Child advocates get $15K to help abused children

Brandi Holcomb (left) and Rachel Clements, of the Junior Women’s League, present a check for $15,000 to Chris Schultz, executive director of Parachute Butler County Court Appointed Special Advocates.

Staff photo by Nick Daggy Brandi Holcomb (left) and Rachel Clements, of the Junior Women’s League, present a check for $15,000 to Chris Schultz, executive director of Parachute Butler County Court Appointed Special Advocates.

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By Richard O Jones, Staff Writer 11:56 PM Thursday, March 11, 2010

HAMILTON — In 1986, a 3-year-old Hamilton girl had been so continuously raped and abused by her father that she died from internal wounds and he was found guilty of manslaughter.

Tiffany Hubbard had been born to teenagers and the mother had given up custody to the father, said Chris Schultz, who was a local social worker at the time.

“The father abused her so badly that she died from internal gangrene from where he had beaten her,” recalled Schultz, who like many others in the community was outraged that a child could be subjected to such grievous abuse over a long period of time.

So was the late Judge David Niehaus, who contacted the Hamilton Junior Women’s League, a volunteer organization that helps provide funding and support for a number of local agencies, and together they formed Parachute-Butler County CASA to provide court-appointed volunteer advocates for children moving through the judicial system.

“The court appoints our volunteers, but we’re not under their control,” said Schultz, who has been the executive director of Parachute for 21 years. “We make sure the children are heard and make sure the system is doing what it’s supposed to be doing.”

Since its formation in 1987, Parachute has provided support for 1,403 children and has trained 361 volunteers, she said.

The Hamilton Junior Women’s League has continued to be a Parachute supporter, and at a luncheon Thursday, March 11, presented Schultz with a $15,000 check, the result of the group’s annual Holiday Ball.

The Junior Women’s League, founded in 1946, is a group capped at 35 women who join for a 10-year period of service after being nominated by a current member, according to historian Tammy Stempfley.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2188 or rjones@coxohio.com.

Get involved

To find out more about being a Parachute/CASA volunteer, call (513) 867-5010 or visit www.butlercountyohio.org/parachute.

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