a small trash bag of belongings.”
Cox is a transfer student who is looking forward to graduation this spring. He is from Washington, Pa. With a Public Relations major and advertising minor, he is all about promoting the community.
“I think that getting the word out about the kids in foster care who need our help is our biggest goal. We are helping CASA and we want to show how important the organization and its work is. It’s a great cause,” said Cox.
Cox even had a chance to interview with WTRF-Channel 7 in Wheeling to spread the word of this worthy project.
Goddard is also is a Public Relations major and is an assistant editor for the student newspaper The Trumpet and is from Paden City, W.Va. and also is a Resident Assistant at WLU. She expects to graduate next December and continue her education at West Virginia University. Currently, Goddard also runs a Facebook page for the West Virginia Division of Juvenile Services.
“When it comes to the capstone assignment, we’re told to pick a worthy cause that needs publicity. Foster care is so important and underserved, I think. When there’s problems at home, sometimes the kids get pushed under the rug and CASA is there for them. This is a great cause that needs to be put out there to the public,” Goddard said.
For more information, please contact Goddard at mkgoddard@westliberty.edu or Cox at bacox@westliberty.edu.
West Virginia CASA is part of a national volunteer movement that began in 1977, when a Seattle judge conceived the idea of using trained community volunteers to speak for the best interests of abused and neglected children in court. These Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) provided him with the detailed information he needed to safeguard the children’s best interests and ensure that they were placed in safe, permanent homes as quickly as possible.
Anyone interested in donating to the students capstone project can simply bring in an item and deposit it in the boxes or call the Office of Media Relations at 304-336-8203. For more information on A Child’s Place CASA, Ltd. please visit their site at www.childsplacecasa.com.
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