Sierra Cady, owner of Healthies of Hillsdale, has been involved in the Court Appointed Special Advocates program for 10 years now. On Wednesday, Feb. 12, her store donated $1 of every smoothie-tea combo purchase to the Hillsdale CASA, along with money that was put into a donation bucket.
CASA Director Heather Upton said CASA relies on donations and grants because it is a nonprofit organization.
“We appreciate the generosity of Healthies very much. They are a big supporter of our program,” Upton said. “We use donations to help cover things that the grants won’t cover, such as volunteer recognition.”
Cady owns a Healthies store in Jackson, Michigan, where she originally started partnering with CASA. In January 2019, she opened a store in Hillsdale as well. She said Upton became a customer of hers, and when she found out through Upton that there was a CASA program in Hillsdale, she wanted to help.
“We like helping the kids, they’re kids in need,” Cady said. “We have a CASA in Jackson that we support, and we do that for like 50 kids.”
Healthies partnered with CASA back in December to help provide for kids around Christmas time.
“Healthies had a collection box at the club accepting donations for things such as crayons, color books, and toy cars,” Upton said.
Hillsdale College junior Carmen Botha visited Healthies on Wednesday to order her favorite smoothie and help CASA.
“I am happy to help little children in any way possible,” Botha said.
CASA is a nonprofit organization that trains volunteers to serve and mentor children who suffer from neglect and abuse. These volunteers meet weekly with the children and then can advocate for them in court room situations.
This nonprofit was founded by Juvenile Court Judge David W. Soukup in Seattle, Washington, in 1977. He realized the need for more information when making life-altering decisions for children. By having volunteers serve as advocates for these children, courts can make better decisions. The program helps more than 270,000 children across the nation.