Ozark Profile : Graves focuses on CASA with Project Playhouse
Posted on Monday, April 7, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/63919/
Glenda Graves recalls the first time she learned about Project Playhouse, the main fundraiser for Court Appointed Special Advocates of Northwest Arkansas that features builders and designers who create child-size playhouses to donate for auction.
It was 2005, and Graves saw a playhouse that seemed like an exact replica of her home. She and her husband, Shawn, had talked about getting a playhouse for then 2-yearold daughter Madeline. It was the one house picked that year to be raffled, so the chances of getting it rested on luck, not bidding.
Graves talked to Crystal Vickmark, executive director of CASA of Northwest Arkansas, about the organization, which serves abused and neglected children and their families — providing advocates for them in the court system in Benton, Carroll, Washington and Madison counties.
The discussion prompted even more interest.
“ I was very intrigued by CASA, ” Graves, who taught junior high English before moving to Fayetteville and becoming a stay-athome mom, said.
The family bought up a bunch of raffle tickets for the playhouse and won.
“ I’ll never forget the day they brought it to our house, ” Graves said.
When it was delivered, she talked to a couple of CASA staff members about the organization, and then her involvement with CASA became official. She began serving on the planning committee for Project Playhouse and will serve as chairman this year for the first time. She began serving on the CASA board of directors, on which she still sits.
She and Shawn moved back to Fayetteville, the home of their alma mater, the University of Arkansas, about six years ago from West Memphis, where she taught. Shawn worked for J. B. Hunt and the company transferred him back to Fayetteville. Glenda found herself a stay-athome mom as they began their family. The family now includes son Tucker, almost 2.
Like many a young mother, she was torn when contemplating a return to work. That was when CASA came into her life, a chance to stay home with her children and help other children.
She is proud now when Madeline tells people her mother works for CASA, and she said it has been good for her daughter, too.
“ I think it’s been a really good opportunity to explain to her that not all children in Northwest Arkansas have a fair chance, ” Graves said.
Graves feels a connection to the group for other reasons.
“ When I was growing up, my mom’s best friend kept foster children, so I grew up with foster children as my playmates, ” she said.
She said she marveled at their ability to love unconditionally even when coming from difficult conditions.
While she does not serve as a Court Appointed Special Advocate — something she wants to do later — Graves said she knows the CASAs make a difference in the lives of children separated from their families.
“ That time they’re separated from their family has to be the hardest time in their lives, ” she said.
Project Playhouse, she said, is one of the area’s best fundraisers for the community. She said she sees how the money raised will help more children but also sees the fun adults and children have when touring the playhouses.
The creativity of some of the playhouses is another element, she said. Playhouses displayed at the Northwest Arkansas Mall this year include an ecofriendly display and a firehouse. One is a treehouse replica.
Another playhouse honors the Hoover family of Fayetteville. Killed on Aug. 14 in an automobile accident near Playa del Carmen were Steve Hoover; his wife, Sharon; his son, Paul; and Paul’s wife, Maureen. Sharon Hoover was an architect with the Northwest Arkansas office of Allison Architects.
“ It’s amazing to see what the designers come up with, ” Graves said.
Planning for next year’s Project Playhouse begins the day after this one, which will culminate in bidding on Saturday.
That is when a planning committee meets to discuss the event and how it went, planning for the future.
Graves, who won CASA Board Member of the Year this year, also serves as chairman of the fundraising committee. She is a member of the marketing committee. She attends monthly meetings for all of those groups, and the Project Playhouse planning committee meets every two weeks as the event gets closer.
Now that the event is in full swing, she said, “ This is the fun part. ”
There are seven houses this year, pared down from 10 last year, when the event was conducted at the Northwest Arkansas Mall and the Pinnacle Hills Promenade in Rogers.
That was too overwhelming to have it at two locations, she said. The housing market downturn also has prompted the reduction in houses.
Vickmark praised Graves’ dedication.
Graves is a “ very handson board member, ” she said — the kind she can call on weekends and nights to help out when needed.
She recalled Graves and her husband helping to move the Project Playhouse display into the mall in the late evening hours. Graves said her husband supports her work with CASA.
“ He’s definitely a friend of CASA, ” she said.
Vickmark remarked on Graves’ value to the organization.
“ She’s there. She’s available. She loves CASA and the mission, ” she said, describing Graves as laidback and organized. “ She’s just the kind of board member that you want on your board to get things done. ”
For Graves, it is joyful work.
“ I get a lot out of it, ” she said.
She said each board meeting Vickmark tells members about one of the children served by CASA.
“ That brings us back to what we’re here for, ” Graves said. “ It keeps us focused. ”