Meet Our Advocates: Mark | Child Advocates of Silicon Valley

This month, Child Advocates is spotlighting CASA Mark for his commitment to going above and beyond for our foster youth.

CASA Volunteer: Mark

Years of Service with Child Advocates of Silicon Valley: 1

Number of Children Served: 1

A Male Role Model

A father of three boys, Mark has spent the last 25 years as a sports coach to his children and many young men in his community, taking on the role of mentor. But as his kids grew up and his schedule opened up in retirement, he searched for a longer-term opportunity to make a difference.

“I knew I wanted to do something I was passionate about, but I thought my eyes and ears were open; it’ll find me, or I’ll find it at some point, and it happened to work out.”

For Mark, it felt like the opportunity to become a CASA fell into his lap when one of his friends shared their experience over lunch. Mark found that it was just what he was looking for, an opening to expand on what he’s passionate about—being a support system for male youth.

“In this case, and probably so many others, you have these boys that have never really had a father figure of any kind,” says Mark. “Maybe there’s a grandpa around at some point or an influential teacher for a year or two, but they just haven’t had that long-term male relationship. When it comes to me and Ryan, I think he gets a consistent male perspective out of our connection. By and large, we mostly have fun and laugh together. But I think just him having a male presence, a male perspective around is good for him.”

Finding the Fun in New Things

Mark has been a CASA to twelve-year-old Ryan for a little over a year. Ryan is currently going through many changes in his life, including a transition to a new caregiver and a new school. But throughout all of these changes, Mark and Child Advocates are a valuable resource he knows that he can lean on for help.

“I’ve found Child Advocates is so proactively helpful at every level, I have a supervisor that I speak with about every two or three weeks to discuss any issues I might have and ask questions,” says Mark. “She’s a blanket of resources for me and a conduit to find things that I could then allow my CASA kiddo to jump into—the ongoing support that I find very helpful.”

From working on his educational plan for school to planning fun outings, Mark enjoys introducing Ryan to new places and trying new things together. One of Mark’s favorite memories is taking him to the beach, showing him around the Haight District in San Francisco, and explaining its history, while prioritizing activities that stimulate connection, growth, and having fun.

“We do a lot of different things. I think there are so many things you can do with a 12-year-old boy, but I’m always cognizant of a few things. Can it be educational for him? Can it be fun? Can it be something that he and I can enjoy together?” Mark explains. “We’ve done pumpkin patch festivals and the festival down in Gilroy. He’s kind of technical by nature; his mind thinks that way. So we go to Legoland Discovery Center, where he can build Legos. He loves to do laser tag. And sometimes we’ll just go to a park and throw a football or play basketball and walk and talk.”

Value in Showing Up

Mark has enjoyed just getting to know Ryan and seeing him grow in the year they’ve been paired together. And although Ryan might not always express it with words, Mark is happy knowing that he is there to support him on his journey in foster care.

“One day I just had this epiphany. This is a 12-year-old boy that is building a relationship with me, and he’s grabbing some things that I don’t even know he’s grabbing from me. He’s deploying them in his daily life, and they may or may not show up to me, and they may or may not show up to his caregiver. So I stopped worrying as much about things like, ‘How did I move the ball forward today? And how has he changed this month?’ says Mark. “This is a longer journey, and we can worry less about the actual chapter, just spend more time enjoying the entire book and just going with it. I think once I realized that, I sort of slowed down and realized the value was in showing up every week and being there for him.”

Like Mark, you can help bring value to the life of a foster youth in Silicon Valley by SHOWING UP for them. Sign up to join a virtual info session today! Learn more: https://childadvocatessv.org/volunteer