Business Innovators Radio - Changing Lives: Jenifer Page on Empowering Foster Children through Champions for CASA Las Vegas

Starting point is 00:00:01 Welcome to Vegas Business Spotlight, the podcast that brings you the brightest minds and success stories from the bustling business scene in and around Las Vegas. Join us as we journey behind the neon lights and uncover the strategies, triumphs, and insights that shape the entrepreneurial landscape of the city of lights. From visionary startups to industry titans, get ready to be inspired by the stories of those who've turned dreams into reality on this iconic stage. And now, your host, Tim Nifton. Hello and welcome to another episode of Vegas Business Spotlight, sponsored by RSVP Los Vegas. I am Marco Salinas and I am your host and I am thrilled to have you here with us today as we continue our journey through the vibrant world of Las Vegas business and entrepreneurship. The next item on my agenda, though, before I dive into our actual guest for today, I do want to make sure that I highlight our.

Starting point is 00:01:01 are my partner in crime here, Mr. Tim Nifton, he's my co-host, but he's going to be a little quiet today because he's a little bit under the weather. But either way, say hello, Tim. Hey, Marka, how you doing? Thank you for being here in spite of your terrible illness. We do really appreciate that, Tim. Thanks, Marka. You're a real trooper. Now, normally we are talking directly to entrepreneurs, but today we do have someone that represents something a little bit different. Our special guest for today is actually in the nonprofit space. And so I do want to give her extend a warm welcome to her. Her name is Jennifer Page. And Ms. Jennifer is the president of champions for CASA, which is an extension of this is court appointed special advocates. Is that right,

Starting point is 00:01:53 Jennifer? Okay. So she is our special guest for today. And Jennifer does do a lot, obviously, in the nonprofit space with this wonderful group, but they do work a lot with business owners and they do work with entrepreneurs. And so there is absolutely a important connection here with the work that they are doing with the local business community in Vegas. So she is a very welcome guest on the Vegas Business Spotlight today,

Starting point is 00:02:20 even though she represents something a little bit different from the norm, we are still very much thrilled and happy to have you with us today, Jennifer. So welcome to the Vegas Business Spotlight. Yeah, thank you so much. I appreciate the opportunity. Absolutely. So usually my first step, Jennifer, when a business owner is here, we give them kind of this opportunity to give like maybe like a 30 second, you know, elevator pitch about their business or what it is that they do. And I am most certain that you could probably put something like that together an effective pitch for your nonprofit,

Starting point is 00:02:54 for your organization. So can we start with that? Give us kind of just like a, you know, short and sweet but impactful version of what it is that you do and what it is that your organization does. Yeah, absolutely. So, Marco, just to give you a little background in history, so there are 3,200 kids living in foster care here in Southern Nevada. And so one of the big things that I'm trying to do with Champions for CASA is spread awareness and make sure that the community as a whole understands the magnitude of what we're dealing with and how they can really get involved in help. And so what Champions for Casa does is we support the Casa Las Vegas program, which is run through the eighth judicial court system here in Las Vegas. And the Casa Las Vegas program really is the entity that manages all the court cases, the actual kids living in care, and manages the volunteers. I am a volunteer with that program.

Starting point is 00:03:50 I feel very passionately about this mission and what we do. And as such, I started Champions for Casa really with the intention. of being able to help them recruit new volunteers. So I mentioned there's 3,200 kids living in care. The state law is that every child living in foster care is assigned a CASA volunteer, yet we only have 300 volunteers today. So we're woefully underserved for the number of kids that we actually have. So my organization helps with all of the recruiting efforts and the retention efforts of

Starting point is 00:04:19 volunteers. So we're out spreading awareness and making sure people know how they can get involved. Very, very cool stuff. Wow. Yeah, no, this sounds like something extremely important. And, you know, myself personally, I've certainly heard of CASA. I feel like I've, and I'll give you the opportunity to kind of talk a little bit more about how long CASA's been around and when it was founded and all that stuff, because I'm sure you know that. But I know I've heard of it, but, I mean, just being honest, I really never fully knew or understood what it was about.

Starting point is 00:04:47 So obviously, there are many opportunities to kind of spread more awareness, you know, of it and the important role that you guys are playing out there, you know, with this, with this organization. So I'm really glad that we have this opportunity to have you here today to talk about it. Before we go down that road, though, Jennifer, I want to know and learn a little bit more about you. Okay. Excuse me. Sure. Yeah, I'd like to know a little bit more about your background. Can you kind of tell us about yourself?

Starting point is 00:05:13 Have you always been working with nonprofits? Did you, did you come from the corporate world? Like, you know, give me a kind of a general idea of what your background is. And then let's kind of lead that into how you, you know, came about working with CASA. and what, you know, ultimately led you to starting champions for CASA? Yeah, you bet. So I was born and raised in Chicago. I've been in Las Vegas for seven years.

Starting point is 00:05:38 And I spent most of the last 25 years in corporate America. So I was a senior executive in the HR technology space. I was able to do a lot of really cool things, had a very successful corporate career. I ran operations. So, you know, everything, soup to nuts, anything having to do with customers. clients and making the business run. Really cool story. Took the company public.

Starting point is 00:06:04 It's one of the biggest companies out there in the HR technology space. But moved to Las Vegas seven years ago and decided that it was a time for me to start to slow down and figure out what I wanted to do more in life. And so I got into CASA as a volunteer myself and realized how passionate I was about it and now started Champions for CASA. I look at it. I tell people all the time. I found work that feeds my soul.

Starting point is 00:06:29 So I was lucky enough to have a very successful corporate background career, made some money, did some cool things, got a lot of accolades and rewards and recognition along the way, and was able to translate that into giving back and doing more for my community. In addition to Champions for CASA, I am an entrepreneur here in the Las Vegas Valley. I'm a partner in a real estate development firm doing some affordable housing communities, some senior housing communities. And I'm also an investor and partner in several businesses myself. Wow, Jennifer, you've got all kinds of amazing things going on over there. Very, very cool. We might have to bring you back for a second episode and get deeper into some of that stuff as well. Okay, that's excellent.

Starting point is 00:07:11 So you've been in Vegas for seven years. And how long have you been officially involved with Champions for Casa? Yeah, so I've been a Casa volunteer for four and a half years. Champions was born, if you will, last July. So just over a year. Okay, got it. Excellent. Okay.

Starting point is 00:07:26 So now tell me a little bit more about CASA itself. So how long has CASA, the main organization, been around? Yeah, so CASA is a national organization, and it's kind of a tiered program. So there's a national organization that's been involved for just about 50 years. It was early 70s that it was created. It was actually founded by a judge here in Las Vegas that named the CASA program itself and what it is. And it really came about in ESS.

Starting point is 00:07:56 If you look at the actual child welfare system, each party in the system is represented by an attorney. So the parents have an attorney that are representing them usually to help them get their children back. The Department of Family Services is involved. They're the ones that are actually the ones that make a decision about whether it's safe for a child to remain in care or whether they need to be removed from the home. And then the child themselves has an attorney. And the child's attorney, it's called a cap attorney, their job is to make sure that they're doing what the child wants. Well, if you think about it, logically, most children are going to want to be with their parents. So whether it's safe or not, they're actually working with that attorney to figure out,

Starting point is 00:08:34 how can you do what I need, what I want, right? And so the court system actually took a look at that and said it's a little biased in one-sided. And they looked at it and said, how do we actually engage the community of people to take a common sense approach to working with these kids? So they looked at it and said, how do we get everyday volunteers who are very passionate and want to help to get involved, to get to know that child at a really deep level, get to know what they need, and then advocate for them throughout the court system and throughout their lives to talk about what they need. Not what they want, but what they need. And that's a critical differentiation, right?

Starting point is 00:09:09 So as a CASA volunteer, what we would do is we would actually work in the court system. So we'd go before the judge and make a recommendation about what we think should happen. But more importantly, we're spending time with that child. So we spend five to 10 hours a month every month with the child as kind of a work. as kind of a role model, big brother, big sister, kind of mentor, if you will, to help that child. And then we also work throughout their lives. So teachers, doctors, therapists, you know, anything that that got soccer coach, if they're in soccer programs, for example, we work with those different people in the kids' lives to make sure that they're getting what they need.

Starting point is 00:09:45 Wow. So is there a story or anything that you can share with us surrounding how, I guess, your transition from corporate world into this came about? Is there, is there anything kind of maybe worth mentioning in that regard? I mean, like I said, I found work that feeds my soul. So people look at me and tell me all the time, like, oh, you're superwoman. You do so much. You get back to the community in such a profound way. The truth is, it's selfishly motivated because I get more out of it than I give. I came here and thought I was going to retire. I kept working for the first couple of years and, you know, going back and forth and doing that. And then I switched to.

Starting point is 00:10:26 a remote position. And finally just decided it's time for me to get back and do that in a bigger way. And it was really hard to get into that world. And so nonprofit is a pretty traditional space. People tend to do things the same way. And so they didn't really look kindly on this business person coming and saying, I can do it differently. Let me come in and build programs and help you do things. And so I decided, I'm just going to become a volunteer. And so I started volunteering at several different organizations. I still do in that. But, One of them was working with kids. And for me, it started with I was really at a crossroads of trying to figure out, should I become a foster parent myself?

Starting point is 00:11:04 And should I take a child in? And the truth of the matter is, as much as I wanted to do that, I also like the flexibility that my life has to offer. And I get to travel often. I get to, you know, leave on a moment's notice. And that's not really conducive to having a child, full time living who's in school and whatnot. It's like being a parent. And so I chose not to be a foster parent. And I came across the CASA program and thought,

Starting point is 00:11:26 this is the best of both worlds. I can get to know these kids. I can advocate for them. I can treat them as if they were in my own children, but they don't live in my home. I'm not responsible for them day to day. I don't have to give up that 24-hour kind of piece, but yet I can make as big of an impact in their lives as I could on a regular basis.

Starting point is 00:11:44 Yeah, no, that's really huge. So earlier you mentioned that a big part of champions for CASA was recruiting, you had said, right? So what does that process entail? And how do you go about finding the right people to recruit that are out there? And by the way, is this, is Champions for Casa available in other cities or is this exclusive to Vegas? So Champions is exclusive to Vegas, but other cities do have their own version of this program. So anyone nationwide that's listening to this, look up your local CASA program, give them a call.

Starting point is 00:12:23 they'll be able to tell you whether they do the recruiting themselves or if they have an auxiliary or someone that does that. Okay, got you. Yeah. So then if you are looking for someone, like what is what is your process entail? Are you putting, are you essentially putting an offer out almost like a job offer kind of a thing and looking for the right people or like? How do you go about that? Is this networking? Like, what does that strategy look like? Yeah. So it's a multi-tiered approach. Right. So I take my corporate business background, being in HR, recruiting was a big part of what I did. So I do use some of the traditional. recruiting methods. But then I've also started to branch out and do some other things. And I think this is really the tie-in to the business community here, right, which is kind of your normal grouping and whatnot. And so what we're doing is we're actually going out and again, just trying to spread awareness, make people aware of what we do and trying to get those volunteers. So what that looks like is we do a lot of tabling events. We go out to local community events and set up a table,

Starting point is 00:13:19 hand out brochures, talk to people in the community, let them know what we do and how impactful it really is, let them know what it looks like to be a volunteer. So like being a volunteer, for example, is taking a kid out maybe on a Saturday afternoon and going roller skating or taking them to the park and spending some time that way, sitting and having conversation about what's going on in their lives and, you know, what big things are happening, how school going, that kind of stuff. So really kind of getting that message out in those community events. We also work with community partners to do recruiting. So we'll have companies who will invite us in and let us set up a table in their lunchroom, for example, and talk to their employee base. Or maybe it's they have access to a space church group, for example, might invite us in to talk to their community people and tell them more about what it is that we do.

Starting point is 00:14:10 So a lot of those kinds of networking and whatnot, I personally spend a lot of time one-on-one going to coffee with people and talking to them about. about it and just telling as many people as I can, my belief is even if, you know, being a CASA volunteer isn't going to be for everyone, it is a time commitment. It is something that, you know, is, is a, it's a big thing. It's a big commitment. And so, um, while I think that it's the greatest thing in the entire universe, I can't imagine never being a CASA volunteer, uh, again. It's, it's just given me so much in my life. What I tell people is everyone can help in some way. So even if it's not you, just learning about the program, you're going to talk. to your friends, your neighbors, your family members, and just tell them about the program and what

Starting point is 00:14:54 it offers and see if you can find somebody individually, right? That might be able to do this. No question. So, you know, we're hearing a lot about all the wonderful things that CASA does and what you do and your involvement and all these things. But, I mean, what I really love to hear about is I guess you could say, you know, let's talk about where the rubber kind of meets the road. Let's put a face to what this organization really is all about and what it would really look like. Can you share maybe a story of one person or one or two kids that, you know, you have personally had an encounter with that has had, you know, a great benefit from working with, with you guys and with the people that you're recruiting?

Starting point is 00:15:35 And, you know, maybe, maybe you can just kind of help us to really visualize what, what does the CASA child experience really look like and start really bringing out more of the emotional side of what you guys are doing? Absolutely. Yeah, I'd love to. So, you know, for confidentiality and anonymity purposes, we obviously have to keep identities separate. So I'll make up a name. So I'm going to talk to you about a little boy that I worked with whose name was Mark and Mark was nine years old. He was living in a foster home. He had four sisters, two of which lived in the same home as him, two lived in other

Starting point is 00:16:11 individual homes. So they were split up, which is a big part of foster care. Unfortunately, a lot of the siblings do get separated. And so if you just imagine being Mark, being nine years old, and waking up one day and being told, you know, something is disrupted in your home. It's usually domestic violence, mental illness, substance abuse. Something has happened that's so extreme at that moment that your life is in danger and you need to be removed from that home. And you're placed in a stranger's home, right? And so you're placed in a stranger's home. You've got nothing that's normal or, you know, whatnot to you.

Starting point is 00:16:45 So it's new people, it's new food, it's a new bed, it's new clothes, it's, you know, maybe even a new language, a new culture,

Starting point is 00:16:52 all those different things. So nothing is the same to you. And you may not have your siblings, right there to help you. And you definitely don't have your parents there to help you. And so what happens is you get assigned to a CASA volunteer. I came in and started working with Mark. And first thing I wanted to do is get to know him.

Starting point is 00:17:09 What's going on in your life? What keeps you up at night? What makes you excited? What do you? want to be when you grow up, right? But then also what's happened to you in your past and how can I help you? What needs do you have? And so early on working with him, it was things like nobody really paid attention in school to what was happening to him. So he hadn't ever done homework ever, was failing in his classes and really just didn't even have that parental figure

Starting point is 00:17:35 in his life to be able to go to school and talk to a teacher about where he was struggling, whether he needed to be in an IEP plan, whether he needed additional support mechanisms to actually do well in school. He didn't have anybody in his life to really emphasize and talk to him about what rules are in place or how to be a kid or what these things look like. It's simple things that I've learned along the way. He had never been in a restaurant, a sit-down restaurant before. So he got a menu and was overwhelmed at looking at a menu. He didn't understand a waitress coming to the table and actually taking an order serving him, certainly didn't understand how to pay a bill or tip what that was, right? So all those little concepts that you

Starting point is 00:18:18 learn over time in your family environment, if you're in a foster care situation, you may not be acclimated to those kinds of things. As far as impacts, I can tell you, he is one of my biggest success stories. So I worked with him for three years, ultimately did get him adopted. In that period of time, he was in six different homes, had four failed adoptions, which means the families were on track to adopt him and disrupted for one reason or another. And each one of those events is devastating to a child, right? They look at it as it's their fault. They did something wrong. And in many cases, it has nothing to do with anything they had done. And so it's really just being there as a role model and mentor for him throughout that. And letting him know what Acosta Volunteer does is they're

Starting point is 00:19:05 the one constant in that child's life. We like to talk about it that the average foster kid might live in multiple homes, have multiple attorneys, have multiple judges, multiple case managers. Those are all paid positions of people in a foster child's life, right? Acosta Volunteer is a volunteer who's there to get a relationship formed with them and just show them that they matter. And so all what Casa Volunteer really has to do is show up, be consistent, and be there for that kid. Right.

Starting point is 00:19:34 So for example, with Mark, I would call him on Thursday nights he struggled with spelling. I would call him on Thursday nights and quiz him on his spelling test for the next day. That made his week. He could not wait to come and tell me that weekend when I saw him how well he did on that spelling test for that week. It's just showing an interest and really helping a child be a child and really kind of go through that. My goodness. Yeah. He had a success story at the end.

Starting point is 00:19:59 We found him the most fantastic family. They're doing very well and I've been able to stay in touch with them. That's fantastic. So is there a, a. average amount of time that a child is in the foster care program before they officially become adopted? Or is, am I using the right time? Yeah.

Starting point is 00:20:18 So it's different for every child. Yeah. It's different for every child. We ask our volunteers to give us a two-year commitment. And the reason we ask for a two-year commitment is that's the average amount of time for a child to achieve what we call permanency. And permanency could either be that they are adopted, that they are aging out of foster care turning 18 and moving on, you know, there's a myriad of different ways.

Starting point is 00:20:42 But yeah, it's usually two years. And now if I'm, if I am considering the possibility of wanting to adopt a child, is there a long waiting list to do that or is there actually a shortage of people that are needed for that? Yeah, there's a shortage of foster homes. So people to become foster parents and there's also a shortage of people to actually adopt the children. So those are all done through the department, obviously, at a district.

Starting point is 00:21:08 different level than the cost of volunteers. But yes, there are a shortage of all of those things definitely needed in the child welfare system. So what kind of what, so you've already talked about as far as an expectation of commitment, you're looking for two years. What about what about talk to me like about on a weekly basis? What would that kind of look like for an average volunteer? Yeah. You know, it goes up and down. It depends on what's going on in that child's life. So there might be times where it's more, there might be times where it's less. But on average, we ask for our volunteers to work five to ten hours a month. I'd say probably 80% of that time is spending one-on-one time with the child. So going out in the community, getting to know them, really

Starting point is 00:21:52 understanding what their needs are, and just spending time and having fun. Like, sometimes people underestimate the value of just play and things like that that they don't get in their lives, right? I mean, if you're in this situation, there's not a lot of positive in your life oftentimes. And so just having someone to take you out and hang out and go on the swing set can be a big thing. Learning how to laugh together, right? So you do a lot of that. So in that five to 10 hours a month is, like I said, most of that time is spent with the child. And then the rest of the time is working with those different providers that I mentioned. So I might on once a month, I might call a teacher. So that's, you know, on my lunch hour or a break from work or whatnot. So you

Starting point is 00:22:32 can be a working professional. You could have your own children and be a parent and still have plenty of time to be able to do something like this. So most people are in there five to ten hours a month are spending one or two visits a month in person. And then they're spending, you know, an hour or so spread out throughout the month, calling a therapist, talking to a teacher, doing the things that you would do as a normal parent with your kids. And so once you're approved, I'm sure there's a process, right, of getting, getting, is there like a background check or all that based? There is. Yeah, you have to be 21. You have to be able to pass a federal background check. And then you become sworn in by a judge. And so what that process looks like is

Starting point is 00:23:11 you go through a training program. At last anywhere between three and five weeks, we offer them at different times and days and stuff. So three to five weeks of training. And then you go in and get sworn in by a judge. And then once you're sworn in, you become an actual employee of the court system. And then you have access to all information pertaining to that case. And then you become that cost of volunteer for that child or that sibling group. And that's when you start doing your five to ten hours a month. And then you do a court report. You attend court twice a year every six months. You go before the judge and you provide a written documentation of what your recommendation is. So I'll give you an example. The Department of Family Services does a report, the case manager,

Starting point is 00:23:52 and then the CASA volunteer. The case manager's report is usually very clinical and factual in nature. This is Bobby. He's nine years old. He's been in four homes. He went to the dentist on this day. here's his report card, those kinds of things. The CASA volunteers report lists those things, but then it also says something like, this is Bobby, he's nine years old, he really enjoys skateboarding, he in hanging out with his three best friends, and he wants to be an architect when he grows up, right? And it really brings that child to life. And it reminds the judge that not only are there two people in this child's life that actually get to know them, one spends significantly more time with him than the other, obviously. But in addition to that, that they,

Starting point is 00:24:34 are humanizing that child. So the judge realizes they're no longer just making a decision for a name on a piece of paper. They're actually impacting a child's life and understanding things about that child or what their needs are. So we might ask in our report for additional therapy. We might ask for additional counseling. We might ask that they be put on medications. We might ask that, you know, they have other supports. There's a lot of supports and a lot of resource available. You just have to know what that child is. Sure. Yeah, no, that's huge. And are you, as a volunteer, are you actually taking the child and saying, let's go shopping, let's go eat lunch, or you have to keep everything there at wherever the facility is at they're located? Yeah, as long as you get approved, so there's insurance requirements in order to transport a child, but as long as you, you know, have a license and the right insurance and whatnot. So part of that process of getting involved in CASA and going through the approval process is, you know, showing your DMV report and things like that to get that approval.

Starting point is 00:25:34 Once you get all that, you can take the child out in the community. So, like, when I go out on a Saturday, I'm taking the child out with me. I actually personally have chosen to work with kids in the 15 to 18-year-old range. I like the teenagers that are about to age out of care. And I kind of fell into that with the first case that I was telling you about with Mark, he had older sisters. And so I used to think I had to go out and take them, like, I don't know what to do with a 17-year-old girl.

Starting point is 00:25:59 They don't want to hang out, right? What do they want to do? And I stumbled upon this innocently. I was out one day about to drop one of the girls off. And she had said to me, what are you doing the rest of the day? And I said, I had nothing fun, just errands, Saturday afternoon errands. She's like, well, what does that look like? And I said, I got to go to the bank.

Starting point is 00:26:15 I have to go to the cable company. I got to go to the grocery store, run to Target, right? And it kind of went through my day of what I had to do on Saturday. And she said to me, can I come with you? Can I hang out with you? And it made me realize they really don't know what life is going to be like when they turn 18 and they're on their own. And so I've now started incorporating. that into my time visits with them is to do life skills training, right? So I can get my stuff

Starting point is 00:26:41 done. It's two for one. I get the opportunity to do what I already need to do for my own personal life. And along the way, I'm teaching these kids how to budget, how to build a list, how to work off a shopping list, you know, what are important items to focus on and what are unimportant items and, you know, things like you mentioned earlier, there's a lot of those basic things that we just kind of take for granted just being in a normal family life situation. Like how are we supposed to even interact with the person at the register? Or, you know, what do I say to the guy when I walk up to the teller at the bank? Like, what are they even talking about, right?

Starting point is 00:27:14 You know, basic things like that are the kind of things. One of my kids asked me the other day, when would I ever go to the bank? And I was like, when would you go to the bank? Right. I mean, like, that's something you're really going to need to know. That's something in life that you're not going to be able to get through life without understanding. This is what an important organization that you're a part of, Jennifer.

Starting point is 00:27:34 I can see why you decided to take this on full time. And it sounds like there is still a pretty significant need. I mean, am I right that you really do need more people to recruit, right? I mean, this is a pretty serious thing that you guys are in need of there in Vegas. Yeah, like I said, there's 3,200 kids in care and 300 volunteers. So we're serving, you know, 10 to 20% of the population of kids, which means we're serving only the most badly abused and neglected kids. Because that's one thing that I probably didn't emphasize enough. Kids living in foster care are not put there for small reasons, right?

Starting point is 00:28:13 These kids have been abused or neglected, and I emphasize those words, right? It's physical, mental, sexual abuse and neglect, meaning they're homeless or don't have proper food in their homes. I mean, a child doesn't get removed lightly. It's something that has to be a significant, significant thing. And so these kids just need someone in their lives that cares about them. Sure. 100%. That's huge. What about funding, Jennifer?

Starting point is 00:28:41 Is this something that does the state just give you everything that you need? Or do you guys have to raise money? And if I'm an entrepreneur, I'm a business owner and I'm listening to this and I'm like, you know what, I'm looking for another great charity or, you know, nonprofit that I can donate to. would I be able to with this organization? Absolutely. So Champions for CASA is a 501C3.

Starting point is 00:29:03 The CASA program is court funded. It's run through the eighth judicial system and frankly underfunded, just like most government programs are. And so as a result of that, that's part of their challenge and part of the reason they haven't been able to get to the number of volunteers they need. That's where myself and the group of volunteers on my board, so fellow board members all kind of came together and said, what can we do to make a difference in a much larger

Starting point is 00:29:27 way. We all work with our individual kids. I've worked with eight kids myself, but beyond that, how can we impact the community as a whole? And so building champions for CASA was really with that in mind. We're a 501c3. We thrive on donations and grants that we get through different foundations and whatnot that we're able to do. And then all of our money is used towards recruiting new volunteers or retaining the volunteers that we have. So making sure that it's a good experience for them and we can keep them for their two years. Yeah. That is. That is amazing. Jennifer, you shared some incredible stuff today.

Starting point is 00:30:01 You've really touched me with all this. And it's just kind of, you know, brings to light in my mind just how, you know, important this thing is. But also, you know, I feel great pain knowing that there are so many kids that are not getting the help and the attention that they need because you guys are so, for lack of a better term, understaffed or under volunteered, right? And so we really need to make sure that more people know about this and can be touched by it. And so that hopefully the right people will step forward and want to do something about this. And I think business owners are great because exposing, especially this age group that you work with, right?

Starting point is 00:30:45 Imagine bringing in that age group and giving them, showing them what, you know, this whole idea, this world of being self-employed, you know, that that's even, that's an option. Because, you know, college is great. we hear a lot about it, right? But in my humble opinion, we don't hear enough about entrepreneurship. And yet that's such a big part of what's made our country so great, right? And so a lot of times people that have gone through different things

Starting point is 00:31:09 and have carried some heavy duty burdens like that, you know, I don't know, sometimes, you know, being in a group setting or social setting could be a little bit challenging and what have you. And sometimes I think, in my opinion, being self-employed gives you more flexibility on stuff like that. It allows you to kind of go. about things a little bit different. You can kind of make your own rules. You can kind of have a structure or a setup that works a little bit better for you in a more personal way. And I, for one,

Starting point is 00:31:34 I didn't do real well in public school. I didn't fit in the box. You know, it was like trying to put a triangle-shaped object into a square peg, right? I just did not fit. I didn't do well. And the perception that that was, you know, sent to me was that I was a failure. I was a failure because I just wasn't like every single other person that was in there. And those people were all about, I just want to get a job and I just want to go to college. And I was like, I don't like any of that stuff. You know, come to find out that, you know, I just was built for entrepreneurship and being self-employed.

Starting point is 00:32:05 And then once I discovered that world, it was just like, wow, this is, this is what I was looking for my whole life, you know, me and all the rest of us, weirdos over here, like me and Tim, you know? And so we just, we kind of marched to the beat of our own drum, you know? And so I love the idea of also, you know, I'm thinking about this for myself that maybe this would be a great thing for me to get involved in to be able to bring some more awareness, not just with the basic stuff of just showing these kids love, but also being able to advocate for other options that are out there because I'm sure that with some of the stuff they've been through, you know, the more options, the better for them. Well, that's it. I mean, you nailed it because your experience and you're talking about you feeling like you didn't fit in, think about these kids who they don't even have hope. They don't really have anybody there who's a guiding person in their life to really kind of show them what that even looks like.

Starting point is 00:33:03 So oftentimes the only thing they know are parents who are going job to job and losing their jobs, right? And working at the local McDonald's, not that there's anything wrong with it, but they don't know to do anything else. They don't even know it's a possibility. And so that's where I'd stress to, you know, your audience of business owners and the business. business community as a whole is this is our future generation. And these kids are caught up in the generational cycle of abuse and neglect. And what that looks like is you become an abuser, you neglect your children, and then you raise them and they go into the foster care system. And then they become abusers or neglect their children. And it's this generational wheelhouse that doesn't ever end

Starting point is 00:33:44 because there's a lack of understanding and awareness of what needs to happen. And this is where CASA volunteers can be so influential. This is where the business community can be so helpful is giving these kids opportunities to see that there are different pathways, to see that there are options, right? These are things that I work with my kids on is to show them and talk to them about what I do for a living, right? And like I tell them all the time, I'm a real estate developer. I just built a 156 unit apartment complex. There's a lot that goes into that, right? And so conversationalally, we talk about those things and it plants a seed for them, for them to think about, you mean I don't have to work at a fast food restaurant the rest of my life or work in a factory. There are options and they can

Starting point is 00:34:26 use their minds and get creative and do all of those things, but they need that starting chance. And so funding programs like champions for CASA that really puts those kinds of people in place, not to mention becoming a volunteer, because it's all about who you know, right? We learned from either our parents or our relatives or our neighbors or whoever we had in our lives. And so for these kids, their cost of volunteer is who they're going to learn this from. And so having those role models and mentors to show them the way to help them understand they're on a path can be pretty impactful for them long term. Let me give you a stat. So I don't quote me completely on it. It's directional. But I heard this in a seminar I attended recently. And that's that between the ages at 18 and

Starting point is 00:35:10 25, a child who's living in foster care does what they call ages out of care, right? And sometime between 18 and 25, 70% of these kids, 70% end up on drugs in jail, on the streets, or dead by the time they're 25. Oh, wow. That's disgusting, right? That's showing that we as a society are not doing enough to prepare them for what life looks like when they're on their own. And so this is why it's so important. And that's why I say to the business community as a whole, these are future generations. Let's help these kids when they're young so that they have a fighting chance when they get a little bit older. Jennifer, we're already out of time, but that's okay because I think what we're talking about is just so vitally important. I just can't help but to continue talking with you.

Starting point is 00:35:57 Another question, though, that I have before we wrap up, are there any programs in place in Vegas right now where you could get a group of the kids together and have them spend a day in some sort of a, let's call it an entrepreneur's camp where maybe somebody like Tim could put something together where maybe a group of people or, you know, Tim's, Tim's a master networker. The guy's got a very vast network of people that he knows and he's, he's very quickly creating a network in Vegas. Is there something like that exists or is there an opportunity for maybe something like that and is that even possible with your group? I think there's a great opportunity there, right? I mean, there's some hurdles and stuff that would have to be worked through as far as

Starting point is 00:36:43 like keeping the anonymity and stuff, but it would be a fantastic opportunity to get some local business owners and some business community leaders together to really influence these kids' lives and teach them that there's more there. That's, I'd love to see us do something like that. That's awesome. That's awesome. And I may need to connect with you afterwards as well because that might be something that I want to look into. I'm in Texas myself, so I might want to explore that further. It's been something that's actually been on my heart for a while, and maybe this connection between us here on this podcast today was very much meant to be for that purpose. So we'll see what we can do. Wonderful. Jennifer Page, president of champions for Casa out of Las Vegas.

Starting point is 00:37:23 Thank you so very much for your time today. This has been incredible, amazing eye-opener. and thank you very much for all that you're doing for those kids there in Vegas. We can't thank you enough. Absolutely. Thank you so much. I appreciate Marco and Tim. I appreciate your time and everybody for listening. If I can just leave it with one thing, champions for CASA.org, our website's out there.

Starting point is 00:37:46 Anybody wants to help. That's the best way to do it. So thank you so much. We will make sure that we add your link to the show notes as well. And we also will be putting out a news release about you being on the show. And we'll make sure that gets included there as well. well. So hopefully that'll kind of pick up a little bit of extra, you know, Google, I call it Google juice out there for people to hopefully find you even even a little bit easier than what they already

Starting point is 00:38:10 are. I appreciate it. Thanks again, Jennifer. And that does it for another episode of Vegas Business Spotlight. We will catch you here next time. Thank you for joining us on this episode of Vegas Business Spotlight. For more inspiring stories and insights from the Las Vegas business community, be sure to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform. And remember, you can catch new episodes each week at Vegasbusinessspotlight.com, where we keep the spotlight shining bright on the entrepreneurs who make Las Vegas thrive. And don't forget to like and subscribe. See you next week.

Business Innovators Radio - Changing Lives: Jenifer Page on Empowering Foster Children through Champions for CASA Las Vegas

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