Mary Moffett holds parents accountable to help reunite families
When it comes to advocating for kids in the child welfare system, the need is huge. Mary Moffett knows this to be true from a decade of experience as a CASA volunteer in both Montana and Colorado.
“I think that the hardest thing I had to learn being a CASA, but the most important lesson you can learn, is that you can’t judge people,” the seasoned advocate said.
When Mary made the move to Colorado Springs from Bozeman, Montana back in 2014, she immediately looked up CASA of the Pikes Peak Region and offered her time and heart to children in her home state.
“They brought me up to speed and gave me six kids immediately all under the age of eight, and in three different foster homes.”
The six children on Mary’s first Colorado case are part of the Schuler family – the family featured by CASA at its 2022 Light of Hope fundraiser.
By not judging, by fiercely advocating for the kids, and by holding the parents accountable, Mary played a pivotal role in reuniting the six siblings with their father, Thomas. In this case, holding the parents accountable meant encouraging Thomas as he fought addiction and ultimately turned his life around.
“In all of my CASA cases, I hold the parents accountable for their actions and getting their priorities straightened out and putting the kids first. I was so proud of him,” she said.
“Sometimes doing this work, you wonder if you’re making a difference but then the dad called me one time and said he just wanted me to know that I saved his life,” Mary said. “I have a full-time job. I have a huge family. It’s not that I have time. I have heart. I wonder why I do this – and that’s why.”
Mary’s big heart has made a difference on twelve different CASA cases over the past decade. The lives she has touched are countless.
She’s a busy Project Adviser at FedEX, a mother and grandmother, dog mom, yoga lover, and TESSA volunteer as well. If you’re a believer that having the capability to give back means you should give back, then time is often not an issue.
“I was a single mom and raised my girls by myself. I had a domestic violence situation early in my life that I had to overcome, so when I see these women or sometimes the men in the same situation thinking there is no way out – I can tell them ‘You can do it. You can get through it. This is not your story. It may be a chapter but it’s not your story’.”
If you want to help people write a new chapter to their story like Mary does, please check out CASA volunteer opportunities and sign up for an upcoming Volunteer Information Session.