The first step to volunteering with CASA is to attend an Informational Session, which provides an opportunity to meet with a staff member, learn more about what it means to become a CASA, and ask questions about volunteering. Info Sessions usually take 45 minutes to an hour. You can schedule an Info Session below in Hancock, Harrison, & Stone Counties.
For more information about how to get started, e-mail lauren@casasouthms.org
Upcoming CASA Training
The CASA Volunteer Pre-Service training curriculum is facilitated two to three times per year. The curriculum consists of (30) thirty hours of training, court observation and background screening. Click below to see upcoming training schedules.
CASA of South Mississippi Hosts Annual “Grateful for You” Volunteer Appreciation Dinner
Each year, CASA recognizes the vital contributions of its volunteers, who play a crucial role in ensuring that children in the foster care system receive the support and advocacy they need to thrive. This year, attendees will be treated to an inspiring keynote address by Ashley Rhodes-Courter, a New York Times bestselling author. Rhodes-Courter will share her personal journey through Florida’s foster care system and highlight the transformative impact her CASA volunteer had on her path to permanency through adoption.
Kaiden’s Candles of Hope for Harrison & Stone Counties
(Gulfport, MS, October 9, 2024) – While it may come as a surprise, not all children receive birthday cakes each year growing up. Twenty years ago, CASA’s executive director, Cynthia Chauvin asked a young person who spent the majority of her teenage years in foster care what might the CASA program do to better the lives of children in foster care. Without hesitation, she exclaimed, “Make sure they have birthday cakes and get to blow out candles!” Soon after, Candles of Hope was established. A project that ensured that all children served by the CASA program would not only get a cake and candles, but also allow them to select what type of cake and icing they would like. “Giving our kids choices, even those as simple as selecting their cake, allows them to have a voice,” Chauvin stated.
Our Mission
Recruit, train, and support a diverse network of Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteers to provide abused and neglected children in our community with quality advocacy in the South Mississippi court system and to secure them a safe, permanent, and nurturing home.
All are Welcome
CASA of South Mississippi pledges to recruit board members, staff and volunteers that are diverse and reflect the population and needs of the children we serve. Opportunities and services are open to all and not restricted based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age, gender, gender identity and gender expression, marital status, veteran status, physical abilities or national origin.