Melissa O'Neill, the Virginia CASA Coordinator, wrote the song "Speak for Me" in response to three child deaths that occurred as a result of abuse in Virginia in 2000. She hopes that the song motivates people and gives them greater understanding of the need to act against child abuse.

Speak for Me

Before the day that we first met,
I was a name upon a page
My eyes are brown, I live in town
and I love the second grade
My little world's turned upside down,
and I'm lost inside a maze
Of men in robes and foster homes,
can you help me find my way?
Speak for me, I have no voice
Speak for me , I have no choice
I'm counting on you to carry me through
I'm feeling so lost and all alone

When you speak for me,
you give me hope
That I'll have the chance to live, to grow
That I will become what I was born
to be, when you speak for me

You wonder how I run and play when
I'm old beyond my years
Unspeakable things these eyes have seen
are hidden in my tears
But when I look into your heart,
I think I see a friend
Your smile is kind, but I'm still scared,
so I'm holding out my hand

There are children like me everywhere,
faceless names upon a page
But because you took the time to care,
my life's forever changed...

You speak for me, now I have a voice
You speak for me, now I have a choice
I counted on you, you carried me through
I'm no longer lost and all alone

When you speak for me,
You give me hope
I have the chance to live, to grow
And I will become what I was born
to be, when you speak for me
Will you speak for me