Dallas CASA will honor WFAA anchor Cynthia Izaguirre with the 2022 Caroline Rose Hunt Cherish the Children Award at the agency’s spring luncheon.

The host of Wednesday’s Child, Izaguirre has long used her public platform to advocate for children in foster care. Wednesday’s Child features stories of children who have experienced abuse or neglect and are looking for permanent, loving homes. Izaguirre has hosted the 40-year-old program since 2011.

The Cherish the Children Luncheon will be Friday, May 6 at The Omni Dallas Hotel. It is hosted by Dallas CASA Children’s Council and co-chaired by Beth Cholerton and Hannah May. All funds raised at the event go to support recruiting, training and supervising community volunteers to serve as advocates for children in the protective care of the state.

The Cherish the Children award is named for Mrs. Hunt, a longtime supporter of Dallas CASA and children in need and beloved Dallasite. The award recognizes an individual or organization for outstanding contributions helping children who have been removed from home due to abuse or neglect. The award was inspired by its namesake Mrs. Hunt because of her constant dedication to the most vulnerable in our city. During the luncheon, Izaguirre will be interviewed by Luncheon Program Host and Dallas CASA Board Chair Cynt Marshall, CEO of the Dallas Mavericks.

For Izaguirre, hosting Wednesday’s Child has been a gift. She recalls interviewing one a young boy who became overwhelmed during taping. She stopped filming immediately and committed herself to doing as many tapings as it took for him to find an adoptive home. Today, he has been adopted and is a teenager – “driving, working and flourishing,” according to Izaguirre.

“The biggest lesson I’ve learned from Wednesday’s Child is that I need these children as much as they need me,” she said. “Every child I meet inspires me to be a better human being.”

Dallas CASA’s volunteers are community members who are appointed by judges to advocate for child victims of abuse or neglect navigating a complicated child welfare system. Dallas CASA’s volunteers advocate for educational, therapeutic and medical needs and work closely with Child Protective Services, families and attorneys to help the children have safe and permanent homes. They are often the only consistent, caring adult by a child’s side during a frightening and uncertain time.

“I want Dallas CASA volunteers to know they’re angels!” Izaguirre said. “The kids just want people to know they are normal. They want families who will love them through the good and the ugly.”

Cherish the Children luncheon 
Friday, May 6, 11:30 a.m.
Omni Dallas Hotel
TICKETS

About Dallas CASA

Dallas CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) trains and supervises community volunteers who advocate for the best interests of children who have been removed from unsafe homes. Supported by professional staff, volunteers gather information and make recommendations to help judges decide the services each child needs to heal from trauma and the best outcome for a safe and permanent home. For many foster children, a CASA volunteer is the only consistent, caring adult during a frightening, uncertain time.  Now in its 41st year, Dallas CASA serves more children than any of the more than 900 CASA programs nationwide.  In 2020, 1,527 Dallas CASA volunteers were assigned to advocate for 3,374 children in protective care. CASA depends on the generosity and the commitment of the community to make sure every child in need has a CASA volunteer advocate. To learn more, visit dallascasa.org.