Advocate Spotlight: Carol Fahnestock

Meet Carol Fahnestock, the April Advocate Spotlight for 2023. Carol became interested in CASA after working for a family law attorney. She saw what she felt was the best and worst of the foster care system and felt like she could do more to help.

Carol began advocating at CASA in 2013 but decided to take a break from the program. She returned to CASA in the Fall of 2021 and states she has not regretted it for one second. Carol has shared the personal story of losing her oldest daughter in 2018. She felt like she needed to do something to help another child so another parent would not get “that call”. In the past five years nothing felt right until she became involved in CASA again. Carol stated, “ I feel like my daughter would be proud of the work I have done.”

Carol’s most memorable moment was an email she received from a foster parent in which she said she felt like the child Carol had been appointed to had no voice until she started working on her case. She felt like the child was just another file. The foster parent stated that after speaking with Carol she felt such relief that someone, a human being, was going to protect her.

Being able to keep in touch with the case worker, Guardian ad Litem and foster parents to keep them all on the same page has been one of the most positive changes she has made for her CASA child. Carol noted that, “ Often in these cases the lack of communication leads to court dates and appointments being missed. I try to make sure I have the most recent information so I can inform the court of what is in the best interest of the child.”

Carol acknowledges that while often these cases are difficult, the reward of seeing a positive effect on a child’s life is indeed enough to make the heartache bearable. Her favorite saying is from Dr. Seuss, “To the world, you may only be one person, but you may be the world to one person.” She believes this is the core of CASA, be that one person for a child who needs a voice.

Carol would highly recommend getting involved in CASA, with so many children in the foster care system case workers and guardians often don’t have the time needed to do everything for these children. She urges you to get involved and you can change a child’s world forever.

We are grateful to Carol for her commitment to her advocacy and commitment to her community. If you’d like to make a difference in the life of a child in the way Carol has, we invite you to join us for an info session to learn more about advocacy and what it means to be a CASA.

Carol lives in Kingston and is employed as an executive assistant to the SVP for Customer Care at Astound Broadband. In 2011, Carol was appointed to the Wyoming Valley West Youth Aid Panel and she continues to serve on this panel and is proud of its success.

Advocate Spotlight: Laura Sarnak

Meet Laura Sarnak, the March Advocate Spotlight for 2023. Laura was drawn to CASA because she wanted to help children in need and she knew this was the perfect fit for her. Laura had done an internship at KidsPeace when she was in school and knew what an impact advocacy could make on a child.

Laura began advocating at CASA in March of 2017 and was assigned her first case in June of that year. She had learned about CASA from a commercial she saw on TV and decided she wanted to learn more about advocacy. After talking to the staff at CASA and understanding just how great the need is for volunteers to step up and be an advocate for these children she knew it was something she wanted to do.

The smile and the joy on the children’s faces when Laura visits them at the foster home is her most memorable experience of her advocacy. Laura states that getting to know the children has been the greatest blessing for her.

The children have achieved permanency in a safe and stable home that is full of love and support and where they will have the opportunity to become everything they are meant to be. Laura feels that being a part of brining this case to permanency is the most positive thing that happened to her children during her advocacy.

Laura advises potential advocates to go all in to choose to make a difference in a child’s life like no one else ever has. To be that one person who will speak for them in a way they are not able to, to be there when it gets hard, never leaving their side, to be the person who they can trust and support and always advocate for their very best interest in every way. Their lives are special, these kids are truly amazing and they deserve support.

Laura wishes that people understood the need for children in foster care to have a CASA advocate and to know and understand how amazing these kids are. She feels the most important part about being an advocate is being there for the children, understanding and respecting their wishes, always advocating in their best interest and staying by their side on the case until the end.

We are grateful to Laura for her commitment to her advocacy and commitment to her community. If you’d like to make a difference in the life of a child in the way Laura has, we invite you to join us for an info session to learn more about advocacy and what it means to be a CASA.

Laura lives in Exeter with her husband Tim, son Jake and daughter Tinsley. The family also has two dogs, Chance and Paisley and seven chickens! She is employed at Sarnak Roofing, Siding and Windows.