Fill the Chair: An End-of-Year Giving Story

Fill the Chair: An End-of-Year Giving Story  

As Executive Director of Life Stories Child & Family Advocacy, I often present numbers — to grantors, to our board, in presentations — because that’s how we demonstrate our impact. Behind every data point, though, is a child, a story, a moment that can’t be captured in a spreadsheet. 

Today, I want to share something different — a story about presence. About what it means to show up for a child when they need it most. 

Our mission at Life Stories is simple, but not easy: to make sure no child in Weld County faces abuse, neglect, or violence alone. 

And the best way I can describe why that matters is to ask you to imagine this: 

 

What would happen if Life Stories didn’t exist? 

While I write this, our Child Advocacy Center Program Manager, Jill Henry, is conducting a forensic interview with a child who witnessed a homicide. Later today, she will interview two children who have disclosed sexual abuse. 

That’s not unusual — that’s a Tuesday. 

Children in our community are experiencing unthinkable trauma. Without Life Stories, there would be no safe, trauma-informed way for them to be heard, protected, and supported. 

Every week, children arrive at our CAC carrying stories they’ve held in silence — some for days, some for years. Abuse, violence, fear, confusion: all of it comes through our doors. And when they do, they need a space built for safety, understanding, and truth. 

Since July 1, our team has conducted over 116 forensic interviews, with 16 more scheduled in December. That means nearly two full school buses of children have or will walk through our doors — each one carrying a story no child should ever have to tell.  

Because of Life Stories, each of them enters a child-centered space, not a police station or a busy office filled with adults.  They sit with trained professionals who know how to help them share their story once, in a way that protects both their truth and their healing. 

That’s what your support makes possible. 

 

The Chair Beside a Child 

When I gave a presentation recently, I brought an empty chair to the front of the room. 

It wasn’t a symbol of absence; it was a reminder of presence. 

That chair represents every moment our team shows up for a child: in the interview room, in the courtroom, in a foster home, and in the moments when courage meets fear. 

Right now, that chair is never empty because our staff and volunteers are there. Sitting beside children as they tell their story. Walking with families as they seek justice. Standing with youth as they face the uncertainty of the court system. 

Keeping that chair filled takes all of us, the advocates and interviewers who drop everything when a call comes in, the CASA volunteers who spend hours visiting their assigned foster children – listening, playing, advocating – and people like you, donors, community members, and partners, who make it possible for us to be there every single time. 

Without community support, that chair could one day sit empty. And that’s something we can never allow to happen. 

 

The Power of Showing Up 

Let me tell you about one youth who had to testify in the criminal trial against her parent. She was sixteen, old enough to understand the stakes, but still a child carrying immense fear and anxiety. 

Her CASA volunteer spent more than 20 hours with her in the weeks before the trial, going on walks, doing crafts, and talking through her fears. 

On the day she took the stand, her CASA sat quietly nearby, steady and calm, for four long hours. 

That presence gave her strength. It wasn’t about what was said — it was about knowing she wasn’t alone. 

That’s what it means to fill the chair. 

Now imagine if CASA didn’t exist. That youth would have faced the courtroom alone, with no one focused solely on her emotional well-being. Judges would make decisions without the insight of someone who truly knows the child. Cases would drag on, and some children would never find stability or healing. 

But because of CASA, because of Life Stories, she had someone beside her when it mattered most. 

 

A Five-Year-Old and Eight Placements 

There’s another child I think about often, a five-year-old boy who had already lived in eight different homes in his short life. 

His CASA volunteer had fought hard to get him into therapy, but the case closed before services began. Five weeks later, the boy was back in court, and that same CASA was assigned to him again. 

When she arrived for their first visit, he ran to her with arms outstretched, shouting with joy. 

He had told his new caregivers that no one wanted him, that he didn’t belong anywhere. But when he saw his CASA, he knew someone did. 

Because she persisted, and because her Advocate Supervisor backed her advocacy, therapy was finally ordered. That little boy is now beginning to heal. 

 That’s what your gift does: it fills the chair beside a child who has every reason to believe they’re alone and reminds them they aren’t. 

 

Why This Matters Now 

Every day, our team fills chairs that matter: 

Beside a caregiver searching for answers. 

In a courtroom where a child’s voice needs to be heard. 

Across from a child finding the courage to speak. 

 

Fill the Chair. Fuel Hope. 

As we approach the end of the year, I’m asking you to help keep every one of those chairs filled. 

Your gift ensures that no child in Weld County has to face abuse, neglect, or violence alone. It ensures there will always be someone sitting beside them: a trained, caring adult who believes them, protects them, and helps them heal. 

When you support Life Stories, you’re not just supporting programs. You’re filling the chair beside a child — in the interview room, in the courtroom, in every space where safety and hope are built. 

Together, we can make sure that the chair is never empty. 

Give today. Fill the chair. Fuel hope. 

 

Respectfully Submitted by Lisa Drake, Executive Director