COEUR d'ALENE - The photo, taken in 2002, showed a pair of 5-year-old smiling twins.

It was taken by Ellie Creighton, a longtime volunteer for North Idaho's CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) program, just hours after the boy and girl, Thomas and Taylor, had been removed from their biological mother's home and placed into the temporary legal custody of the state of Idaho, in foster care.

"My first encounter with two incredibly resilient children," Creighton told a crowd of 300 who attended CASA's annual Ray of Hope Breakfast Thursday at The Coeur d'Alene Resort. "I would soon learn what was behind their smiles: uncertainty, fear, anxiety, curiosity, relief and hope."

CASA, a nonprofit, provides volunteer court advocacy for children in the state's five northern counties who have been removed from their homes as a result of abandonment, neglect or abuse.

"Over the years, I have had the honor and privilege of helping and navigating Thomas and Taylor through their experience," Creighton said.

Fast-forward to 2010, and another photo of the smiling twins at age 13, on the day of their adoption into a new family.

Creighton then introduced Thomas and Taylor, now nearly 15, to the group at the CASA breakfast.

The twins spoke of how CASA helped them during their years in foster care, from the time they were in kindergarten until a year ago, when they were adopted into a family with six brothers, three sisters, and 15 nieces and nephews.

"We can tell you from experience that it's nice to have someone who's nice and caring and reliable in your life when things aren't going well," Taylor said.

Creighton worked hard to keep the twins together, Taylor said, something not always easily done, especially with a boy and a girl.

"It would have hurt us a lot to be separated," Taylor said.

Both teens talked about how much it meant to them to have the community's support, so they, as foster children, could have the same kinds of experiences as kids with "forever homes."

Thomas talked about how they received a few toys when they were placed in their first foster home - a Battleship game and a little jewelry box. Later, there were tickets to a Spokane Chiefs hockey game. Thomas pulled a puck out of his pocket and smiled.

And through it all, there was Ellie Creighton, attending Taylor's band concerts, making sure the kids had birthday parties, and always accessible by telephone, a caring adult the twins trusted as they dealt with issues in court.

Looking back now, Taylor said they can see how important CASA was for them. "To give a child a CASA worker is to give them a voice, to give them a voice is to give them hope, and to give them hope is to give them the world," Taylor said. CASA is court-mandated, and receives grant funding, but relies heavily on donations in order to stay operational, funds needed to recruit, train and supervise volunteer advocates like Creighton. There are now 132 North Idaho CASA volunteers who dedicate their time to investigating, monitoring, reporting and speaking up for children in court.

CASA served more than 650 North Idaho children last year. The Ray of Hope breakfast has become the organization's signature fundraiser, and by Thursday afternoon, had raised $53,000 with more coming in.

"Children with CASA volunteers are less likely to spend time in long-term foster care, less likely to re-enter the child welfare system, less likely to have incidents with law enforcement, and less likely to have problems at school," said CASA board member Priscilla Bell.

While those are great reasons to support CASA, Bell said for her, the central reason is because "it is about our children."

"CASA volunteers provide a voice for children who would otherwise never be heard ... They help our children to have a future that wouldn't be possible without the volunteer, without CASA," Bell said.