Tag Archives: Titus County Cares

Food4kids needs support

Posted on by Lynda Stringer
Food4Kids recipient_0147
Photo by LYNDA STRINGER

 

 

A Food4kids recipient helps her mom load groceries they received from Titus County Cares Food Pantry.

July 15, 2016 | By LYNDA STRINGER

Many times, the food Titus County students receive in their backpacks on Fridays is the only food they have to eat for the weekend.

The Food4kids program, launched by Titus County Cares four years ago, has grown from serving 800 kids to 1,300 kids every week during the school year. To fund the program, TCC relies on community fundraisers and matching foundation grants to meet its $120,000 annual budget.

In July, TCC launched a support letter campaign to raise at least $15,000 in hopes of receiving a $15,000 matching grant from the Carl C. Anderson, Sr. and Marie Jo Anderson Charitable Foundation in Austin. The organization’s Claybuster Shoot held in April raised more than $35,000, which qualified them to receive a $30,000 matching grant from the Burt and Nancy Marans Charitable Fund.

It’s the third year they have applied for the Anderson Foundation grant but the first year they’ve raised the initial funding through a letter campaign. Previously the grant funds were tied to a fundraiser offering vintage aircraft rides to veterans through Mid America Flight Museum.

“We decided to go in a different direction because wanted to be able to able to include more people, to reach those who can give $10 or $25 as well as those who can give $500,” said TCC Executive Director Judy Lee.

She said a gift of $10 provides a sack of food for kids in 1st through 4th grades every Friday for one month. How important is that?

“It’s the difference in not having anything to eat over the weekend,” Lee said. “They need that extra food because ends don’t meet and they don’t have enough food.”

She shared the story of a single mom who works the evening shift at Pilgrim’s. She worried about her young daughter coming home to an empty house and having to feed herself.

“She was so happy to know that she would have something to eat on Friday night and she wouldn’t have to worry about her trying to cook something,” Lee said.

Each child in the family is eligible to receive the sacks filled with high-protein, healthy foods like pop-top canned meals, peanut butter crackers, cereal, powdered milk, cereal bars, beef sticks and juice boxes. The sacks are discreetly placed in the child’s backpack on Fridays. If a younger child has older siblings, they can bring home the sacks for their brothers and sisters in junior high and high school.

“They desperately need it, too,” Lee said. “So, we do it in a way so that no child gets made fun of or points out specific kids.”

The parents and the kids are appreciative of the hand up that helps them get through tough situations. A high school student who volunteered on the Tuesday night assembly line to pack the food bags told Lee he was there because he’d been a Food4kids recipient in the past when his dad lost his job.

“He said, ‘My brothers and I started getting these bags of food on the weekend and that really helped me so much,’” Lee said.

He told her when he heard about the weekly volunteer opportunity, he wanted to help so he could help do the same for another child.

“They know someone in this community cares about them.”

Lee has faith that the community will step up again to provide the funds needed to receive the grant for the 2016-2017 school year.

“The bottom line is God has provided every year and God will provide again,” she said.

To learn more about the program and to make a donation, go to TitusCountyCares.org.

Lynda Stringer is a Mount Pleasant-based freelance writer and owner of Stringer Media. Contact her at Lynda.Stringer@outlook.com.

 

First Cares4kids class graduates

Posted on by Lynda Stringer

June 7, 2016 | By LYNDA STRINGER

 

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Contributed Photo|TITUS COUNTY CARES

Cares4kids is Judy Lee’s baby.

 

She launched the local child sponsorship program in the fall of 2011 through her organization Titus County Cares.

The program matched 140 adult sponsors from the local community with 168 elementary school kids from Mount Pleasant, Harts Bluff and Winfield school  districts. The  $20 per month sponsorships provide school clothes, school  supplies with a backpack and letters from their sponsors throughout the year, as well as gifts for their birthdays, Christmas, Easter and Valentine’s Day.

The kids in the program, who remain matched with the same sponsor each year  they are eligible, are also automatically enrolled in Titus County Cares’ Empty Stocking program, which provides Christmas gifts and the Food4kids program, which sends them home at the end of the school week with a sack full of food.

This past school year, the program was open for students in first through fifth  grades, so that initial class of first-graders graduated  from the program, which was a bittersweet moment for Lee and her staff.

“I have attended most of the birthday parties and seen them grow. These  children are special to me, but it isn’t about me. I just happened to start the  program that God gave me a vision for,” Lee said.

Lee said the program plays an important part in Titus County Cares’ outreach efforts, and while most of the children won’t meet their sponsors, the impact they have made in their lives is immeasurable.

“They have made a difference in these kids’ lives. They love their sponsors. Somebody in our community cares for them, loves them, prays for them and provides for them,” Lee said. “That is a relationship that will stick with them for the rest of their lives.”

The lessons the students take away from the program as they age out are also life-changing.

“The quotes that we got from the kids says it all. When we started this program, it didn’t cross my mind that the kids would learn the lesson of how important it is to give back. But, several of them said when they grow up they want to give back and care for other people,” Lee said.

“I started seeing this several years ago and I realized that this is making a bigger difference than I had anticipated.”

Cares4kids Program Director Kim Hedges, who took over administration of the program two years ago, said it makes an impact on the sponsors as well.

“Many of the sponsors have been with the same child from the beginning and they really get attached.

It’s a neat opportunity for the sponsors to pray for the kids and write encouraging letters,” she said.

To sponsor a child for the 2016-2017 school year, contact Kim Hedges at Titus County Cares at 903-575-9157.

Lynda Stringer is a Mount Pleasant-based freelance writer and the owner of Stringer Media. Contact her at Lynda.Stringer@outlook.com.

Titus County Reads wraps up year

Posted on by Lynda Stringer

May 24, 2016 | By LYNDA STRINGER

 

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Contributed Photo|TITUS COUNTY CARES

 

 

Titus County Cares has closed the book on another successful Titus County Reads school year.

The program works a little differently than people might think about a reading program. The volunteers are paired up with a student for one-on-one reading time during the week. The kids read to the adults in most cases as a way to help them improve their reading skills.

“Volunteers enter the schools each week to read for 30 minutes with their first grade reading buddy,” said Mary Katherine Milam, Titus County Cares marketing director.

“The little girl I read to at Annie Simms, Natalia, loved to read to me, but sometimes she wanted to take turns, so I would read the left page and she would read the right page,” said Kim Crabb, who began volunteering with the program this year. “But, the boy I read to at E.C. Brice, Christian, he never read anything to me at all. He was so sweet, but he never said a thing to me all year. It kind of broke my heart, but on the other hand, Natalia talked plenty for him.”

Crabb said the little boy’s teacher said he was very shy, but very smart.

“She said, ‘He’s getting it, I promise,’” Crabb said. “I loved it, especially when you see them making progress.”

She said Natalia progressed through several reading levels.

“I wasn’t actually sure when I went into this how helpful it would be, but I was really impressed. I saw a lot of growth in her reading,” Crabb said.

More than 100 volunteers signed up for the program.

“Many special relationships have been formed while literacy was being promoted,” Milam said.

Crabb said she plans to volunteer again next year; she may even take on three students.

Every elementary student in Titus County received a new book and a book bag as the program wrapped up for the year.

“The books were taken to each elementary campus and laid out by grade level on tables in the lobby.  Each class came by and the children were able to choose which book they wanted to take home to keep and read,” said Titus County Cares Executive Director Judy Lee.

Milam said the most impressive part of the program is the community involvement. She said Judd Marshall, the superintendent of Mount Pleasant ISD has been a huge supporter.

“We owe much of our success of the program to his encouragement. At the first of the school year, he challenged all of his administrators to read with a student on a different campus from where they work.  It has been exciting to see these principals at different schools,” Milam said.

Milam said the children who get the one-on-one time with the same caring adult each week have been the biggest winners.

But, it has been pretty special for the grown-ups, too.

“Week after week the smile from my little buddy when he saw me made my day,” she said.

Lynda Stringer is a Mount Pleasant-based freelance writer and the owner of Stringer Media. Contact her at Lynda.Stringer@outlook.com.

 

Jo’s collects diapers for needy tushies

Posted on by Lynda Stringer
Caroline Blackard-Jos Diaper Drive

Caroline Blackard donates to Jo’s diaper drive.|Photo By LYNDA STRINGER

May 13, 2016 | By LYNDA STRINGER

The first thing a parent does when their baby is crying is check their diaper. But, what if it needs changing and there are no diapers left in the bag? That’s a dilemma many families in need face and when they turn to Titus County Cares for help, right now, they are being turned away.

“Titus County Cares has been out of diapers for two months,” said Caroline Blackard, the acting manager at Jo’s Coffee Shop, which launched a diaper drive Friday for the organization to help meet the need. Many of the staff have small children and understand what a huge issue it can be for parents. Blackard said Belle Baker, the mom of a 2-year-old boy, is the leading force behind the drive.

“Where she lived before there was a place where foster families could pick up things like that, so she has been involved with diaper drives before,” Blackard said.

The staff reached out to Titus County Cares to find out what their situation was with their stores of diapers. The organization said Kimberly Clark had donated seven pallets of diapers a little over a year ago, which lasted six months.

“Since then they have taken cash donations to buy diapers, but they haven’t had any children’s diapers to hand out at all for a few months now,” Blackard said.

Jo’s has set a goal of collecting 5,000 diapers during the campaign, which will run through June 18. That should provide a 10-week supply of diapers for the organization. Titus County Cares will distribute the diapers to parents who qualify for financial assistance and have been verified to have children three years of age or younger living in the home.

“This is something our employees decided to do to give back to the community,” Blackard said. “It’s something that is near and dear to their hearts.”

When donors brings in a box of 100 diapers, they will receive a free 12 ounce drink from the coffee bar. For a bag of diapers, customers will receive $2 off their purchase.

Blackard said the diaper drive is the latest community service project the coffee shop has been involved in. Jo’s, which part of Ark Ministries, just wrapped up a weeklong sale of blueberry muffins provided by Pearl’s Kitchen at the end of April. For each muffin sold, Jo’s donated $2 to CASA of Titus, Camp and Morris Counties. Jo’s had an anonymous matching donor as well.

“We had a goal to sell 250 muffins and we met that on the last day. With the matching donation, we were able to give CASA $1,000,” Blackard said.

The coffee shop is also planning a pet portrait day to raise money for the Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter.

 

Ministries partner to offer life skills

Posted on by Lynda Stringer

March 24, 2016 | By LYNDA STRINGER

canstock8273718A series of Thursday night classes that begins tonight at Titus County Cares seeks to give people facing economic challenges a boost.

Life STEP, which stands for Skills Training Empowering People, includes personal money management, job skills training, meal planning on a budget and health and wellness tips.

The first week’s session is on financial management taught by Danny Muskrat. Week two’s session on March 31, led by Jeffrey Crab, will teach students how to properly fill out a job application and how to conduct themselves in a job interview. The third session on April 7 will be taught by Tennison Memorial United Methodist Church Pastor Mike Cline.

“That class will teach you how to grocery shop and prepare a meal using a lot of the items at the TCC food pantry,” said Caroline Blackard, a member of Center Church which is partnering with TCC to launch the new program.

The final week’s class on healthy lifestyles will be taught by Leah Crabb and Stephanie Guzman, Center Church members and registered nurses.

“They will be teaching healthy eating and basic medicines that you should have on hand to keep your family healthy,” Blackard said.While the classes are going on, there will be games and activities for the kids. That part will be organized by Center Church member Sarah Muskrat.

Crabb, who serves on the Titus County Cares board is also a member of Center Church, but he stresses that while his church is launching the program, they are reaching out to other churches and organizations in the community to get involved with the new ministry outreach.

“Right now it’s mostly Center Church people leading it, but it’s not a Center Church thing. We expect that if it does well and grows, we will need help from the community,” he said. Titus County Cares volunteers and National Honor Society students will be involved when the classes kick off. Crabb said this type of outreach has been something Titus County Cares has talked about for years.

“Our vision is so much more than just feeding people. Yes, we’re an emergency food pantry, but beyond that, we yearn to help these families in trying situations get out of those situations,” he said. “We talk about how we can better equip them to find a job, to manage their money. That’s been a conversation for a long time.”

The classes are open to anyone in the community not just TCC customers and having the classes at the community organization’s facility rather than at a church, regardless of denomination, is a more neutral location for many people who might not attend church.

“The facility fit the need of empowering people with knowledge in a place where they may feel more comfortable and a place that is centrally located,” Crabb said.

Center Church Pastor Jeremy Thomas said the program aligns with his congregation’s vision “to be a light in our city and make our city a better place.”

“We are looking for where God is working and joining him. He’s working at Titus County Cares, so it is a great partnership,” Thomas said.

The classes begin at 6 p.m. at the Titus County Cares building at 301 N. Edwards Ave. in Mount Pleasant.

After the 45-minutes classes, Crabb said there will be a time of fellowship and a cookout.

“We want to love on them. We’re here to love these people; we want to come together in that way, eat a meal and serve each other in that way,” he said.

For more information about the Life STEP classes, call Titus County Cares at 903-575-9157.

Lynda Stringer is a Mount Pleasant, TX-based freelance writer and owner of Stringer Media. Contact her at Lynda.Stringer@outlook.com.