Bike ride to raise funds for Flathead CASA

A pedal trip from Meadow Lake Resort to Creston or Echo Lake on July 28 will raise money for Voices for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children) in Flathead County.

Voices for CASA is a national organization that provides funding to help recruit and train volunteers to serve as court appointed special advocates for abused and neglected children who have been removed from the their homes and whose future rests with the court system.

It will be the first event of it’s kind where all the proceeds benefit children in the Flathead. Every September Voices for CASA hosts a bike ride called Park-to-Park, where riders pedal from Yellowstone to Glacier to raise money for CASAs all over the state.

Flathead CASA board member Jeannine Trousdale said when they found out that only a certain percentage of that ride benefitted Flathead County, they decided to form their own ride so that all the proceeds could stay in the valley.

“It’s a really valuable fundraiser,” Trousdale said. “Children are in need of a CASA through no fault of their own.”

Trousdale said there are currently 42 children in the Flathead that don’t have a CASA and need one. Each CASA is a volunteer and it takes completing a month-long course to become one. It costs just over $1,000 to support the needs of a CASA.

There are currently 68 CASA volunteers in Flathead County who provide children with a way to cope in foster homes, with adoption and through family reunification.

“The money from this event is going to train the volunteers so that they can be a voice for those children,” Trousdale said.

The event starts at 8 a.m. on Saturday, July 28. Participators need to be at Hucklebear’s Hideout Park at Meadow Lake Resort by 7:30 a.m.

It costs $60 for a 70-mile bike ride that runs along the foothills of the Swan Range to the Echo Lake Community Center and back to Meadow Lake Resort. The 40-mile bike ride costs $50 and takes riders along the same route, but stops at the Mennonite Church in Creston before heading back to the resort.

The ride is fully supported with food and beverage stops, mechanical support and sag wagons. Registration for the event ends July 25. To fill out a form or learn more about the ride visit www.casaride.wordpress.com. For questions call Helen Cates at 270-4407 or Betsy Bayne at 871-8827.