Court volunteers for neglected children present flag during Formula 1

Volunteers for neglected children will present the American flag during Formula 1’s national anthem presentation.

Sixty volunteers with CASA, for Court Appointed Special Advocates, will be on the fast track at the Las Vegas Grand Prix at 9:40 p.m. Saturday. They will be joined by the R&B group Boyz II Men, who will sing The Star Spangled Banner.

Each year, Formula 1 selects a local organization for the ceremony to recognize their contributions and show appreciation, according to a CASA news release. The organization’s website says that CASA volunteers “represent the best interest of abused and neglected children in the community.”

CASA volunteers, recruited, screened, and trained by the program, establish relationships with their assigned children. They must spend two to three hours a week with the children and others involved in their lives. This often requires learning a child’s unique history while providing consistency and stability.

Volunteers speak for children in school and make recommendations to the court regarding the safety, permanence and well-being of assigned children.

“CASA volunteers demonstrate the best of our community and give so much of themselves to advocate for our most vulnerable children,” Family Court Judge David Gibson Jr. said in the news release.

“The recognition from the Clark County Commissioners and Formula 1 is valued. Their efforts to honor CASA volunteers and get the word out on the urgent need for CASA volunteers to speak for abused and neglected children takes our message to an exceptional new level.”

The news release also said that volunteer participation in the event would bring attention to the more than 3,000 children in foster care in Clark County who need a CASA volunteer.

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.