Advocate Spotlight: Elaine Craig

When Elaine Craig retired from nursing and nursing instruction, she knew she wanted to volunteer her time somewhere. An encounter with our executive director brought Elaine to CASA and she's been on a roll ever since.

Elaine joined CASA in 2020 as part of our first ever virtual class. She was sworn in as an official CASA volunteer in December and accepted her first case that same month.

"Elaine stepped up to the plate right out of training," said Jade Levi, Elaine's advocate coordinator. "She's done a remarkable job and has been a diligent and thoughtful advocate."

Over the last five months, Elaine has been dedicated to her case, using her medical knowledge and care and concern to help this child return home to her mother.

"It's mind boggling how many different situations a child could be experiencing," Elaine said. "But I am thrilled with the support and direction I receive from the office staff."

The most important thing, Elaine said, is the relationship an advocate builds with the child.

"My goal is to establish and maintain trust with the child so they will feel comfortable showing their ups and downs," she said.

If you'd like to advocate alongside Elaine, we invite you to join us for a virtual info session on Monday, June 7 at noon. Click here to register.

Elaine received her masters in nursing from Misericorida University. She resides in Kingston with her dog Owen.

Advocate Spotlight: Ed Steltz

Ed Steltz believes that all children should have the opportunity to become the best that they can be. That guiding principle brought Ed to advocate training in the fall of 2019.

Since his retirement that same year, Ed has been generously giving of himself and his time to children in our community who “need a little extra,” as he puts it.

“I was very fortunate to have a young man of 14 as my first CASA child,” Ed said. “He wanted nothing more than to return to his father and have a more permanent future. He had been in four schools and six foster homes in five years. We were able to work with Children and Youth to return him to the family he wanted more than anything else in the world.”

Ed played a vital role in the reunification of this family. By donating his time, his love, his knowledge, his dedication, and his desire to see a change, this young man is doing well and has the opportunity to thrive.

“If you would like to make life better for a child, there is no better way than becoming an advocate,” Ed said. “There are more foster children in need of an advocate than there are CASA volunteers, so do not hesitate to step up and help a child, our community, and yourself.”

If, like Ed, you’d like to make a true and lasting difference, we’d love to talk to you about joining our fall training class which is scheduled to start in September.

Ed is a native of the Back Mountain area and resides there with his wife. Together they have two children and four grandchildren. He retired as Vice President of Martz in 2019.