The story behind the shoes

The story goes that a woman was in court where a CASA representative was being appointed to represent her child’s interests. The judge asked the woman if she knew what CASA was.

“Oh, yes,” the woman said. “They’re the people who sell shoes.”

CASA, which stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates, might indeed be better known in Lynchburg for its annual shoe sale fundraiser than for the work the national organization does advocating for abused and neglected children, according to Jane Carter Francis, executive director of Lynchburg’s CASA.

The ninth annual Heart and Sole Shoe Market is coming up Saturday. It is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Lynchburg Armory, 1200 Church St.

Shoe companies — part of the heart and soul of Lynchburg’s history — donate the shoes for the sale. At the sale, the shoes go for $5 to $20 and proceeds go to CASA.

Brands include Madeline, Nicole, Palladium, Apepazza, Poetic License, AquaDuck and Duck Head Footwear.

The idea came from former board member Blair Moseley of Consolidated Shoe. She knew shoe companies will donate shoes for worthy causes and she knew CASA needed a good fundraiser. A light bulb went on, Francis said.

The sale has become an annual event. It also offers CASA an opportunity to raise awareness about what it does and its need for volunteers, Francis said.

CASA started when a judge in Seattle faced a docket swamped with cases involving abused and neglected children. The judge had no independent source of information to help try to determine what would be in the best interests of those children.

So he asked that volunteers be trained to look into such cases and make a recommendations to the court.

That was two decades ago. CASA now has programs around the country, including Lynchburg’s, which was started in 1989 by Judge Dale Harris.

During the previous fiscal year, Lynchburg’s 93 CASA volunteers served 444 children from Lynchburg and the counties of Amherst, Bedford, Campbell and Nelson. But more than 30 other children went without representation because CASA simply did not have enough volunteers.

For more information, call (434) 528-2552, e-mail . or visit http://www.cvcasa.org.