ProKids

Who We Are: ProKids has a vision of a safe, permanent and nurturing home for every child in Hamilton County. To do that, for the past 40 years, we have mobilized our community to break the vicious cycle of child abuse and neglect. We recruit, train, and support community volunteers to speak up for children who have been abused and neglected and help guide them into safe environments where they can thrive. These volunteers, backed by our generous donors, create a new cycle of growing up safe and secure, fundamentally changing the future for our children and our entire community.

What We Do: Known as CASA Volunteers, Court Appointed Special Advocates are community members who advocate for the best interest of abused and neglected children. CASA Volunteers are trained and supported so that they can get to know the child and everyone in the child’s life. These volunteers then advise Hamilton County Juvenile Court, which ultimately decides who will raise the child and give them a safe, permanent, nurturing home. In about 10 hours a month, CASA Volunteers help children heal from trauma and move to a brighter future.

Why We’re Important: Childhood trauma, including abuse and neglect, casts a long shadow in a child’s life. When this trauma continues, children have an uncertain future. They are more likely to drop out of school, to become homeless, to experience teenage pregnancy, to develop substance addictions, to be unemployed and abuse their own children. When ProKids is involved, 99% of our children are safe from abuse and neglect and they can move forward to an adulthood full of promise. Thanks to our donors and volunteers, ProKids changes the lives of children and the future of our Hamilton County community.

How We Serve the Community: There is nothing more fundamental than a home for a child. But when a child’s home is unstable and violent, they can be removed from their family and become part of the child protection system, a governmental safety net that is overwhelmed by the number of Hamilton County children in need. ProKids collaborates within this system to directly advocate for individual children, thanks to dedicated volunteers who are backed by passionate ProKids staff members. This is all possible because of generous community donors who are behind the recruitment, training and support of ProKids volunteers. How You Can Help: You can help ProKids children by becoming a part of our mobilized community. Your one-time contribution or sustaining, ongoing gift at www.prokids.org/donate enables our volunteers to directly advocate for our children. Your gift can honor someone you care about, or mark an important date. You can make your gift online with your credit card, by check, through a gift of stock, as a Qualified Charitable Distribution through your IRA and/or in your estate plan. We also welcome your help as a CASA Volunteer to work directly with abused and neglected children at www.prokids.org/volunteer.

ProKids 2605 Burnet Avenue Cincinnati, OH 45219 (513) 281-2000 www.prokids.org Facebook: @ProKidsCASA Instagram: prokidscasa

Executive Director: Tracy Cook Email: info@prokids.org

Community Director: Jennifer McKettrick Email: jmckettrick@prokids.org

2019-2021 Board Officers President: Robert A. McMahon Immediate Past President: John M. Hands President Elect: JoAnn G. Hagopian Treasurer: Steve Moser Secretary: Wynndel Watts

2021-2023 Board Officers President: JoAnn G. Hagopian Immediate Past President: Robert A. McMahon President Elect: Mackenzie Chavez Treasurer: Stephen Brown Secretary: Mike Hines

President Emeritus: Jeb H. Head President Emeritus: T.D. Hughes