CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH CONTINUES WITH
PUMP’N PETES’ FUNDRAISER FOR CASA
April is Child Abuse Prevention month nationally, and Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA) has joined with Pump N Pete’s Corp of Erie on a pledge card fundraiser during April. Pete’s operates 47 convenience stores and fuel stations in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma and the effort will benefit 5 CASA organizations in those same areas CASA of the 31st Judicial District, CASA of the 23rd and Bourbon County CASA in Kansas; Child Advocates of Northeast Oklahoma and Southwest Missouri Child Advocates.
“Pinwheels for Prevention – Partners for Children” is an easy, stress-free and fun way to help children in foster care. Pete’s cashiers will ask you to donate and all you do is say YES! You get to sign a Pinwheel Pledge Card and hang it in the store to commemorate your donation. If you donate $5 or more at one time you get a raffle ticket good for a chance at winning a $25 cash prize in each store and the winners from each store will go on to a GRAND PRIZE DRAWING at the end of April for $250 at the Pete’s Corporate Office in Parsons.
The funds raised are used to recruit, train, prepare and support Advocate Volunteers who are appointed by County Judges to help children who have been abused or neglected and found to be in need of care by the court. The Advocates partner with the children, speak up for their best interest in court and guide them successfully through their time in foster care. Once appointed, the CASA is always there for the child until he or she is released from custody. Funds have also been used in emergencies to pay for athletics, music lessons, summer camp, winter coats, Christmas gifts, adoption gifts, life books, special equipment and special clothing for children in the CASA programs. CASA programs are non-profit and must raise their own funds.
The Pinwheel Fundraiser is in its sixth year and Pete’s Corporation has made it a competition between stores, area managers and district managers, even offering corporate incentives to all employees to do their best for CASA. From there the managers and employees have gotten very creative and have taken the competition to heart! All stores do something special or host an event to supplement the fundraiser and many do some truly zany things. Several managers have taken cream pies to the face if the store reaches a set goal or offered to get dunked in a water tank for extra money; others have thrown a BBQ or pizza party when employees post so many pledge cards. There were dueling bake sales between stores in the same town; car washes that got drowned by rain but continued anyway; body painting; dance-a-thons; characters greeting customers; lotto winnings donated by employees and customers and public competition to have the most pinwheels on the wall! At the end CASA throws a luncheon party, awards a trophy and publicly recognizes the top fundraising Pump’n Pete’s Store in each state, both individually and at the following Pump’n Pete’s Corporate meeting at Parsons, KS.
CASA and Pump’n Pete’s invite everyone to join the fun and help unfortunate children at the same time. Children who did nothing wrong but wound up in foster care anyway. Donations to CASA are fully tax deductable and CASA is recognized as a 502(c)(3) charity by the IRS.