Old Hollywood Gala Event About Much More than Glitz & Jazz
These youth can seem invisible, but last year more than 436 children spent time in foster care in Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties. CASA of Central Oregon helps these children by recruiting, training, and supporting volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) to watch over and advocate for them in courtrooms and in the community.
But sadly, right now, 45 of the roughly 300 youth currently in foster care do not have a CASA. For all its glitz and jazz, Casablanca 2022 seeks to change that.
Casablanca aims to raise more than $100,000 for CASA of Central Oregon, enabling the organization to recruit, train and support new CASAs to join the team supporting the most vulnerable youth of our communities.
“The need for CASAs is great and growing,” said Heather Dion, executive director of CASA of Central Oregon. “The challenges of the last two years have put an incredible strain on families, leading to more youth in foster care needing support from trained CASAs who can help them navigate their often difficult journeys through the court system and in their foster homes.”
Casablanca features a live jazz band, cocktail hour with champagne and passed appetizers, a hosted bar, dinner, live and silent auctions, raffles, a wine wall, and a dessert dash, all emceed by news anchors from Central Oregon Daily News. Auction packages include a Palm Springs Getaway, a trip to the Oregon Coast, a sports enthusiast package with tickets to events across the Pacific Northwest, chef-prepared dinners in your home and more than a hundred other packages and specialty items.
“Casablanca is unlike any other event in Central Oregon with its red carpet Old Hollywood ambiance,” said Dion. “But at the heart of this gala is the work that must be done in our communities to ensure youth in foster care have the same opportunities to thrive as other children. We can make it happen, just by coming together to celebrate for a single evening.”
Tickets to Casablanca can be purchased for $125 per person by visiting casaofcentraloregon.org/casablanca.