Become an Advocate
CCCA has a diverse volunteer team. CCCA volunteer Guardian ad Litem are professionals, parents, college students, persons with lived experience, and retired professionals. CCCA has a volunteer opportunity for you whether you have 3 hours per month to give or more.
We also encourage advocates to work in groups of two, so bring your spouse or best friend along!
Training
We provide 40 hours of initial training over the course of 4 weeks. CCCA training sessions are offered virtually, four times a year. Classes occur in the day and evenings to accommodate your schedule. After the initial preservice training, advocates will complete 12 hours of continuing education each year. We provide monthly opportunities for lunchtime learning, as well as evening and weekend professional development opportunities.
Why We Need You
CCCA serves approximately 700 children at any given time. We currently have around 120 trained and active volunteers and 15 team members. One of our main priorities is to identify and train more volunteers, so each child has a volunteer Guardian ad Litem to focus on their case and individual needs. Volunteers GAL typically serve one or two families allowing the volunteer to spend an more time with each child/family.
If this opportunity does not sound like a good fit for you at this time, please pass our information along to your friends, coworkers, or family members that might be interested or consider supporting the work we do by visiting our donation page.
Other Volunteer Opportunities
If becoming an advocate is not a perfect fit for you, we would love to have help in your area of expertise. We are very grateful to our current volunteers who come and help with small maintenance projects around the office, cleaning, and assisting at community and tabling events. We also are appreciative of our amazing board members who play a vital role in fundraising.
Volunteer of the Year
We feel very proud because we have 120+ volunteers working with Cowlitz and Clark County County Children.
Bob Ross
Bob has volunteered with Cowlitz and Clark County Child Advocates since 2010. He served together with his wife, and continued to serve on his own after her passing. Throughout the years, he has advocated in several cases helping over a dozen children find their way to a permanent, safe, and loving home. Whether the children were adopted or have been able to reunify with their parents, a highlight for Bob is working with people who really care, in order to give each child their best chance at a forever home.
Bob has three children and four grandchildren. He retired as a Lutheran Minister in 2008, and has kept very busy since then. In addition to his Child Advocacy work, Bob has also volunteered with AARP, helping seniors and low-income families with their taxes each year. He is part of the Castle Rock Men’s Ensemble, a singing group that performs in nursing homes, schools, and both the U.S. and Canadian National anthem when needed! Bob often volunteers in his son’s classroom at St. Rose as a tutor.
It is our great honor to celebrate this humble man. He has done so much for the children of Cowlitz and Clark County over the last decade. Thank you, Bob, for your years of dedicated advocacy for our community’s children!
Impact
Empowering Young People, Strengthening Families, Investing in the Community
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Number of Children Currently Being Served by CCCA
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Number of Children with a Volunteer GAL
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Number of Children Assigned a Staff GAL
Our Community Partners
We are very grateful to our community partners who have generously committed to sponsor Child Advocates this year.
