MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia branches of Northwestern Mutual have once again teamed up with local child advocate organizations to give area children in need the materials to be ready for the 2025-26 school year.
Members of the CASA for Kids of Monongalia and Preston Counties were at the Morgantown offices of Northwestern Mutual on Thursday, where just over 20 fully stocked backpacks were placed in vehicles before getting sent to older Monongalia and Preston County children currently in the foster care system. CASA for Kids of Mon and Preston Counties Executive Director Crissi Kolb was on hand along with a dozen Northwestern Mutual employees, with financial advisor and current CASA volunteer Ryan Payne leading the charge on a private sector level.
“We all get very excited about packing up the backpacks each year and getting the money raised to make sure that we can fill it with some of that good stuff,” said Payne. “But really, hearing from the kids directly makes you realize just how important it is to them.”
According to Payne and other members of Northwestern Mutual who have taken part in previous backpack distributions in the past, representatives from branches in and around the Mountain State reach out to CASA organizations to determine what is needed for kids involved in area foster care systems. For the CASA for Kids in Monongalia and Preston Counties, Northwestern Mutual volunteers help provide for a new pair of shoes, school supplies, and snacks that can help them start the school year off strong.
“There is a nice pair of new tennis shoes in there, some headphones, a watch, we also have a wall of water bottles, as well as some candy, pens, pencils, silly putty, and just some other small items to fill in the pockets,” said Payne on what is inside each backpack.
For members of CASA for Kids of Mon and Preston Counties, the donations received as part of the backpack program will be one of several initiatives undertaken with the help of local partners that will continue in 2026 and beyond. The combined efforts of the start of the school year donations as well as separate fundraisers and item drives that will take place during the winter and spring will help support volunteers who advocate for abused and neglected children. This even includes members of organizations like Northwestern Mutual who were inspired by partnerships like the backpack distributions getting put into action.
“We’re really excited, eight years is a very long time, and it’s a great relationship that we’ve cultivated with them,” said Kolb, speaking highly about the partnership with Northwestern Mutual and the Mon and Preston Counties CASA for Kids. “We’re really thankful for their support every year because our older youth really appreciate it.”
Donations accepted by the CASA for Kids of Mon and Preston Counties from Northwestern Mutual offices from across the Mountain State continue a relationship that has taken place over the past eight years. While the Morgantown offices will have one volunteer become a member of the Mon and Preston CASA Board, partnerships are also expected to continue in Central West Virginia as well as partnerships with offices based out of Charleston and Huntington. With over 150 children served in Monongalia and Preston Counties by CASA as part of the foster care system, many of whom will become teenagers in the coming years, the local involvement is more than appreciated by those working with those kids every day.
“Foster care workers have huge caseloads, but our CASA volunteers serve just one child or one family of children, so it’s very individualized,” said Kolb. “So those children don’t feel like they’re being lost in the shuffle.”