Beyond the Byline: We need more volunteers like Bill Pollard

The story about Bill Pollard that ran on Sunday got me to thinking about just how important volunteers are to so many organizations and to the community as a whole.

Pollard, 59 of White Haven, is a volunteer with the Luzerne County Court-Appointed Special Advocate program, helping kids caught up in the court system to navigate the court process.

CASA of Luzerne County Executive Director John Aciukewicz said the program is central to fulfilling society’s most fundamental obligation, by making sure a qualified, compassionate adult will fight for and protect a child’s right to be safe, to be treated with dignity and respect and to learn and grow in the security of a loving family.

Aciukewicz said currently CASA has 45 volunteer advocates serving 72 children, and there are 510 Luzerne County children in foster care placement.

Like so many vital nonprofit organizations in Luzerne County, CASA needs more volunteers.

With dwindling funding from sources such as the federal and state governments, nonprofits rely on the community to donate so they can not just keep the status quo, but that they can keep up with ever-increasing demands for programming. More and more nonprofit organizations are seeing increased demands for services and for the basics, like food and clothing and shelter.

Many people in need are dependent on help from these organizations in a whole array of services that address issues like mental health, job seeking, recreation, help for the disabled, programs for the elderly, medical and legal assistance, childhood needs such as education and hunger, and many, many more.

The fact is, the need for all of these programs is real and those needs are growing at alarming rates.

To have any chance of keeping up with that demand, the community has to respond.

Most of the organizations are constantly searching for ways to raise the necessary funds to continue operating. They hold fundraising events that provide some help, and they apply for grants from foundations and other sources, as well as rely on marketing plans that get their messages out to the community. Awareness is often the key to finding help.

That’s why stories like the one about CASA’s Bill Pollard are so important. Everyone connected to CASA knows about Pollard and his dedication to the organization and the children it serves.

But that’s not enough.

The community must know what goes on in the real world. Every organization has a story that must be told. If the need for these organizations and their programs and their positive effects on the community must continue, then we must do all we can to do our part to see that they, in fact, do continue.

Bill Pollard has a job. He works as a safety manager for a nationwide construction company. He and his wife, Michelle, are the parents of two adult daughters.

Pollard volunteers in his spare time. He does this because he knows how important his volunteer work is to CASA and its participants.

During his five and a half years helping CASA, Pollard has worked on four cases.

“What really got me interested, was when I saw kids in dependency court,” Pollard said. “These were kids who needed a lot of help — they had more needs than your average child in a single-parent household.”

Pollard said there are many enjoyable parts of being a CASA. And, as you might expect, there can be heartache and heartbreak.

“As a CASA, you always hope that the outcome is what is the absolute best for the child,” he said. “These kids have been through some tough times. We are always looking for a good resolution — maybe a return to family — a good, long-term solutions.”

Aciukewicz said despite working full time, Pollard has always made the time necessary to fulfill his role as an advocate.

“Volunteer advocates are the ‘heart and soul’ of our program,” Aciukewicz said. “Bill exemplifies that in a very meaningful way. Our program, and children’s lives, are better because of Bill.”

That’s why we need more volunteers in this community like Bill Pollard.