Speaker 1: Good morning, good morning, good morning. Welcome, welcome, welcome, idiot.
Speaker 2: Is a time now for our community connection right here
Speaker 2: on K one, the one you trust. And we're talking
Speaker 2: with our friends from CASA of Northeast Oklahoma.
Speaker 1: And boy do we have friends.
Speaker 2: Hello, ladies, we have Lori, Emily and Alisha, and this
Speaker 2: is really something else. And we've got a doll twich
Speaker 2: we're going to explain here in just a little bit.
Speaker 2: This one's wearing clothes this year, which I'm quite happy
Speaker 2: about that. Emily, first off, tell us a little bit
Speaker 2: about KASA Northeast Oklahoma.
Speaker 3: So, KASA Northeast Oklahoma is a nonprofit and we recruit
Speaker 3: and trained volunteers and they become advocates for children in
Speaker 3: foster care.
Speaker 2: Now, these kids don't really have a voice. They're just kids.
Speaker 2: They don't know the legal system.
Speaker 3: That's right, that's right, And so we try and get
Speaker 3: people in the community who want to step up and
Speaker 3: be that voice for the kids.
Speaker 4: And they get to know the kids. They talk to.
Speaker 3: Their families, their teachers, anybody that can tell us what's
Speaker 3: going on with that kid. And then we go to
Speaker 3: court and we're their voice in court.
Speaker 2: So now Alicia we're going to get to the doll
Speaker 2: here in just a second. Laurie, you're an advocate coordinator
Speaker 2: here in Bartlesville and your mission is to find advocates.
Speaker 1: Correct.
Speaker 5: Yes, we desperately need more volunteers. Lots of foster kids
Speaker 5: out there without a voice, and so we are looking
Speaker 5: for people who want to help kids have that voice.
Speaker 5: Just get to know foster kids and their situations and.
Speaker 1: Well, how do we go about being a Do you
Speaker 1: have to go to school for this? No?
Speaker 5: I it is a commitment, but it's a worthwhile one.
Speaker 5: There's training that we give them. It's a thirty hour
Speaker 5: training and they go through that and we give them
Speaker 5: all the information that they need to know how to
Speaker 5: go out there confidently and meet with the foster families
Speaker 5: and the kids and write reports for the judge.
Speaker 2: And yeah, my goodness sakes. You know, it sounds like
Speaker 2: a lot, but it's.
Speaker 5: You got to have a heart, yes, And the things
Speaker 5: that you put a lot of work into are often
Speaker 5: the most rewarding things in your life. And I think
Speaker 5: with this volunteer opportunity, it's super rewarding because you do
Speaker 5: work so hard at it.
Speaker 2: And now I've had some family members who have done
Speaker 2: this line of work in Illinois and Indiana, and it
Speaker 2: is it is one that your heart better be in it.
Speaker 1: Yes, and it's all for the right reasons. Yes.
Speaker 2: Now we've got we've got a nice doll here, interesting
Speaker 2: fellaut here and I guess we're going to talk to Ala,
Speaker 2: she's one of the board members.
Speaker 1: You're ring here for Martin Hill. A little bit about
Speaker 1: what we got going on here with the doll.
Speaker 4: So this is a paper doll.
Speaker 6: We're doing a fundraiser this spring for each county in
Speaker 6: northeast Oklahoma, and this little guy kind of represents one
Speaker 6: of the foster kids who needs an advocate. So by
Speaker 6: having this little gentleman out there in the community or
Speaker 6: you know, little girl right there, there's both, they can
Speaker 6: really represent that. And people can sponsor the doll and
Speaker 6: all those funds go to KASSA. They can also clothe
Speaker 6: the dolls and those clothing items go to the kids
Speaker 6: and foster care who maybe you know, unfortunately have been
Speaker 6: removed from the home and you know, need some things
Speaker 6: right when they get out of the home. Maybe they
Speaker 6: need clothes, you know, toothbrushes, whatever. So the fundraiser helps
Speaker 6: support that as well. As Costa's ongoing mission.
Speaker 2: So g is chilly little paper doll. Let's get some
Speaker 2: clothes on that paper doll. Yes, get some toothbrushes. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and also some money would be a good thing.
Speaker 4: That would be great.
Speaker 2: It would be that stuff that don't clank really works good,
Speaker 2: you know. But but this is really what it's all about.
Speaker 1: Now. You guys had a ball with this last year.
Speaker 2: And I just remember Mark Ogle, who's somewhere in the
Speaker 2: vicinity here, I know he's with an earshot. He was
Speaker 2: really excited about this last year. And I understand that
Speaker 2: we had a little bit of a race down to
Speaker 2: the final wire, didn't we.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's a battle between each of the counties.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so you know sponsor here in Bartlesville that goes
Speaker 3: towards Bartlesville's a mountain. So yeah, I got a spreadsheet
Speaker 3: and we're competing all the counties against each other to
Speaker 3: see who's going to raise the moves.
Speaker 2: So now I understand we did something with coffee, cup
Speaker 2: of sleeves. Hold that up here for the camera, just
Speaker 2: kind of there you go here you see it. Now,
Speaker 2: if you were at a crossing second and you got
Speaker 2: a coffee, you got one of these and how did
Speaker 2: that work out? Because I know you probably do it again.
Speaker 2: I'm just getting ahead of the gate because that Mark
Speaker 2: fellut here he'll be haring and goes, hey you remember
Speaker 2: what we did?
Speaker 1: Okay, go ahead.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 4: So we had these coffee sleeves printed up.
Speaker 3: They have our logo on it, they have it shouldn't
Speaker 3: hurt to be a child, which is kind of something
Speaker 3: that we always say, and it's got our QR code
Speaker 3: on the back and we just got these out too. Restaurants,
Speaker 3: coffee shops, everywhere we could think of that would sell
Speaker 3: a drink or sell and it's free to them, and
Speaker 3: we just said, hey, would you like to help us
Speaker 3: and get in the word out. So we're just trying
Speaker 3: to get our logo out there and just let people know,
Speaker 3: you know that we're here, and we're trying to get
Speaker 3: volunteers to help us be there for the kids.
Speaker 2: Now, LORI, part of being an advocate also means that
Speaker 2: hey pay attention, right, Yes, So this awareness campaign that
Speaker 2: really pays the big dividends. At least people are familiar
Speaker 2: with what you're trying to get accomplished and they're not saying, well,
Speaker 2: what do you want me to do. They got an
Speaker 2: idea what's going on.
Speaker 5: Yes, it's helpful to get your name out there so
Speaker 5: people know what's happening. And a lot of people have
Speaker 5: never heard of KASA, So it's.
Speaker 2: You know, a lot of people are kind of blind
Speaker 2: to the idea that there are kids in trouble that
Speaker 2: happened someplace else. Yes, that happens in a big city.
Speaker 2: It didn't happen. It happens a lot, and it's kept quiet.
Speaker 2: That's true, and we kind of need to draw some
Speaker 2: attention to it.
Speaker 5: That's true. There are lots of kids in our county,
Speaker 5: right here in Bartlesville and the neighboring cities. But yeah,
Speaker 5: we all need to open our eye that there's a
Speaker 5: lot of foster kids. There's a lot of kids suffering
Speaker 5: every day.
Speaker 2: And yeah, how did you get to become a board member?
Speaker 6: Oh, it was a it was a happy accident.
Speaker 2: Actually, the way it always happens, that the way you
Speaker 2: always find board members.
Speaker 1: Yeah, tell us about it.
Speaker 6: I was actually at the doctor's office. I moved here
Speaker 6: with kind of a goal to possibly start my own
Speaker 6: not for profit organization. Well, I stumbled upon actually a pamphlet,
Speaker 6: a little flyer that they have out in the different offices.
Speaker 6: And I looked down and I picked it up. Right,
Speaker 6: You're thinking, oh, there's something on the floor. I'm going
Speaker 6: to pick it up, and I'm looking for the little
Speaker 6: plastic sleeve that it goes in because I'm not reading
Speaker 6: it because I'm busy, and I stop and there's no
Speaker 6: plastic holder, there's no billboard, there's no nothing. And I
Speaker 6: look at it and it's you know, COSA to help
Speaker 6: abused and neglected kids. So it's like, wow, Okay, it's
Speaker 6: a sign. That was definitely a sign.
Speaker 1: And you've got the heart for it.
Speaker 2: You already had the mind to do something positive in
Speaker 2: the community, and this just matched up right with everything
Speaker 2: in your core beliefs, right.
Speaker 5: So it was a good, little, happy accident.
Speaker 1: And now she's a board member holding a happy little
Speaker 1: at all. Him Timmy, Jimmy, he doesn't have a.
Speaker 4: Lot of people name them. They go all out. They'll
Speaker 4: be they'll call us back.
Speaker 3: They'll say I want Sally back from last year. And
Speaker 3: Mark's like, Okay, I gotta go figure out who's Sally.
Speaker 4: Want to make sure I get you Sally. Because they
Speaker 4: get serious about it.
Speaker 1: I bet they do.
Speaker 3: Them have wigs like yesterday when we're trying to get
Speaker 3: some out of closet.
Speaker 4: Then the wig was stuck on somebody's foot. It's a
Speaker 4: little yarn.
Speaker 1: Wig and wow.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's even a rough life being at all, hopefully
Speaker 1: not hopefully not.
Speaker 6: Yeah, you know, yeah, that's right, taking good care.
Speaker 2: Oh that's great. And once again they just to get
Speaker 2: a get ahold of you for the adult.
Speaker 4: Well, actually you can contact Mark Mark Ogle.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's somewhere in the building.
Speaker 4: He's somewhere in this room.
Speaker 3: He or so. But yeah, you can contact Mark and
Speaker 3: he'll get you set up. And we have different levels
Speaker 3: of sponsorship.
Speaker 1: Let's go for it. Yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah, So we have the one hundred dollars sponsorship, which
Speaker 3: is the individual you get one doll. Got the bronze
Speaker 3: sponsorship for two fifty, you get two of these dolls.
Speaker 3: You've got the Silver at five hundred and you'll get
Speaker 3: three dolls. Gold is seven to fifty and you get four,
Speaker 3: and then Platinum is one thousand and you get five dolls.
Speaker 2: Man, you got a family going there, Yeah, yeah, there there,
Speaker 2: we're talking.
Speaker 4: You can just load them all up and get around.
Speaker 2: Get him dressed. Yeah, put them in the station. Where
Speaker 2: you can go for a drive.
Speaker 4: Yeah, we'll not give you weird looks.
Speaker 2: No, Mark, who's somewhere in the building, told me that
Speaker 2: people were looking at him because he had this doll
Speaker 2: in the front seat.
Speaker 1: They're like, what the hell, what's he doing?
Speaker 4: He just loads up his vehicle with him and drives
Speaker 4: them all.
Speaker 1: Around on kids, We're done some.
Speaker 4: Town with some wooden dolls. Don't don't worry about it.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: Mark's been a foster parent.
Speaker 2: I mean imagine he's had a car load of real kids.
Speaker 1: Just the oval is nothing to see here. There we
Speaker 1: go comfort.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well this is great.
Speaker 1: And where can we find out more?
Speaker 2: Do you have a website or a Facebook page where
Speaker 2: you have current events?
Speaker 4: We have both of those.
Speaker 3: Actually, our facebook is KASA Northeast Oklahoma.
Speaker 4: That should be able to find us on Facebook.
Speaker 3: Our website is www dot casa A s A n
Speaker 3: E Okay, Northeast Oklahoma dot org.
Speaker 2: All right, and then just put the casa any Okay
Speaker 2: on the Facebook searchable whatever.
Speaker 1: Yeah, my kids do that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, dad needs Okay.
Speaker 4: Yeah, they'll they'll get you there.
Speaker 2: So, Glorie, I got to ask you what drove you
Speaker 2: to do this? What compelled you to be a part
Speaker 2: of CAUSA.
Speaker 5: So I went back to school as an adult after
Speaker 5: my kids had grown, and I was in social work
Speaker 5: and I was looking for what's it called internship at
Speaker 5: the end of my college and I had a friend
Speaker 5: who was a Costa volunteer and she recommended volunteering or
Speaker 5: doing my internship at COSO. So she hooked me up.
Speaker 5: And then when I found out who they were and
Speaker 5: what they did after my internship, I wanted to be
Speaker 5: a volunteer because I thought it was a great organization
Speaker 5: doing great things. And then about a year after I
Speaker 5: had been a volunteer, they asked me if I wanted
Speaker 5: to work for them, and so.
Speaker 2: Wow, I went to work and my goodness sakes yea,
Speaker 2: and finding out about it is the big part, yes,
Speaker 2: And this is why we're here, Yes, to help more
Speaker 2: people find out about content and the great work that
Speaker 2: we do for children who need a voice neeck or
Speaker 2: you know you think that you know kids got a
Speaker 2: lawyer or something like that.
Speaker 1: Not always.
Speaker 5: They have so many cases that they don't have the
Speaker 5: time to.
Speaker 1: Go one on one.
Speaker 5: Yeah, to get to know the situation.
Speaker 2: Do you get to know the kids a little bit more?
Speaker 2: On a personal basis other than just how you buy.
Speaker 1: What can they do for you?
Speaker 5: Yes, you're in their homes once a month, visiting with
Speaker 5: the kids, invested in them, yep, and you follow the
Speaker 5: case from beginning to end, so you're you are able
Speaker 5: to see what happens, like what the outcome is.
Speaker 2: Isn't that kind of special for YouTube to see how
Speaker 2: this process works, you know, from Lori's end all the
Speaker 2: way to the the end product of getting justice for
Speaker 2: the kids.
Speaker 6: Yeah. I actually originally was interested in being a volunteer,
Speaker 6: but we found out I was too much of the
Speaker 6: softy to maybe go to court and so and then.
Speaker 1: We you know, after crying, become a board.
Speaker 4: I've done a.
Speaker 6: Lot in that kind of business and vironment, so I
Speaker 6: feel like my contribution there.
Speaker 2: Is from a position of strength where we're future talents, you.
Speaker 6: Know, running an organization, you know, as Emily does. There's
Speaker 6: a lot to it, policies, procedures and things. So I
Speaker 6: feel like I'm able to contribute, you know there as well.
Speaker 6: So it's a really good mission these kids. You know,
Speaker 6: there's numbers on Washington County. I think there was thirty
Speaker 6: nine kids until last year in Washington County. That needed
Speaker 6: an advocate and that really helped them move along. A
Speaker 6: lot of them were reunited with their families, which is wonderful,
Speaker 6: but some weren't right. Some you know, maybe needed to
Speaker 6: be moved to a better home, and some are still
Speaker 6: in foster care. So it's really important work that these
Speaker 6: folks are doing out there, you know, to help keep
Speaker 6: kids safe because they're the future of you know, our world.
Speaker 2: So and how they grow up in this world tells
Speaker 2: you how they are going to view the world when
Speaker 2: they get to be older, and they need the best
Speaker 2: possible world growing up.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So now, Emily, I got to ask you this, how
Speaker 2: you keep the wheels on this bus, because.
Speaker 1: Man, it seems like you got a lot going on.
Speaker 3: Sometimes I feel like I'm losing nuts and bolts and
Speaker 3: trying to catch those wheels. But you know, I got
Speaker 3: a great staff, I got a great board, We have
Speaker 3: amazing volunteers, so you know, it's just kind of all
Speaker 3: of us working together to do it.
Speaker 4: You know, we can't we can't talk.
Speaker 3: About the kids in their situation, you know, in the communities.
Speaker 3: That's the thing why the community doesn't know because we
Speaker 3: can't go talk about little Timmy's case. So that's what
Speaker 3: Timmy's here to represent, is that kid in foster care
Speaker 3: that is in this area that we can't be talking about,
Speaker 3: you know, because it's private.
Speaker 4: The cases are confidential.
Speaker 3: So that's the thing is we need the community support
Speaker 3: to step up, but we can't go out and talk
Speaker 3: about the cases. So that's why people think it's not happening.
Speaker 2: I think, quickly, how do we get the paper dolls
Speaker 2: in our community and to get the.
Speaker 1: Awareness going here.
Speaker 3: They can call our office, or they can call Mark's number,
Speaker 3: or they can email number or email Mark.
Speaker 2: So all right, and we'll have that information. Okay, the
Speaker 2: uh little news story that we're gonna have a little
Speaker 2: bit later today.
Speaker 4: Okay.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and by the way, there's Facebook Live. You can
Speaker 1: use that forever and ever and ever. You can use
Speaker 1: that to your get to get the word out too.
Speaker 6: Yeah, and I want to go to the Facebook. You
Speaker 6: can always just send a message as well. Go in
Speaker 6: and taste like it, send a message and we'll you'll
Speaker 6: find you and yeah, you'll get your chipped up with
Speaker 6: the doll. Sponsor a doll donate. You can go to
Speaker 6: the website and donate easily as well. Yeah, ACASA Anyokay
Speaker 6: dot org. There's a donation button if you want to
Speaker 6: just do that, if that's kind of what you can
Speaker 6: do right now to contribute, or if you want to
Speaker 6: volunteer either way.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's on our website faces.
Speaker 3: Yeah, there's a big red button up to volunteer, donate
Speaker 3: to say.
Speaker 5: Also, if you're a softie, it's okay to also be
Speaker 5: a volunteer. I'm a pretty big softie. And you get
Speaker 5: the strength that you need as they train you what
Speaker 5: you should do and helps. So don't be afraid if
Speaker 5: you're a softy, you can still do this.
Speaker 2: I want to thank you all for coming by. And
Speaker 2: if you find that Mark fellow hanging around, you know,
Speaker 2: you might want to ride back to Claremore and row.
Speaker 1: Him in my car.
Speaker 4: I'll have to take him back.
Speaker 2: Okay, CASA Northeast Oklahoma, thank you,