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<\/a><\/p>\nShe said she\u2019s excited about the new advocates who were sworn in Wednesday, and she hopes for more. CASA provides all the training volunteers need.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just need folks to step up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Here are the stories of some of the people who did so Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018So much need\u2019<\/p>\n
Nadine Woolsey is a recent \u201cempty-nester\u201d and has known about CASA for quite some time, she said. One of her friends was a volunteer, and she\u2019s been interested in joining for a while. She and her husband, Craig, have been in the oil and gas industry in the area for years. Now that their children are in college, Nadine has more time to give to others, especially children facing a difficult situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is so much need,\u201d she said. \u201cSome of their life circumstances, I can\u2019t even fathom what they\u2019re going through. They need a lot of help, and they need a lot of support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Volunteers with CASA help give children a voice in and outside the courtroom. She hopes she can help children find happiness and security during those turbulent times.<\/p>\n
She said she hopes other people will step up to do that, too. Volunteers can handle one case at a time and work under the direction of a supervisor.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t worry about the time constraints,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019ll be able to get this done, and you\u2019ll still have time for your life as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018They helped me\u2019<\/p>\n
Hannah Flowers is a student at The University of Texas at Tyler who will graduate with a marketing degree in December. A Henderson native, she\u2019s also a real estate agent with Julie Woods & Associates Real Estate Firm in Longview.<\/p>\n
Despite her busy schedule, Flowers has made the time to be a CASA volunteer. To her, it\u2019s about giving others the type of help she once received.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Flowers, 21, was adopted during her youth, and in December 2025, she requested copies of legal documents related to that process. She got those documents in June and discovered that she had a CASA volunteer all those years ago. She was too young to remember that person, but when she realized the help she\u2019d received then, she felt a calling to return it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a sign that I should go help others,\u201d she said. \u201cThey helped me. I should help them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flowers and the rest of her siblings were adopted, and all of them have different stories, she said. Some went through a few foster homes, and some went through several foster homes throughout the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what it\u2019s like to have kids at different stages,\u201d she said. \u201cI want to be that person that they can come and talk to and just have a voice for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Children are often scared to speak up for themselves, and that\u2019s what CASA volunteers do for them, Flowers said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some people might be afraid to step into the fray, but they shouldn\u2019t be, Flowers said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCASA has your back,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re a whole community.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018You give\u2019<\/p>\n
Abbigail Fyffe, a Tyler native, has lived in Longview for about six months and has worked as a pharmacy technician. She joined CASA because her parents were advocates with the Tyler chapter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t understand it at first because I was like, \u2018Well, you\u2019re not getting anything,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cThey said, \u2018Well, that\u2019s the point. You don\u2019t get anything. You give something.\u2019 \u2026 You\u2019re being there for someone that doesn\u2019t have somebody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fyffe said she sees the meaning in what her parents have done to help children in less fortunate situations. She was a little nervous about being an advocate herself, but CASA staff gave her the knowledge and training she needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to not only advocating, but providing stability and a sense of comfort for children that don\u2019t have it,\u201d she said. \u201cSometimes, you just feel like you\u2019re all alone in these situations, and knowing that somebody has your back all the time, what\u2019s best for you, that\u2019s who I want to be for someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018What can I do?\u2019<\/p>\n
A retired corporate coach for defense contractor employees, Christina Wilkinson has known about CASA for only a matter of months. Now that she\u2019s retired, she has more time on her hands, time enough to ask the questions: \u201cWhat can I do? How can I give back? How can I be of service?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as I found out about CASA, I was very excited,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wilkinson lived in the Dallas area, but she and her husband fell in love with East Texas after a trip to Daingerfield State Park and moved here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said she has a heart for helping children, particularly older children who might not have a family or a place of belonging. That\u2019s because she was on her own when she was 16.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had some coaches and some mentors, some other adults that walked me along the way,\u201d she said. \u201cYou just kind of want to be that person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Children in the foster care system need support, she said. That\u2019s what CASA provides them.<\/p>\n
Her advice to adults who are considering helping: \u201cDo it. Get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Gonna be rewarding\u2019<\/p>\n
Donna Lewis has called Longview home for about 25 years and is a social worker who usually works with the geriatric population. She\u2019s a recent \u201cempty-nester\u201d and has time to give other people. She learned about CASA from a social worker in Tyler and thought it would be a good fit.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing a social worker, giving back is what we do,\u201d she said. \u201cI just want to be a mentor for kids who don\u2019t have that.\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019s told some family members about being a volunteer, and some of them might join as well, she said.
\u201cI know it\u2019s gonna be rewarding,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Want to volunteer?<\/p>\n
Prospective volunteers must be at least 21 years old, pass a background check and screening, take training, make a 24-month commitment to a case and keep information confidential.\u00a0<\/p>\n