North Texas Giving Day, the largest giving day in the nation powered by Communities Foundation of Texas, is back on September 14, 2017! In eight years, North Texas Giving Day has generated $156 million for the community. Learn more about some of the thousands of participating nonprofits here on BubbleLife from now until Giving Day. Read more about today's featured nonprofit, Richardson Adult Literacy Center, below. 

More than 19,000 adults in Northern Dallas County don’t speak English well or at all. It’s hard to get a good-paying job if you don’t speak English. It’s tough to support your children’s education if you aren’t able to read a report card. And, like Jose, you can’t pursue your passion of computer programming if you only know Spanish and computer languages.

“I came to the U.S. to live and work without fear. I had a business in my country but, because of the harassment of the mafia, I decided to start my life anew in the U.S.,” shared Jose. Not knowing English, his first job was in construction, laying floors. But this wasn’t his passion or his background.

“I’m a systems engineer and know computer languages,” said Jose. “I like that computers have no borders and no grammar, only syntax,” he remarked.

Jose started taking English as a Second Language classes at the Richardson Adult Literacy Center two years ago. Classes and books are free, since the vast majority of students are low-income adults. For Jose, and thousands of other immigrants and refugees, learning English is the link to achieving their dreams.

After learning English, Jose was able to change jobs. “Now, I have a small store for computer and cell phone repair. Most customers are Spanish speaking.” To pursue his dream in computer programming, Jose knows his English needs to improve. “My principal problem is I don’t speak English well. When I have to speak face-to-face, I freeze. I feel nervous. It’s embarrassing. I need classes to learn English better.”

Donations made through North Texas Giving Day help provide student books, materials, and training and support for volunteer teachers who teach students like Jose. Jose shares what so many other adult students learning English feel: “My ESL classes give me confidence. I have improved, but I want to get better.”

To donate to Richardson Adult Literacy on September 14th, please click here. To find out more about North Texas Giving Day, please visit www.NorthTexasGivingDay.org.

Blog authored by: Katie Patterson, Executive Director, Richardson Adult Literacy Center.

North Texas Giving Day, the largest giving day in the nation powered by Communities Foundation of Texas, is back on September 14, 2017! In eight years, North Texas Giving Day has generated $156 million for the community. Learn more about some of the thousands of participating nonprofits here on BubbleLife from now until Giving Day. Read more about today's featured nonprofit, National Society of Black Engineers-DFW Professionals, below. 

Only 19 percent of black fourth graders in the U.S. and 13 percent of the nation’s black eighth graders were proficient in math in 2015, per the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Only 5.5 percent of black eighth graders in the U.S. in 2005 completed calculus five years later, and only 1.1 percent of the nation’s black college freshmen enrolled in engineering programs in 2010, according to an analysis conducted by the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). And then there’s this distressing fact from the American Society for Engineering Education: the percentage of African Americans among U.S. engineering bachelor’s degree recipients has been declining for more than a decade and was only 3.5 percent in 2014.

The core mission of NSBE is to increase the number of black engineers. The Society has decided to do something about the effect of these disparaging statistics on black youth and on the nation’s need for talent in the critical fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The Society has targeted an ambitious goal: to have the U.S. produce 10,000 African-American bachelor’s degree recipients in engineering annually, by 2025, up from the current number of 3,620.

To address the needs of the Dallas / Ft. Worth (DFW) metroplex, the NSBE DFW professionals find innovative ways to produce the next generation of engineers.  Funds from North Texas Giving Day (NTxGD) will provide STEM resources and materials needed to work more intimately and effectively with K-12 youth in underserved areas through our signature Technical OutReach Community Help (TORCH) program.  The TORCH program gives members the opportunities to showcase their technical expertise through hands-on STEM activities for the children – that rock!  In addition to working with students in grades K-12, the NSBE DFW professionals coach and mentor collegiate engineering students from local universities to guide the transition from student to professional and provides scholarships to local graduating seniors and collegiate students enrolled in a STEM major. Support through NTxGD will allow the NSBE professionals to expand their reach at local universities by addressing the critical professional development opportunities needed to help students successfully acquire internships and jobs.  An investment in NSBE DFW through North Texas Giving Day is an investment in innovation, creativity, and the strategic development of the future engineers that will positively impact the globe.

To donate to National Society of Black Engineers-DFW Professionals on September 14th, please click here. To find out more about North Texas Giving Day, please visit www.NorthTexasGivingDay.org.

Blog authored by: Quanta Graves, NSBE DFW Professionals President 

North Texas Giving Day, the largest giving day in the nation founded by Communities Foundation of Texas, is back on September 14, 2017! In eight years, North Texas Giving Day has generated $156 million for the community. Learn more about some of the thousands of participating nonprofits here on BubbleLife from now until Giving Day. Read more about today's featured nonprofit, JETS for the Community, below. 

In 2013, JETS for the Community was born to change the way low-income Dallas communities perceive opportunity and to help represent those opportunities in the most needed situations. JETS strives to offer educational and basic needs support to the lower income areas of Dallas County through partnerships with corporations and volunteers to feed hungry youth and provide a nurturing environment for mental and spiritual growth.

One of the primary areas of concern in young low-income Dallas communities is the absence of regular nutritionally balanced meals in households. We believe in order to address the behavioral problem amongst youth & pre-teen students and residents, first their basic needs must be met.  Even most adults get an attitude when they are hungry.  This organization is full of volunteers that have spent time serving the youth in these communities, and they help figure out what can be done to assist these children and families who are crying out for help through random acts of disruption.

We watch children day in and day out come through community center doors hoping to get extra food for later that night or for a mother who they knew would not eat themselves to ensure their children had some level of nourishment. So, we do all we can to feed the hungry families of Dallas and hope that through #NTxGivingDay, we can do more with better kitchen space to prepare and deliver meals to the increasing number of families that we serve every year.

Through our partnership with the State of Texas’ Department of Agriculture, JETS provides summer meals and has hosted training class for the annual SFSP Training Conference that would guide other interested non-profit foundations in helping to eliminate hunger in Texas.

To donate to JETS for the Community on September 14th, please click here. To find out more about North Texas Giving Day, please visit www.NorthTexasGivingDay.org.

Blog authored by: Shadwick Fuller, President, JETS for the Community

North Texas Giving Day, the largest giving day in the nation powered by Communities Foundation of Texas, is back on September 14, 2017! In eight years, North Texas Giving Day has generated $156 million for the community. Learn more about some of the thousands of participating nonprofits here on BubbleLife from now until Giving Day. Read more about today's featured nonprofit, Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas, below. 

At Girl Scouts, we have always known that girls are the key to our collective future. Gender balance in the workplace and in the public sphere are vital to ensuring that every voice is heard and every outlook is considered. One of the best things we can do to ensure the long-term strength of the United States is to invest in girls. Women bring an invaluable perspective to the courtroom, the classroom, and the caucus room.

Girl Scouts is the best leadership experience for girls in the world, created specifically with and for girls. Our secret sauce? The Girl Scout Leadership Experience—a one-of-a-kind leadership development program that pairs girls with strong female role models who help each girl develop her potential. When you give to Girl Scouts on North Texas Giving Day, you are investing in a safe space where girls can develop a strong sense of self as they prepare to take charge of their future.

Creating more female leaders means starting young and making sure today’s girls are acquiring the skills they will need to take on the 21st century leadership roles. Through more than 100 years of experience, we are the experts at giving girls the tools they need to empower themselves by teaching them that their voices count, they must stand up for what they believe in, and they have the strength to take the lead.

Our program bolsters the benefits of school by fostering a safe, inclusive, girl-led, and all-female environment where girls are free to practice different skills, try new things, and take on leadership positions.

Through our brand new STEM Center of Excellence just outside of downtown Dallas, we are ensuring that every girl has an opportunity to take the lead in the world of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) through hands-on activities facilitated by partners and female mentors in the STEM industry. Our iconic Girl Scout Cookie Program is unrivaled in its ability to teach girls financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills. Additionally, our Girl Scout Leadership Institute is providing a unique setting to help girls explore careers they may have never before considered.

With more than a century of experience, Girl Scouts brings a wealth of knowledge to programs that provide cornerstone experiences for girls that last a lifetime. Put simply, Girl Scouts works. It’s the best leadership experience for girls in the world because it’s girl-led!

To donate to Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas on September 14, please click here. To find out more about North Texas Giving Day, please visit www.NorthTexasGivingDay.org.

Blog authored by: Jennifer Bartkowski, CEO, Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas 

North Texas Giving Day, the largest giving day in the nation powered by Communities Foundation of Texas, is back on September 14, 2017! In eight years, North Texas Giving Day has generated $156 million for the community. Learn more about some of the thousands of participating nonprofits here on BubbleLife from now until Giving Day. Read more about today's featured nonprofit, The Welman Project, below. 

FILL A CLASSROOM NOT A LANDFILL

Big issues need big solutions, and one person can’t possibly make a big enough impact to bring about big change, right? Um, wrong. So very wrong! YOU are a majestic unicorn of goodwill, and at The Welman Project, we help you use that goodwill to tackle two seemingly unrelated issues: education and the environment.

How, you ask? We pick up stuff from local companies - leftover, misprinted, outdated, taking-up-room-in-the-office stuff. We give those materials to teachers, working side-by-side to match repurposed items to their curriculum and classroom. (And nonprofits, are you reading this? We give you stuff, too!) All for free.

Why do we do it? Because 71 percent of materials that end up in a landfill could be reused in some way. Businesses often don’t have the time or resources to divert these surplus materials. Meanwhile, many nonprofits struggle to get by, and schools are underfunded, with teachers paying for around 77 percent of their own classroom supplies!

Through The Welman Project, waste is reduced, the burden on teachers is lessened, and creativity and ingenuity thrive in the classroom. BOOM! Big issues, small actions, major waves.

But we don’t surf this kahuna alone. “It takes a village” is kind of our business model. From law firms to classrooms to organizations working with our most vulnerable citizens, everyone has something they can pass along. We’re just making those connections; developing a social currency of goods and services that makes everyone smile.

The Welman Project is tiny, with three staff working in our spare time. Last North Texas Giving Day was our first ever fundraiser, and we turned that initial $7,000 investment from our community into over $70,000 worth of supplies donated to schools and nonprofits, while diverting about 76 standard dumpsters worth of material from landfills. And counting! How do we do it? Gumption. But mostly, YOUR generosity.

This year we’re raising funds for a much needed vehicle to collect and distribute donations, and a warehouse space to hold our inventory. And since we drive an average of 609 miles per month, we need a lot of gas money too!

Remember how you’re a majestic unicorn of goodwill? Your donation to The Welman Project, whether it be trash or twenties, makes a big impact across the whole community. So get up, give, and make waves with us on North Texas Giving Day!

To donate to the Welman Project on September 14th, please click here. To find out more about North Texas Giving Day, please visit www.NorthTexasGivingDay.org.

Blog authored by: Vanessa Barker and Taylor Willis, Co-Founders and Executive Directors of The Welman Project.