Thursday Deadline for Early Bird Deal on Cumming 5K Race Benefiting CASA of Forsyth

Staff Report

CASA of Forsyth County, Inc. announced today it will hold its 6th Annual 5K Run/Walk and 1K Fun Run on February 21, 2015. The event will be held at Fowler Park, located at the corner of Highway 9 and Castleberry Road in south Forsyth County. The Peachtree Road Race qualifier course will spill out onto the Big Creek Greenway and is a flat, fast course, perfect for the serious runner, families and everyone in between.

Because the CASA program believes every child needs a hero, but abused children need Superheroes, this 5K Run/Walk will feature a Superhero theme. In addition to awards for top male and female runners, there will be a contest to recognize the best and most creative Superhero costumes.

The Superhero Run raises much needed funding used to train volunteer child advocates who become the voice of an abused and/or neglected child in Juvenile Court deprivation proceedings. The primary goals at CASA of Forsyth County, Inc are to recruit, screen, train and supervise volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused or neglected children and to ensure the quality of volunteer advocacy for the children we serve. Each year it costs approximately $1200 to serve one child through the CASA program and approximately $400 to train each volunteer advocate. Last year, 85 CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) volunteers advocated more than 5700 hours for 229 children in Forsyth County.

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Forsyth County, Inc. serves abused and neglected children by advocating for each to have a safe, loving and permanent home. These highly trained volunteer advocates serve as the child’s lay guardian ad litem and work to ensure the child’s physical, medical, emotional and educational needs are met during Juvenile Court deprivation proceedings.

“The relationship formed between a CASA volunteer and the child becomes a stable part of an otherwise chaotic life for a child in foster care,” said Janet Walden, Executive Director of CASA of Forsyth County, Inc. “So often DFCS case managers change, therapists change, schools change and placements change for the child. The CASA volunteer is the one face in the crowd that is constant during a child’s journey through the child welfare system.”

Entry fees for the SUPERHERO 5K Run/Walk are $25 for individuals before February 5th/ $35 after February 5th. Fees for the 1K Fun Run are $10 each in advance/ $15 after February 5th. New for this year participants can sign up as teams with 5 or more runners and receive a $5.00 discount per runner. For more information, to register or to find out how to sponsor this event, please visit the CASA website:www.forsythcountycasa.orgor call 770.886.4082