CASA Volunteer Spotlight: Meet John McQuillan

“It was time to give back.”

John McQuillan has been a CASA volunteer for almost four years. He retired in 2006 from a litigation law firm.  Following his retirement, John took twenty semesters of college courses mostly as an auditing student; he studied biology, American literature, math, art history, and many branches of theology – in person and one course per semester.  When asked what drew him to CASA volunteering, he said, “I heard a call for CASA volunteers, and decided that I’d had enough college.  It was time to give back.”

John expressed, “As I attended the training in early 2017, and witnessed some Juvenile Court proceedings, I developed a respect and admiration for the dedicated CASA supervisors, and the other volunteers who have been doing CASA work for many more years than I, many of them working regular jobs simultaneously.”

A favorite part of his volunteering is writing the reports to the Judge, and, prior to COVID-19, going to the [in-person] Court Hearings.  He said, “I feel at home there.”  He noted that establishing relationships with the children was more challenging for him, but he’s found that “pledging friendship, mostly without words” helps to build a connection.

Thank you, John!

In honor of Rose Butler who was a CASA volunteer, and who further supported the mission of CASA as a staff member supervising and mentoring many of our volunteers, we are featuring one CASA volunteer each month who is making a difference in the lives of children in Porter County.