Bondi is an adorable 11-month-old rescue puppy who has already faced more challenges in her short life than many dogs ever do. Adopted from Operation Kindness, a DFW-based animal shelter, Bondi has quickly become a cherished member of her new family.

Recently, Bondi was involved in a serious accident with a garbage truck, leaving her in urgent need of medical attention. This brave pup now requires multiple surgeries, intensive care, and extensive rehabilitation to recover from her injuries.

To help cover the costs of Bondi's surgeries, treatments, medications, and rehabilitation, a GoFundMe has been created. Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a significant difference in Bondi's journey to recovery. Your support will not only help Bondi heal physically but also ensure she continues to experience the love and joy of her forever home.

A new foster parent resource has launched as part of a foster parent awareness campaign to recruit loving foster homes in Metroplex East, a nine-county region in North Texas including Dallas, Collin, Ellis, Fannin, Grayson, Hunt, Kaufman, Navarro and Rockwall. 

There are currently over 2,000 children in foster care within the Metroplex East region and a shortage of foster homes. To fulfill the need of finding more loving homes for children, EMPOWER is launching the Empower Dreams, Foster Futures awareness campaign to inform the Metroplex East community about the life-changing impact to children by becoming a foster parent. The newly developed online toolkit of information for prospective foster parents has been created to help those interested find support and the best placement agency tailored to their unique needs.

Finding the right support and tools when embarking on the journey to become a licensed foster parent is paramount. This user-friendly, intuitive platform is tailored to help navigate the process with ease and precision. Families and individuals can find foster home providers based on proximity to location, specialties and categories, and counties served. 

Due to instability and other factors, children in foster care face higher rates of poverty, incarceration, and mental health issues. Loving foster families play a huge role in making a difference in the lives of these children. Foster parents often provide a safe and nurturing base for children during a short time while agencies are advocating for and with their biological families, with the end goal of children reuniting with their family or primary caregiver. 

“All children deserve a loving home to experience stability, whether it is for a short time or an extended period,” says Dr. Linda Garcia, Senior Vice President of EMPOWER. “There is a great need for more foster parents in North Texas to provide safe and stable environments for children in our communities. We hope that those that are able will consider becoming a licensed foster parent. We see the difference these families make in the lives and futures of children every day.”

EMPOWER is a nonprofit child welfare collaborative and the Community-Based Care contractor for the Metroplex East region in North Texas. EMPOWER provides foster care case management, kinship and reunifications services for all children and families in the region.

The Metroplex East region’s new foster parent online resource features different agencies and organizations to help families walk through the process of becoming a foster parent, support them through each placement and provide training services to help foster families improve and learn new parenting techniques. The process to become a licensed foster parent is broken into three main steps, each with supportive materials, including:

• Step One - Finding the right foster care provider agency. 

• Step Two - Walking through the process of becoming a foster parent with the chosen agency and receiving support with the required documents, training, home studies, background checks, and references. 

• Step Three - After becoming a licensed foster parent, the next step is to receive a first placement where case workers will be available to help at all times. Foster families will also continue to complete foster parent training hours each year they are licensed to help them improve and learn new parenting skills. 

“Though it surely has challenges, it’s important to remember healing is not linear,” says Kayla and Joseph Liz, licensed foster parents with CK Family Services’ Treatment Foster Care Program. “With every challenge overcome brings a greater reward. It’s been very fulfilling having the opportunity to change someone’s life around for the better.”

Foster care journeys are a life changing experience for both the foster families and the children. Deciding to become a foster parent is the first step in making a lasting impact on the lives of children. 

There are many local children in foster care in need of a safe, loving place to call home. To learn more about becoming a foster parent and other ways individuals and families can help these children in need, please visit 3empower.org/fosterfutures.

Legacy Bank and Trust is excited to announce the opening of its new location at 17561 Dallas Parkway, Dallas, TX 75287. This is the company’s first branch in Dallas and second in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, after recently opening a branch in Fort Worth at 5721 N. Tarrant Parkway. The operating hours of the new bank are Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  

The company’s expansion into the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex includes a corporate office in the Uptown area of Dallas at 2401 Cedar Springs, Suite 305, Dallas, TX 75201, and three new branches, the last of which is now open in Plano at 437 Coit Road, Plano, TX 75075. Legacy offers innovative products and services with personalized, in-house lending services and strong account benefits. 

“We are pleased to have a presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and look forward to providing customers in the area with the personal service, attention and commitment Legacy is known for,” says Jeremy Loftin, Executive Vice President, Chief Operations Officer at Legacy Bank and Trust. “Our bank has been in business since 1907 and has been committed to providing leading services in banking for our customers since the day we opened. Our new branches are designed with a warm, welcoming environment to foster personal relationships with our customers. We hope our surrounding neighbors will stop in to meet us.”

With the foundation of providing the best in banking for citizens looking for a trusted local partner and a personalized experience, Legacy offers many innovative services to meet customers' banking needs and a toolkit of resources to support clients in making the right financial decisions for themselves or their business. In addition to Legacy’s trusted services, the Texas branches offer top of market certificate of deposit rates and four signature checking account options. 

Based in Springfield, Missouri, Legacy was founded in 1907, and currently serves nine branches in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas, with plans of further expansion. Legacy is a subsidiary of Ozarks Heritage Financial Group, and recently acquired Crain Mortgage Group LLC, a Dallas-based provider of secondary market Federal Housing Administration / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development multifamily loans. Crain Mortgage Group is now known as Legacy Capital. 

The company’s vision has been to surpass standards in banking for its customers as well as local businesses to help the community thrive. With a mission to serve as the financial leader in economic and community development by providing financial products and services that benefit largely underserved populations, Legacy’s employees and shareholders are committed to partnering financially with customers to ensure vital capital investment in its communities. 

The Texas Family Initiative hosted its third annual charity golf tournament benefiting EMPOWER, a nonprofit child welfare collaborative, on Monday, May 6 at The Nelson Golf and Sports Club, raising just over $75,000 in donations to impact local children in foster care. The first place winners of the tournament were Chris Mullins, Brandon Betts, Scott Porter and Jim Toney. 

EMPOWER is led by Texas Family Initiative LLC and is supported by local providers in North Texas including CK Family Services, Jonathan’s Place, Bair Foundation, Pathways Youth and Family Services that work together to serve some of our most vulnerable children and families.

EMPOWER was awarded as the Community-Based Care (CBC) contractor by the State of Texas for the Metroplex East region which is a nine-county area including Dallas, Collin, Ellis, Fannin, Grayson, Hunt, Rockwall, Kaufman and Navarro counties. As the CBC contractor, EMPOWER provides foster care management, kinship and reunification services for all children and families in the Metroplex East region. There are nearly 2,000 foster children in the region.

There are many local children in foster care in need of a safe, loving place to call home. To learn more about how individuals and families can help these children in need, please visit www.3empower.org or www.fosterfuturestx.org.

Sheraton Dallas Hotel in downtown Dallas is spreading the joy for Pride Month in June with their Pride and Joy Couples Retreat Package. The hotel’s Pride and Joy Couples Retreat Package includes a bottle of champagne to toast to love and complimentary buffet breakfast for two to start the day right at Open Palette. The package is valid for stay dates between June 1, 2024 and June 30, 2024. The package can be booked online using the promotional code: 4LG. 

Open Palette, the hotel’s signature restaurant and bar, offers fresh, flavorful American classics inspired by its Dallas roots. 

Sheraton Dallas is the largest hotel in Texas and the second largest Sheraton in the world, with 1,840 guest rooms, 230,000 square feet of flexible meeting and convention spaces, pool, fitness center with state-of-the-art fitness equipment and Peloton bikes, and four dining outlets. 

Sheraton Dallas offers many activities to enjoy while staying at the hotel, including:

• Mixology Mondays - a mixology class at the hotel’s upscale lounge bar, The Parlor; reservations can be made here

• Trivia Thursdays - every Thursday at 8pm in Open Palette’s bar area, Dallas Trivia Guy hosts Trivia Night

• Live Music - every Saturday evening from 6-10pm there is live music played in Open Palette

• Reese’s Book Club Gatherings- every month the hotel hosts a Reese’s Book Club Gathering to meet, discuss the book, and enjoy light sips and bites; for June it is on June 25 from 5:30-6:30pm in the Sheraton Club Lounge library

• Karaoke in Draft Sports Bar & Lounge - Sing karaoke with a group of close friends in Draft Sports Bar & Lounge’s private karaoke room 

 Sheraton Dallas Hotel is located at 400 North Olive Street, Dallas, Texas 75201.