Advocate and Donor Continues Lifetime of Philanthropy

Mary Atwell is a woman on the move, balancing her well-deserved life of retirement travel while serving as a CASA volunteer advocate to neglected and abused children. Mary has been a CASA for 17 years, providing a strong and consistent voice for children of all ages.

Prior to retirement, Mary worked in community mental health with chronically mentally ill adults and in human resources. She chose to volunteer for CASA after looking at several other organizations serving children and deciding that CASA was the best fit.

She remains dedicated to the organization because of the commitment of the program managers and directors, “who are very supportive of the volunteers.”

Mary’s reason for volunteering is the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children and the fact that “CASA is a very well-run organization.” She also underscores her finding that, as a donor, her contributions to CASA are “well-spent and well-managed.”

In addition to volunteering as an advocate, Mary also serves as a peer coordinator, providing mentorship to new volunteers. Mary’s interest in serving others was born out of her experience growing up in a community-engaged family in Grand Rapids, Mich. Her mother was a social worker and her dad worked for the United Way. As a member of the Bedford Democrats, she has also provided supporter housing to presidential campaign volunteers.

Thank you so much to Mary and all our wonderful CASA volunteers!