Feb. 8—She wore a sparkly pink dress and spoke quietly, but confidently.

“Hi, my name is Aubrey Riggle,” she said. “I was in foster care for a long time, but now I’m adopted.”

The room erupted in cheers and clapping.

It was a “Night at the Disco” with CASA for Kids. The disco theme was evident everywhere, in the bright lights, the sparkling clothes and the music. But that didn’t eclipse the goal of the evening — to recognize the volunteers and sponsors in attendance and to raise an initial $70,000 to educate 35 more volunteers.

The nonprofit organization held its annual banquet Saturday at the ConocoPhillips Oklahoma State University Alumni Center. More than 250 guests, sponsors and volunteers attended the event.

The night was filled with silent and live auctions, games such as Last Man Standing and Gift Card Frenzy and a disco dance party.

Aubrey, 13, one of the speakers at the event, thanked the crowd for coming. She shared her tough experiences.

“I have to say that if they find you the perfect family, just be grateful,” Aubrey continued. “CASA got me out of that situation and I’m so happy that I was able to be moved out of that place. I got such a loving family to love and treat me right.”

CASA for Kids in Stillwater is part of a national organization whose mission is to recruit, screen train and support community volunteers who advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children in juvenile deprived court in Payne, Logan and Kay counties.

CASA is also part of the Oklahoma CASA Association, and they’ve been serving the area for 32 years.

CASA stands for “Court Appointed Special Advocate.” CASA volunteers train for 30 hours before they are assigned to a case. They work with the Department of Human Services, the court, the biological and foster families, the schools and more.

“That volunteer really becomes the eyes and the ears of the court, because they’re reporting back to the judge what is happening with that child,” said Sarah Priest, executive director at CASA. ” … Our organization would be absolutely nothing without our volunteers.”

Priest said their goal is to have one CASA worker for each child who can be their “voice.”

“Their job is to advocate for the children on that case,” Priest said. “.. When a volunteer is assigned to advocate for a child on a case, they’re meeting with the child at least once a month. They’re establishing a relationship with that child. So often, they become the only consistent person in a child’s life during this time.”

CASA volunteers advocate not only for a more permanent, long-term situation, for the child, but also for their overall wellbeing.

In 2023, CASA served 127 children.

On average, CASA spends $2,000 to provide a volunteer for each child they serve. The organization currently has 60 volunteers in Payne County, with 40 of those on active cases.

At the banquet, CASA’s goal was to raise $70,000 to train new volunteers. But with ticket sales, sponsorships and auction and games, they raised approximately $150,000 — $20,000 more than last year.

According to the most recent numbers, Priest said there are roughly a total of 330 children in three counties where they serve who need a CASA volunteer. Statewide, there are approximately 6,020 children who are considered “out of home” and need to be placed in a permanent home situation.

Marie Russell, the 2023 CASA for Kids Volunteer of the Year, was recognized at the banquet.

Russell drove more than 11,000 miles and spent more than 400 hours advocating for the four children on her case. She has a background in pediatric nursing, and when asked, advocated for a child with diabetes, even though she was already assigned a case.

“We do not reimburse (volunteers) for gas mileage … she’s not being compensated in any way,” Priest said. “She’s just doing it because she wants to help these kids that are in these bad situations.”

Priest said she’s even had some OSU students volunteer, and they seem to find their own voices while advocating for the children on their cases.

Tom Riggle, Aubrey’s father, said without a CASA volunteer, his daughter would not have made it through a tough time.

Aubrey said her CASA workers were “great with helping with trauma.”

“If you get a mom and dad that likes to tease you and scare you all the time, just know it’s a gesture of love, and they would never just adopt you for no reason at all,” Aubrey told the crowd.