LA Junta Tribune
La Junta City Council voted unanimously its Monday meeting to issue a one-time donation of $1,000 to the Arkansas Valley Court Appointed Special Advocate organization, which is a nonprofit in the valley that serves abused and neglected children.
Cynthia Sollenbarger of Arkansas Valley CASA attended the council meeting to request a donation as part of a round of fundraising she is participating in for the organization.
Sollenbarger said that despite a very challenging year due to limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 has been the valley court-appointed advocate group's most successful year since its start in 2017.
In 2020, Arkansas Valley CASA served 43 children. The group had to turn away 35 others, but 2020 marked the first year that the organization served more children than it had to turn down.