Meet Our Volunteers

More than 68,000 people in communities nationwide are CASA volunteers. In Jefferson and Gilpin counties, three-quarters of our 200-plus group of volunteers are over the age of 40. About one-quarter are 21 to 39 years old. They include teachers, accountants, librarians, retirees and homemakers.

Why do they volunteer?

“It is very rewarding. It is heart-wrenching at times, but I think we make a huge difference in these kids’ lives. And that’s why I want to continue to do it.” –Lee Ann Robbins
“I became his person in the world. I was his difference.” –Greg Loendorf
“The family knew they could count on me. And the most important thing was that I was able to develop a relationship with Roxanne at a time when she really needed someone.” –Vikki Ehrhart

Read more about three of our volunteers:

Lee Ann Robbins, 48 years old
Case coordinator
When Lee Ann Robbins saw an ad in a local newspaper asking for CASA volunteers, she was inspired to make a commitment. She had been a Big Sister and enjoyed the experience, but with CASA, she would have more responsibilities and perhaps greater impact.

After 40 hours of training, Lee Ann was assigned to a case involving four sisters whose parents were divorced and had lost custody of the children due to neglect. When Lee Ann looked at police reports involving this family, the file was 8 inches thick. “It was a huge, long, sad case,” she says. “This was a dysfunctional family with a lot of issues.”

Lee Ann began making weekly visits to get to know the four sisters – ages 8, 11, 13 and 15 – who had been placed in two separate foster homes. Sometimes she would take them out to dinner or to the mall; other times, she would simply spend a couple of hours with them in their foster homes. Once she arrived with beading materials to make necklaces to break the ice. “I did that so it wasn’t just another adult getting in their business asking question after question after question,” she says.

As a CASA volunteer, Lee Ann’s primary responsibility was to ensure the safety and well-being of the sisters, so she would gather pertinent information from the girls, the foster parents, teachers, counselors, caseworkers and therapists. Every three months she would file a report with the judge assigned to the case. Over time, she developed close ties with the girls.

“To be honest,” she says, “I think the biggest thing is that these girls understood that I was a volunteer and that I was there for nobody but them.”

When the oldest sister, Kate, was a sophomore in high school, she and her sisters were transferred to a new foster home in a small town east of Colorado Springs. Kate, who was active in her high school’s debate team, had been planning to compete in the state tournament. But moving to a new foster home stood in the way. Lee Ann met with school officials and convinced them to let Kate participate in the tournament, even though she had transferred to a new school.

“It was really important for her,” Lee Ann says, “and I’m glad I was able to help things work out. These kids are used to asking for something and not getting much back.”

Kate, now 20, graduated as valedictorian from her new school, and she is a student at the University of Northern Colorado. She and Lee Ann remain in touch. “I still get birthday presents from her,” Kate says. “She went to my graduation from high school, and she went to my sister’s graduation. It was nice having somebody who remembered those things.”

Lee Ann, who is 48 and now works as a case coordinator with CASA of Jefferson and Gilpin Counties, remains a CASA volunteer for Kate’s two youngest sisters, and she has also taken on a second case involving a 17-year-old boy. She intends to volunteer for CASA for “a long time.”

“It is very rewarding,” she says. “It is heart-wrenching at times, but I think we make a huge difference in these kids’ lives. And that’s why I want to continue to do it.”

Greg Loendorf, 65 years old
Retired accountant
When some people retire, they take up golf or bowling. Not Greg Loendorf. After turning 57 and retiring from his career as an accountant, he decided to volunteer for CASA. Now 65, he has had eight cases, and he plans to volunteer for more. And he would like to see more men follow in his footsteps.

Greg’s first case was about as tough as they come. He was assigned to a 4-year-old boy who had been severely neglected by his family and was placed in a foster home. “Basically, he had not received any love,” Greg says. “For two years, I tried to see him every week if I could. I’d take him to the park, to McDonald’s. Sometimes we’d go to the library – just normal kid things.”

Over time, the boy developed a close bond with Greg. “I became his person in the world,” he says. “I was his difference.” But Greg knew that what the boy needed most was a stable home. And when he was adopted, he finally got that. Six months later, the case was closed. Greg considered it a successful outcome.

Greg says his main objectives as a CASA volunteer are to make sure the children he has been assigned to are getting “the basics” and not falling through the cracks. “I want to know that they’re getting food, clothes, medicine; that they’re going to school; that they’re being treated properly,” he says. “If you can go beyond those things and establish a deeper bond, then so much the better.”

Vikki Ehrhart, 45 years old
State employee
Vikki Ehrhart just happened to be at the Jefferson County courthouse one day when she came across a brochure about CASA. “I had always wanted to do something like that,” she says, “but I didn’t know how to get involved.” Seizing the opportunity, Vikki found her way to the CASA office and signed up for training. At her “graduation,” Judge Brian Boatright told Vikki and the other new CASA volunteers, “These are some of the toughest cases that come across my desk.”

True to Judge Boatright’s words, Vikki’s first CASA case involved three young children whose parents were both recovering heroin addicts. The youngest child was an infant who had been born addicted to methadone and placed in a foster home. The other two children – a 2-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl – were still living with their parents. Vikki first met the parents in court, where they were trying to regain custody of their baby. They succeeded after fulfilling their treatment plans.

Vikki, a divorced mother of three grown children, began visiting the family about once a week. The 10-year-old girl, Roxanne, kept her apprised of the family’s situation. “She would tell me what was going on with the family,” Vikki says, “and she’d ask for my guidance.” Vikki would take Roxanne and her brothers to the zoo, to the mall, to restaurants, and she would help monitor court-ordered appointments. After each visit, Vikki would write up notes, and then, every three or four months, she would write a formal report for the judge.

“I felt like I was making a difference by helping the parents keep on track with their treatment plan,” Vikki says. “And I was there for Roxanne. The parents had so much going on. Sometimes Roxanne got left out.”

After about a year, the parents had met their court-ordered obligations, and the case was closed. Roxanne told Vikki, “I don’t want you to get another CASA case because then I won’t see you anymore.” But Vikki promised she would continue to stay in contact with Roxanne and her family, and she has honored her pledge – even though it was not required.

“The family knew they could count on me,” Vikki says. “And the most important thing was that I was able to develop a relationship with Roxanne at a time when she really needed someone.”

Roxanne, now in middle school, says, “If something ever happens again and we had to get a CASA lady, I’d like to have Vikki again.”