Each month, CASA of East Tennessee shines a spotlight on a particular volunteer who has gone above and beyond in their service of Knox County children. This month, we would like to offer a round of applause to Amy Sanders!
Amy has been a CASA volunteer since October 2021. We asked her what drew her to this work and volunteering as an advocate has lined up with her expectations.
"When my husband and I became empty-nesters, I wanted to do something I felt was useful with my extra time. I have family members that volunteer as GALs in another state and heard their stories about situations some children find themselves in due to no fault of their own. It broke my heart! So I contacted CASA to see what it would take to be a part of helping children in Knoxville that find themselves in similar situations. So here I am, loving every minute of being a CASA and helping the children in my cases by advocating for them in the court system. My expectations going in as an advocate were that I would be skimming the surface of the cases, but mostly just visiting the children. It has been so much more interesting than I thought it would be. I love digging into the details of my cases and learning the background of the parties involved. It helps me better understand how and why the situations are the way they are."
Amy enjoys the feeling of making a difference in the lives of children. Outside of volunteering with CASA, Amy likes traveling, reading, and gardening, and says she's looking forward to home grown tomatoes and cucumbers this year. Amy and her husband have three children and two dogs, Milo and Oakley, who Amy says are very spoiled (the dogs, not the children).
Amy is looking forward to vacationing at the beach this summer, and she's planning a tropical getaway with her husband between Christmas and New Year's Day.
We are so grateful for you Amy!