The reunion he never expected to see

Photo: Kate Kennedy* and her father.

Many CASA/GAL volunteers never get to see how the story ends. They show up during a moment of uncertainty—a difficult chapter in a child’s life—and then, at some point, they step away. They trust that what they did mattered, even if they never witness what comes next.

More than 30 years ago, my dad was one of those volunteers. In the mid-1990s, he stepped in to support a young child navigating a complicated family situation. There was tension, distrust, and a lot of emotion between the adults involved. The child was just four years old.

My dad’s role was simple, at least on the surface. At that time, CASA/GAL volunteers were sometimes assigned to observe family visits. He showed up for a few hours every other Saturday. He sat in the room. He observed. He provided a steady, neutral presence during visits between a father and his son.

It wasn’t a large time commitment—he often reflects that all those hours together didn’t even add up to a full work week. He wasn’t doing it for recognition or acknowledgment. There was simply a need, and he stepped in. But what he understood, even then, was that something important was at stake.

No matter what was happening between the adults, he believed that when it is safe, a child should not lose connection with their parent. His role became creating the space for that relationship to continue—ensuring that visits could happen, that trust could build, and that the child had the opportunity to know his father.

After about six months, our family moved, and my dad’s role in that child’s life came to an end. Like many CASA/GAL volunteers, he didn’t know how the child’s life unfolded in the years or even decades that followed.

Until recently.

More than three decades later, he unexpectedly reconnected with that same child at a regional church function—now an adult. In the course of conversation, he was excited to learn that the relationship between the child and his father—the one he had worked to support all those years ago—had endured. It was a reminder that when it is safe to do so, preserving family connections can shape a child’s life for decades to come.

For my dad, that was the most meaningful part. Not recognition. Not credit. Just the quiet confirmation that, during a critical moment, he had helped protect something that mattered—and that it lasted.

He often says that volunteers don’t always get to see this part of the story. They don’t always know what happens after they step away. But moments of steady presence—of showing up, of creating space for connection—can carry forward in ways we may never fully see.

That is the power of CASA/GAL volunteers. They step in when it matters most. They bring stability into uncertain moments. And sometimes, even if they never know it, they help shape outcomes that last a lifetime.

This April, during Volunteer Appreciation Month, we extend our deepest gratitude to CASA/GAL volunteers across the country—past and present—whose quiet commitment continues to shape brighter futures for children and families.

*Kate Kennedy is the Chief Development Officer at the National CASA/GAL Association and a foster parent.