CASA Book Club – Sep 16 2026

Join fellow CASA volunteers for a special four-session book club exploring Foster Care to Freedom by Nathaniel Bustamante. Through his raw and deeply personal memoir, Nate shares his journey through foster care, group homes, addiction, incarceration, and ultimately healing and redemption. His story offers a powerful firsthand perspective on the experiences of many youth involved in the child welfare system and the profound impact that supportive adults can have along the way.

This unique learning opportunity will help CASA volunteers deepen their understanding of trauma, resilience, belonging, and the challenges youth face both within and beyond the foster care system. Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on how these insights can strengthen their advocacy and better inform their work with children and families.

Sessions will be offered as both in-person and virtual formats to accommodate volunteers across our program. As a special feature, author Nathaniel Bustamante will join us in-person for each session to help facilitate the discussions, answer questions, and share additional insights from his lived experience.

The book club discussions will cover the following sections:

Session 1: Weds, Sept 2nd at 6pm Introduction through Chapter 4 (pages 1 – 28)

Session 2: Weds, Sept 9th at 6pm Chapters 5 through 27 (pages 29 – 126)

Session 3: Weds, Sept 16th at 6pm Chapters 28 through 57 (pages 127 – 266)

Session 4: Weds, Sept 30th at 6pm Chapter 58 through Final Thoughts (pages 267 – 295)

We have several copies of the book in the CASA office for our volunteers to borrow. Please contact Jill Dalton at jilldalton@casajeffcogilpin.com if you’d like to check out a copy. Otherwise, you can purchase a copy of the book here.

Don’t miss this opportunity to engage in meaningful conversation, connect with fellow advocates, and learn directly from a powerful voice with firsthand experience navigating the child welfare system. Please RSVP here.

Continuing Education Credit: Volunteers with CASA of Jefferson and Gilpin Counties will receive 6 hours of continuing education credit for attending and participating in all four book club discussions.