Cody and Tucker are rough and tumble little boys who love dirt, wild animals and playing “cowboys and Indians.” But at the ages of just three and four, Cody and Tucker came into the care of Child Protective Services when their baby brother died from severe trauma and infection. The older boys had suffered physical abuse themselves, having bruises and cigarette burns, not to mention their mother’s boyfriends included a registered sex offender.

The boys had never had structure or discipline in their lives so they proved difficult for adults to handle. Their first foster home did not last long.

Luckily, the judge in their case assigned them a CASA—a court-appointed special advocate whose job it is to get to know the children and their cases and make recommendations to the court about what is in the best interest for the future of these kids who have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect.

Cody and Tucker were matched with CASA volunteer Nancy, whose caring yet tough spirit and experience with children as a mother and grandmother helped the boys transition into the home of a foster family who hoped to adopt them. Nancy knew the foster parents would need plenty of resources to succeed. Nancy lined up a therapist to help, taught them the importance of structure in the boys’ lives, explained how to potty train them and shared every bit of wisdom she had about raising healthy children.

Nancy’s role as a CASA volunteer for the boys included getting to know their biological mother, earning her trust while also serving as a reality check when she was not making progress. When the mother decided that the boys would be better off in someone else’s care, it was Nancy she told. Now adopted into a large and caring family, Cody and Tucker are growing into well-disciplined, active children with a great sense of humor.

Cody and Tucker are just two of more than 1,200 children who were served by CASA of Travis County last year. These 1,200-plus kids represent 80 percent of children in the family court system—but CASA staff members, supporters and volunteers like Nancy want to see that become 100 percent. Every child in the system needs a CASA.

I can personally vouch for this; I was a CASA for four years, and served six children on three different cases. One baby was adopted by his caring foster family; three siblings were adopted by their aunt and uncle. After my very close involvement with these children and their cases, I shudder to think about what might have happened to them were CASA not involved. I was often the only one who knew everything that was going on, and I was the only person there for the entire length of the court cases. CPS workers, lawyers, foster parents and even biological parents came and went, and in these cases, a CASA is often the only constant these children have.

CASA of Travis County aims to raise awareness of its mission through the upcoming Superhero Run. This fun run spreads the message that children need a hero by their side, and ultimately encourages more people to become a volunteer or to support CASA in recruiting and training more volunteers.

The CASA Superhero Run offers everyone the chance to connect with the cause of fighting child abuse. For many people, child abuse is not something they think about or deal with in their everyday life. The fact is that with an estimated 763,000 children victims of maltreatment in our country in 2009, child abuse affects us all—whether we are aware of it or not. The Superhero Run concept of "every child needing a hero, but abused children needing superheroes," brings this cause home.

The Superhero Run is also a blast: participants actually dress up as their favorite superhero, which makes the entire day fun for adults and children alike. Leashed dogs are welcome too, in a separate pet-friendly race.

Kathryn McGinney ran the Superhero Run last year, after training as a CASA and getting her first case in June 2010. "I've seen children who have really struggled keeping up in school, turn it around and catch up with their classmates," she says. "It's amazing what a difference a change in environment can make."

This year, McGinney is participating in the Superhero Run as a co-captain of the Honeybadgers team as well as leading a kiddos stretch for the 1K. "My main hope for the Superhero Run is that it provides visibility into the CASA organization," McGinney says. "The superhero theme provides a fun way to talk about my experience with CASA to potential donors and advocates."

Callie Langford, Marketing & Communications Manager for CASA, says, "Our two biggest needs are more CASA volunteers and donations to ensure that we can continue to recruit, screen, train and supervise these volunteers with qualified professional staff."

Over the past year CASA was appointed to more kids than ever before. While this is great for the kids, it means that the organization's needs are even greater. The percentage of children served by CASA of Travis County dropped from a high of 84 percent to 79 percent at the end of July. "We continue to need more volunteers and larger staff to continue to move toward our goal of a CASA volunteer for every child who needs one," Langford says.

And what has been McGinney's most rewarding aspect of being a CASA? "I like knowing that any short-term changes I can make in a child's life will help to set into place long-term results for our community."

• If you're interested in participating in this year's Superhero Run, you can register here.
• Get more information about volunteering with CASA of Travis County, or donating.
• Follow CASA on facebook or twitter.