OVG360 And Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) For Children Of Atlantic, Cape May, And Camden Counties Partner To Support Neglected And Abused Children This Holiday Season

Local Businesses And Organizations Invited To Sponsor A Custom-Decorated Holiday Tree At Seventh Annual “Deck The Hall- Festival Of Trees” Event At Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall

OVG360, the provider of Venue Management and Food Services & Hospitality to Atlantic City’s Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall and the Convention Center, have announced a renewed partnership with the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for Children of Atlantic, Cape May, and Camden Counties to support neglected and abused children this holiday season.

In conjunction and with the support of the CRDA, Coca-Cola, and Lite 96.9 WFPG, local businesses, organizations, arena partners, and individuals are invited to “Deck The Hall” by sponsoring a custom decorated holiday tree which will be displayed at a private reception with individuals and agencies who help local children and families in the Boardwalk Hall lobby on Thursday, November 30, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and to the public for the remainder of the holiday season. Proceeds from the event will be donated directly to CASA to help recruit and train more volunteers to serve children living in the foster care system in Atlantic, Cape May, and Camden counties.

“We are so grateful for the continued partnership with Atlantic City’s Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall and OVG360 as the 2023 Deck the Hall Festival of Trees event beneficiary,” said Lauren Crenshaw, CASA Executive Director. “This commitment to CASA is especially meaningful during the holidays, when family customs are celebrated and shared with the ones that we love. This event gives us hope that our advocacy and the awareness that this event brings to our mission will help us reunite families so that their own traditions will endure.”

"Lite 96.9 and Townsquare Media are pleased to be a part of such a wonderful event for such a worthy cause.  We challenge all our friends in South Jersey to help Lite Up Jim Whelan Hall this holiday season" says Lite 96.9 Afternoon Host Steve McKay.

CASA for Children recruits, trains, and supports citizen-volunteers who advocate for children in the community and ensures that a well-trained independent volunteer is able to voice timely and objective recommendations to the Family Court on behalf of a child. A child with a CASA volunteer is:

- Twice as likely to be adopted, than to linger in long-term foster care
- Half as likely to re-enter the foster care system
- More likely to have a plan for finding a permanent home
- More likely to have better educational achievement

In Atlantic, Cape May and Camden Counties last fiscal year, 398 children had a CASA volunteer, a trusted adult who will stick with them until their case is resolved.  Hundreds of children in these counties are still in need of a volunteer.

For more information visit www.BoardwalkHall.com or https://t.ly/S4X53.  To become a sponsor, please contact Erin Satterfield at [email protected]. 

To date, the annual ‘Deck the Hall- Festival of Trees’ event has generated $73,000 for local community organizations.  The event has generated $67,000 total for CASA and in 2014 $6,000 was raised for the Community FoodBank of New Jersey Southern Branch to support those in need. 

About CASA

Court Appointed Special Advocates of Atlantic and Cape May Counties and its trained volunteers speak on behalf of abused and neglected children in the foster care system and are dedicated to ensuring these children are placed in safe permanent homes as quickly as possible. For more info, visit AtlanticCapeCASA.org.

 Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall and the Atlantic City Convention Center are operated by OVG360 and owned and funded by the CRDA.

About OVG360: OVG360, a division of Oak View Group, is a full-service venue management and hospitality company that helps client-partners reimagine the sports, live entertainment, and convention industries for the betterment of the venue, employees, artists, athletes, and surrounding communities. With a portfolio of more than 200 client-partners spanning arenas, stadiums, convention centers, performing arts centers, cultural institutions, and state fairs around the globe, OVG360 provides a set of services, resources and expertise designed to elevate every aspect of business that matters to venue operators. Service-oriented and driven by social responsibility, OVG360 helps facilities drive value through excellence and innovation in food services, booking and content development, sustainable operations, public health and public safety and more.

About the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA): The only agency of its kind nationwide, the CRDA has used Atlantic City casino reinvestments as a catalyst for meaningful, positive improvement in the lives of New Jersey residents since 1984. Under the 2011 Tourism District Act, the Authority's mission evolved from statewide projects to becoming the state's key economic development agency for Atlantic City. CRDA's expanded responsibilities now include land use regulation, tourism marketing and clean and safe initiatives. The CRDA also oversees Historic Boardwalk Hall (the leading entertainment venue of its size in the country) and the Atlantic City Convention Center. In total, CRDA has invested nearly $2 billion in more than 400 projects statewide, of which $1.8 billion has been invested in Atlantic City, spurring business investments and expansions, and creating permanent jobs in the process. For more information about CRDA and our projects, visit www.njcrda.com. Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/njcrda, and Twitter at www.twitter.com/njcrda.

For complete Atlantic City tourism information, visit www.atlanticcitynj.com, and follow us on facebook.com/DoAtlanticCity, on Twitter at twitter.com/VisitAC, on Instagram at instagram.com/doac, and YouTube at youtube.com/doac.