CASA Wine Trail Offers a Fall Day of Fun With a Mission Behind Every Mile
A charter bus, three Jefferson County wineries, fall scenery, games, prizes, and a day spent with friends may sound like the makings of a perfect October outing.
For CASA of Jefferson County, the annual Wine Trail is all of that, but behind the fun is a much larger purpose.
The organization will host its annual Wine Trail on Saturday, October 10, beginning at 10:30 a.m. Guests will board a charter bus at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Hillsboro before traveling to Villa Antonio Winery, Old Farm Winery, and LaChance Winery in De Soto. Tickets are $75 per person.
CASA board member Donna Goede said the event grew out of a desire to introduce CASA to people who might not attend the organization’s more formal Gala.
“We wanted to do something that helped get the word out,” Goede said. “How do we find that middle ground? How do we find something that would be fun, that would get us around Jefferson County, and that would allow us to have partners in a less formal setting?”
That idea became the Wine Trail, an intentionally relaxed event designed as much around community and awareness as fundraising.
Guests will spend about 90 minutes at each winery, with games, attendance prizes, and raffles along the way. Each participant will also receive a T-shirt and an insulated wine tumbler. Purchases at the wineries, including food, wine, and additional raffle tickets, are optional and are not included in the ticket price.
Goede said the wineries have embraced CASA's involvement, donating wine for prizes and helping share the organization's message with their own guests.
“It’s just a fun, fun day,” Goede said. “We make a little money for CASA, but we also get the word out to people.”
Along the route, participants will also hear a little about each winery and the families behind them. This year’s destinations offer three different traditions, with Villa Antonio representing an Italian influence, Old Farm Winery a German influence, and LaChance a French influence.
A Consistent Voice for a Child
While the Wine Trail is designed to be lighthearted, the mission it supports addresses some of the most difficult circumstances children in Jefferson County can experience.
CASA, or Court Appointed Special Advocates, works with children in foster care by providing trained adult volunteers who serve as advocates for children as they move through the court and child welfare systems.
A CASA volunteer receives specialized training before being assigned to a child, or sometimes a sibling group. Volunteers spend time getting to know the child, visit regularly, attend court proceedings, and provide reports to judges that help ensure the child's experiences, needs, and perspective are heard.
For Goede, one of the most important things people can understand about children entering foster care is that the circumstances surrounding them were never theirs to choose.
Photo courtesy of CASA of Jefferson County
“I am always amazed at the people who don't understand that these children truly, truly have no choice in what's happening with them,” Goede said.
Even when a child is removed from a home because of serious problems, she said, that home was still familiar. Suddenly entering a new home, surrounded by unfamiliar adults and circumstances, can create another enormous disruption.
That is where the consistency of a CASA volunteer can become especially meaningful.
“The CASA is there to help stabilize some of that,” Goede said. “They're there to give them that friendly face, that look that says, ‘I know this person, and I know they're going to listen to me.’”
Goede spent nearly 30 years as a school counselor and worked with many children facing difficult circumstances. After retiring, she became an ordained minister and now works with young people through a local church. Those experiences have shaped how she views CASA's role and the importance of giving children a reliable adult connection during an unstable period in their lives.
Children who have experienced trauma do not always respond in ways adults immediately understand, she said. Fear, confusion, anger, and instability can sometimes appear as difficult behavior.
Goede hopes the community can remember what children in foster care may have already endured.
Where the Support Goes
Money raised through events like the Wine Trail helps CASA recruit, train, and support the volunteers who take on that responsibility.
Training helps prospective advocates understand the foster care and court systems, the expectations placed on CASA volunteers, and the legal and practical considerations involved in serving a child. CASA staff members then continue supporting advocates after they begin working with children, giving volunteers someone to turn to when questions or difficult situations arise.
That ongoing support matters because CASA's work depends not only on finding people willing to volunteer, but on preparing them to become the steady, dependable adults children need.
“Everything that we do goes back to the kids,” Goede said. “We want the kids to have a good experience with their CASA, but we want those CASA volunteers to feel fully and completely supported in what they're doing.”
For Wine Trail guests, supporting that mission can begin with something as simple as climbing aboard a bus and spending a fall Saturday exploring Jefferson County.
The bus will depart from the parking lot behind the Jefferson County Courthouse at 10:30 a.m. and is expected to return by approximately 6:30 p.m. CASA asks participants to arrange transportation home from the courthouse following the event for their safety.
Tickets are $75 per person, and reservations are required.
For Goede, the hope is that guests leave with good memories of the wineries, the scenery, and the people they met along the way, but also with a greater understanding of the children and volunteers at the heart of CASA.
Because for a child experiencing a season when nearly everything around them may be changing, having one person who consistently shows up, listens, and speaks up for them can make all the difference.
Enjoy a day exploring Jefferson County while helping support the trained advocates who stand beside children in foster care.
Local businesses and community supporters can become a Wine Trail sponsor for $200.
Sponsors receive program recognition and their full-color logo on the official Wine Trail T-shirt. The shirts are also displayed year-round at participating wineries, extending your support for CASA beyond the day of the event.
Whether you attend, sponsor, give, volunteer, or simply learn more, every connection helps CASA continue building a community where children have someone in their corner.
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