Nominee #6: Mary Partida
Mary Partida joined the CASA family in February 2018. In her two years at CASA, she has worked on two cases, serving three children. Distance does not stop Mary from seeing her children! Mary keeps in constant contact with the young ones from her current case, talking to them multiple times per month. She has been encouraging, loving, and patient with these children when they needed it most. She has let CASA know that she plans on remaining on her current case until it is resolved, no matter how long that takes.
Last fall, Mary dove head-first into Collaborative Family Engagement (CFE) a new system of helping the children and families as they walk through this difficult time. She has used all of the new tools that she has learned. She was able to contact family members for possible placement and found out more about the children’s history.
Mary contributed to our 2019 and 2020 Amplifying Advocacy Committees as she designed the programs for each year’s conference hosted by CASA. She is always willing to help the staff and other advocates no matter how busy of a season it is for her! Even though Mary works three jobs, her outstanding contributions to CASA and her cases never falter. She sold tickets for our 2019 Parade of Playhouses Raffle, worked on materials to publicize this fundraiser, and joined us for the Christmas Parade.
Mary has been Advocate of the month twice and continues to amaze us with the advocacy and dedication she gives to the children. Mary attends every court hearing, CFE meeting, and permanency conference. In court, she gives thorough updates and encourages the children to attend so that their voices are heard. Mary is an unfaltering “Voice for the Children”, inspiration to other advocates, and promoter of CASA.
