Volunteering to advocate for local children

A little more than four years ago, Melanie Vinberg knew nothing about CASA - the Court-Appointed Special Advocates.

But a situation in her own family that she felt was mishandled by authorities got her thinking.

Melanie had a troubled youth. She came from a dysfunctional home that made her childhood years very difficult.

Someone should be there to help people in her kind of situation, she felt, and the more she learned about CASA, the more she was convinced they were the ones to help kids in bad situations.

CASA volunteers have the job of advocating in legal cases for children up to 1...