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BMD paralegal creates Disney-inspired ball for foster children
Cuyahoga County, Ohio; the county including Cleveland lost slightly more than 4,000 people. (AP file photo)
The CASA Board Volunteer Association of Summit County and Caring for Kids, Inc. held the inaugural Capes and Crowns Ball July 14 at the Akron Children's Museum to support foster and adopted children. The Disney-inspired event was sponsored by Akron law firm Brennan, Manna & Diamond. (Christy Beal Photography)
TRACEY BLAIR
Legal News Reporter
Published: August 2, 2019
A chance meeting with a 6-year-old boy inspired paralegal Francesca Cario to launch a magical new program for children in the foster care system.
It began last December when Cario, who has been volunteering as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for four years, made a visit to an Akron area foster home.
“I ran into a little boy around Christmas time and I just fell in love with him,” she said. “He mentioned to me that he would love to go to Disney World. He also said he wanted a forever family and wanted to know what it would be like to have siblings. It broke my heart. I really wanted to give him the Disney experience. I wondered what I could do to make that happen.”
So Cario asked the CASA Board Volunteer Association of Summit County for help, and the first Capes and Crowns Ball was born.
The inaugural event was held July 14 at Akron Children’s Museum. The ball gave each child the opportunity to spend the afternoon playing games and interacting with princesses and superheroes. Money raised will be used to support foster and adopted children in Summit County.
Cario’s employer, Akron legal firm Brennan, Manna & Diamond, was the major sponsor. Wendy’s on Graham Road and McDonald’s on East Market Street in Akron provided much of the refreshments.
The 30 children who attended Capes and Crowns seemed in awe of the festivities, Cario said.
“The smiles on their faces was what I wanted,” she said. “They got to walk down a red carpet where they were crowned and caped. They were so excited. At the end of the red carpet were Cinderella and Prince Charming, and each child was given a bag of prizes with their name on it.”
Snow White was also in attendance, among other favorites.
“The kids got an autograph book from each character as if they were in Disney World,” Cario said.
Then Batman, Superman and Iron Man gave each kid three separate gifts – a sticker book, a superhero canvas for painting a keychain donated by Wendy’s for a free Frosty for the rest of the year.
Next, the children – ages 3 to 12 - headed to a snowy backdrop to meet Elsa and Anna from “Frozen” waiting for them with gifts of rock candy.
Then, they got to make three wishes to the “Aladdin” genie.
During the ball, they had fun searching for hidden Mickey Mouse items they could turn in for an extra prize.
The grand finale of the ball was when the Children’s Museum opened up its doors to the kids to go inside and play. They were joined by all the superheroes, and Elsa and Anna sung to them on stage.
“It was super cute,” Cario said of the event. “They just couldn’t stop smiling and laughing. I’m still on cloud nine thinking of how excited the kids were to see this, and to have had a day all about them. I am hoping to make this a yearly event for foster children, and want to make it bigger.”
The paralegal said she couldn’t have done what she did without the help of Beth Cardina from the CASA volunteer board and Danielle Miller from the Caring for Kids adoption and foster care agency in Cuyahoga Falls.
And of course, the ball’s muse was instrumental.
“I told him he is something so special and important that he helped inspire me to do this event,” she said. “CASA is such a wonderful volunteer program. They advocate for children who need it the most and shows them how they are worth everyone’s time and love.”
For more information on CASA, visit https://summitcasagal.org/.