The Power of Showing Up: My Journey As A CASA

Written by Andrea Herschberger

Sometimes the biggest changes in the world don’t come from grand gestures or sweeping programs. Sometimes, they come from one person quietly deciding to say yes.

For me, that yes became a calling — and a lifeline for children who needed someone steady in
their corner.

Seeing What Was Always There

I grew up in a sheltered home (for which I’m grateful). It wasn’t until I became involved in children’s ministry at church and began sending our sons to public school that my perspective
shifted.

Suddenly, I noticed something I had previously missed.

There were children all around me — next door, in the same stores, eating at the same McDonald’s — whose childhoods looked very different from my own. Many were carrying
heavy burdens from difficult home situations, struggles that often showed up in the classroom.

What struck me most wasn’t just their hardship. It was how easy it had been not to see them.

As some doors at church and school closed for me, I started looking for another way to support hurting kids. That search led me to CASA.

A question still comes back to me often: When I’ve been given so much, how can I not give back?

What People Often Miss About These Kids

One of the biggest misconceptions I’ve learned is that children need perfect environments to thrive.

Although living standards may be different than my own, a child can be loved, safe, and cared for in a wide variety of scenarios. They don’t need perfection or elaborate surroundings.

They need simple, steady things, like:

• A dependable adult
• A predictable routine
• Food to eat
• Access to education
• A safe place to sleep

Simple — but life-changing.

The Quiet Power of Consistency

Perhaps the most profound example of impact came through a large sibling group I served.

These children had endured severe physical, emotional, and educational neglect. Because of numerous unforeseen issues, they couldn’t be placed together — a heartbreaking reality that stretched their case over several years.

During that time, the system around them kept changing:

• Seven placement homes
• Four Family Case Managers
• Three judges

But from beginning to end, I remained. I was their CASA — the only constant in their devastating time in “the system”.

Eventually, the siblings were adopted into three separate loving families. I had the privilege of attending every adoption.

One of the greatest victories, in my opinion, is that all three adoptive families are committed to keeping the siblings connected.

Recently, one of the parents sent me a picture of all of them together celebrating a birthday.

That was the cherry on top for me.

The Myth of the Big Platform

If you’re someone with a big platform and massive resources, by all means, use them to do
big, splashy things.

But the older I get, the more convinced I am of this truth: The biggest changes in the world are made not by a few people doing big things, but by many people doing small things.

I can’t solve world hunger.
I can’t give every child a safe place to sleep.
I can’t stop every adult who fails their children.

But I can make a difference for a few children right around me. And sometimes, that is exactly where real change begins.