CASA of Carson City receives corporate donation from Casey Neilon accounting firm

CASA of Carson City received an early holiday gift from Casey Neilon, an accounting firm with offices in Reno and Carson City, in the form of a sizeable donation.

CASA, or Court Appointed Special Advocates, provides quality court-appointed advocacy for abused and neglected children in child welfare cases, through a network of community volunteers who work with children to ensure their voices are heard during court proceedings.

The Casey Neilon donation will help fulfill wishes of children and families in need of extra support who were referred to the Angel Tree program by the Carson City School District.

Melanie “Emmy” McCormick, guardian ad litem and executive director of CASA of Carson City, said CASA works closely with the school district as teachers and school staff are the biggest front line of defense in spotting a child who may be part of a family that’s struggling financially and or emotionally.

“Many times, one of the first key pieces contributing to a family spiraling to such a degree where their children are removed from their home in child welfare cases is loss of employment or familial support and depression,” McCormick said. “For each family, we work on collecting the gifts requested and many times, that will entail acquiring warm, winter clothing for the children as part of the collection of presents.”

McCormick said families don't go bad overnight. Families typically begin to falter slowly and are overcome and overrun with grief, poor decisions and a lack of family or community support.

“My thought is simple: Get in there before that happens,” she said. “Remind families that there are still those who are here and willing to work with them, empower them, strengthen them and keep that collective family unit together as a whole.”

McCormick said CASA works closely with organizations like Juvenile Probation and the Ron Wood Family Resource Center so agencies who serve similar populations can join forces and share scarce resources.

“While Nevada struggles to have enough services and resources, this community has always been wonderful to us,” she said. “I still get shocked at people’s generosity, kindness and compassion so that children don’t lose sight of magic and hope in the world and they don’t stop believing.”

CASA’s relationship with Casey Neilon began over three years ago when Darsi Casey, co-founder and managing shareholder of Casey Neilon, offered pro bono consulting and accounting services. Shortly thereafter, she went through the training to become a CASA volunteer.

“I’m grateful for the tax help, but I’m so grateful to have Darsi as a volunteer,” McCormick said. “She’s very calm and she sits with children at their level. She’s present and focused. You can just see the kids respond to this adult who is here just for them.”

For her part, Casey said she volunteers with CASA not only to do her small part to help children and families in crisis, but also to learn about how the various systems work in our community and our country, including the juvenile judicial system, the Department of Child and Family Services and all of the ancillary support systems that strive to work together.

“Through this learning process, I hope to make a bigger impact by one day creating a foundation dedicated to furthering the interests of children in crisis,” she said.

Casey urged other companies to consider forgoing client gifts and contribute what would have been spent on those to area non-profits.

“We’re all in this situation where many offices have gone to remote work and traditional business gifts may go unused,” she said. “I can’t think of a better way to share our good fortune with someone who may be in need of some help.”

For more information on CASA of Carson City, visit www.carsoncitycasa.org.

In the Photo: Darsi Casey (top left), co-founder and shareholder of Casey Neilon, has served as a CASA volunteer for the past three years. Casey Neilon presented CASA of Carson City a sizeable donation in lieu of client gifts this year, and encourages other companies to do to the same.

About Casey Neilon
Darsi Casey and Nicola Neilon founded Casey Neilon in 2006 to address the unique and specific accounting needs of entrepreneurs. Casey Neilon specializes in complex client groups, including estate and trust work, providing a variety of services depending on the specific needs of the client. The firm has offices in Reno and Carson City, Nevada, serving clients globally.