Lunch to benefit abused children

By Rosanne Lewis

Dallas CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) will hold the 2025 Cherish the Children luncheon on Friday, April 11 at the Arts District Mansion. The event will raise funds for the children served by Dallas CASA.

Dallas CASA will honor Dallas luminaries Regina Montoya and Paul Coggins with the Caroline Rose Hunt Cherish the Children Award for their work on behalf of vulnerable children. Regina and Paul are well-known Dallas attorneys and civic leaders, lending their support to such diverse causes as poverty, hunger, childcare and more.

“We look forward to recognizing Regina and Paul for their commitment to Dallas children,” said Kathleen LaValle, president and CEO of Dallas CASA. 

“They have brought passion, energy, creativity, expertise and their whole hearts to this work, and the system and the children it serves are better because of their contributions.”

Guests at the luncheon will hear from The New York Times bestselling author and children’s rights attorney Andrew Bridge. 

Bridge spent his childhood in foster care in California and is an advocate for foster care reform in the United States. His 2024 book, “The Child Catcher: A Fight for Justice and Truth” covers his experience working as a civil rights attorney representing children of the Eufaula Adolescent Center, Alabama’s largest mental institution for children, where troubled youth including many foster children were subjected to mistreatment before it was closed. Bridge is a Harvard Law School graduate, Fullbright Scholar and co-founder of National Adoption Day.  

The event’s host, the Dallas CASA Children’s Council, is the principal auxiliary support group for the agency’s volunteers. 

Visit dallascasa.org to learn more.