Join CASA of Scotts Bluff County and CAPstone Child Advocacy Center for a powerful After Hours event, uniting community members to shine a light for children impacted by abuse and neglect.
📍 Gering Civic Center
📅 September 4, 2025
🍸 Cash Bar and Hor d’oeuvres start at 5:00 PM
🎤 Speakers start at 5:45 PM
Why It Matters
CASA and CAPstone are nonprofit organizations serving vulnerable children in our community. All proceeds are evenly distributed between CASA and CAPstone. Your support allows us to:
✅ Recruit, train, and support CASA volunteers
✅ Provide mental health services to child victims and their families at CAPstone
Whether you attend or not, your contribution has impact.
To attend in person, please RSVP by August 27, 2025
📞 Monica Shambaugh (CAPstone Director): 308-632-7274
📞 Nichole Shepard (CASA Director) 308-672-7743
Unable to attend, but still want to donate?
✉️ Checks can be mailed to: Light of Hope at 900 P Street Gering, NE 69341
💙 Donate online through Venmo or Paypal!
Our speaker this year is Tristian W. SMith, MSEM, CBCP, PMP
Tristian Smith is an Amazon Best–Selling author, winner of the International Impact Book Award, keynote speaker, and Emergency Management Specialist for the U.S. Department of the Air Force at Offutt Air Force Base. A proud veteran and child welfare advocate, Tristian draws strength and purpose from his journey through the foster care system.
After losing his mother at age seven, he spent his youth in more than 25 foster homes and attended 13 different schools. Determined to rise above the instability of his early life, he wrote his memoir, Against All Odds, to share how resilience, mentorship, and a “bend-but-don’t-break” mindset helped him overcome unimaginable adversity. His story has inspired audiences across the country and is now being used to train and educate child welfare professionals and caregivers.
Tristian earned his bachelor’s degree in history and commissioned as a U.S. Army Officer through ROTC at Fort Valley State University. He served nearly a decade in the military, where he trained and led service members before transitioning to civilian service as an Emergency Management Specialist. He holds a master’s degree in emergency management from the University of Maryland Global Campus and is currently completing a second master’s in intelligence analysis at Johns Hopkins University.
In addition to his federal service and public speaking, Tristian actively volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and as a member of Nebraska’s Foster Care Review Board. In both roles, he advocates for the safety, stability, and long-term well-being of children in the foster care system—continuing his commitment to create better outcomes for the next generation of youth.