Prosper, TX —In December, Cherise Camp, music leader in the children’s ministry of a local congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, used a unique game to combine singing time with community service. The children’s efforts benefitted Streetside Showers, a local nonprofit that provides hope, dignity, and weekly hot showers to homeless individuals in North Texas. 

In December 2023 Camp and her family visited the Giving Machines in McKinney. With the return of the Giving Machines to the Dallas-Fort Worth area in 2024, she wanted to find a way for her congregation’s children to experience the joy of giving as her family had, so she decided to make a replica of the big red vending machine and incorporate it into her song instruction for the children during Sunday School — called Primary in the Church of Jesus Christ for children ages three to eleven.

Camp worked with Angela Johnson, a JustServe specialist in Prosper, to choose a nonprofit to benefit in her activity. “[Angela and I] discussed a couple different organizations that we could potentially help out by having their needs in the Giving Machine. Ultimately Streetside Showers seemed like the best fit for what we were doing.” Several Prosper residents have volunteered with Streetside Showers through JustServe and have loved their experiences working alongside other volunteers.

Camp encouraged enthusiastic participants by passing out heart-shaped cutouts as they sang. At the conclusion of each song, the children who had earned a heart inserted their heart “coins” into the vending machine, each choosing an item to donate. The choices of hygiene products included items such as toothbrushes, lotion, and soap, all components of a kit that Streetside Showers provides to each client at their mobile shower site.

This activity took place over two Sundays in December, and in January the products were purchased. The youngest class, comprised of three- and four-year-olds, helped to assemble the kits which were delivered on MLK Day to Streetside Showers. 

“I wanted the Primary children to feel like they could make a difference in someone’s life by participating with my homemade Giving Machine in case they didn’t get the chance to go with their family,” said Camp. “Next year we hope to find another organization that we can bless by doing this activity again.”

Coppell resident Caitlin Rogers tragically lost her life on February 16, 2022, when she was fatally shot by her former abuser. At the time of the incident, Caitlin was on her way to meet his mother to share her truth about their relationship. She intended to explain the abuse she had endured, the reasons for cutting ties, and how she had begun to reclaim her life and move forward.

In her memory, Caitlin’s parents, Richard and Anne Rogers, have declared February 16th as a Day of Love. This initiative is dedicated to honoring Caitlin’s life and raising awareness about relationship violence in Coppell and beyond.

To mark this day, the Rogers family has partnered with the One Love Foundation to host a workshop at Caitlin’s alma mater, New Tech High, on February 16, 2025, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. The workshop is free and open to high school students, educators, coaches, and parents. Participants will learn to recognize the signs of unhealthy relationships and how to promote healthy ones.

“One Love’s mission is to empower young people with the knowledge and tools they need to foster healthy relationships while identifying unhealthy behaviors,” said Anne Rogers. “We hope this workshop will help prevent others from experiencing the pain Caitlin and our family went through.”

In addition to the workshop, Day of Love t-shirts were sold  to honor Caitlin’s memory. There are still some shirts available and they’re just $14 while supplies last!  Each shirt comes with a free Day of Love decal. If you’re interested in purchasing one (or a few), please send a DM through @caitlinsdayoflove on Instagram. Community members are encouraged to wear their shirts on February 16th to show support for Caitlin’s legacy and the fight against relationship violence.

The Rogers family hopes this annual observance will inspire the community to prioritize healthy relationships, raise awareness about the warning signs of abuse, and foster a culture of support and education.

This workshop and its activities are not affiliated with or sponsored by Coppell ISD. 

For more information about One Love and its mission to educate communities about healthy and unhealthy relationships, visit their website at www.joinonelove.org.

Merriman Anderson Architects (MAA) partnered with Legacy Bank & Trust to design new branch locations in Dallas and Plano, marking the company’s expansion into North Texas. These branches drew inspiration from the bank’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, and reflect Legacy Bank & Trust’s commitment to community development, innovative approaches to helping communities thrive and dedication to building for the long-term. 

The building exteriors combine clean, classic lines and materials that marry a fresh sensibility with a timeless aesthetic. The dynamic stand-alone buildings pop with unexpected energy yet fit naturally with their surroundings. Both buildings were existing and previously utilized for another business. MAA designed the renovations.

Interior finishes and treatments expand on the theme of modern, yet timeless, reflecting Legacy Bank & Trust's approach to reimagining what a community bank can be. The combination of warm woods, golden finishes and fabric patterns inspired by The Oak logo reflect the growth and strength of Legacy Bank, a backbone of financial success in communities across the Midwest and now, Texas.

The Dallas location is located at 17561 Dallas Parkway, Dallas, TX 75287, and the Plano branch’s address is 437 Coit Road, Plano, TX 75075. 

“Legacy Bank & Trust brings a unique energy and passion to supporting the communities it serves and we wanted to ensure that feeling was infused throughout the new buildings,” says Milton Anderson, President of MAA. “The rich blend of textures, colors and elements both inside and outside provide a feeling of inspiration grounded in tradition.”

The Dallas branch location at 17561 Dallas Parkway is 5,535 square feet. The Plano branch location at 437 Coit Rd. is 7,086 square feet. Both locations are now open and supporting their surrounding communities.

The first Legacy Bank & Trust branch that entered the Dallas-Fort Worth market is located in Fort Worth at 5721 N Tarrant Pkwy, Fort Worth, TX 76244 and opened last year.

Terracon Consultants, Inc. is the contractor.

For more information about MAA, please visit the company’s website merriman-maa.com.

February is American Heart Month, a time to focus on cardiovascular health. As we celebrate the month of love, store displays plastered with hearts serve as an important reminder that heart disease prevention is vital to overall health. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease is the leading cause of death in adults in the U.S. 

While most of the risk factors of heart disease are generally well-known, it’s important to understand there are some lesser-known determinants. 

Risk factors*

• Chest pain, pressure, burning, aching or tightness – it may come and go
• A family history of cardiovascular disease
• High blood pressure
• Overweight or obese
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Using tobacco products
• Metabolic disease, diabetes or other illnesses
• For women it can also include birth control pills, a history of pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes or having a baby with low birth weight

* These are the general risk factors. Discuss your risk with your doctor. 

Because anyone can be at risk, Early Heart Attack Care (EHAC) education teaches the early signs and symptoms of a heart attack, which can include:

Feeling of fullness; pain that travels down one or both arms; jaw pain; excessive fatigue or weakness; anxiety; nausea or vomiting; back pain; shortness of breath; chest pressure, squeezing, aching, or burning.

Some heart attack symptoms can be different between men and women. This can often result in women being less likely to seek immediate medical care, which can cause more damage to the heart. 

• Men normally feel pain and numbness in the left arm or side of the chest, but in women, these symptoms may appear on the right side.
• Women may feel completely exhausted, drained, dizzy or nauseous.
• Women may feel upper back pain that travels up into their jaw.
• Women may think their stomach pain is the flu, heartburn or an ulcer.

Someone experiencing a heart event might have one or more of these common symptoms. When they start, they can be mild or come and go. Over time, the symptoms and pain become more intense. Stay alert and always pay attention to chest pressure. 

Most heart damage can occur within the first two hours of a heart attack. EHAC encourages you to know the subtle signs of a heart attack and act on them before heart damage occurs. 

Prevention is key

A CT angiogram identifies early detection of heart disease by detecting plaque in the walls of your arteries before an obstructive heart attack occurs. Call today or talk to your provider to see if a preventative CT angiogram is right for you. Carrollton Regional Medical Center’s state-of-the-art 640-slice CT scanner, the first of its kind in North Texas, provides a three-second heart scan that uses a low dose of radiation and contrast.

Stay Calm! Save a Life 

If you miss the early signs and someone collapses, call 911 and begin hands-only CPR. It takes just minutes to learn, but you could be adding years to someone's life. If an AED is available, deploy it as soon as possible. AEDs provide easy to follow verbal instructions in order to help someone. 

Carrollton Regional Medical Center is a 216 - bed Acute Care Hospital managed by Sana Healthcare. CRMC serves Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Lewisville, The Colony, and other surrounding communities. CRMC offers an array of services including 24/7 Emergency Care, Cardiac Catheterization Lab, Imaging Services, Rehabilitation and Therapy Services, Cancer Care, a 16- bed Intensive Care Unit, Surgical Services, and an Inpatient Orthopedic Center of Excellence. Our Women’s Imaging Center is just 2 blocks north of the hospital and provides 3D digital mammography and other specialized breast procedures. CRMC is here to serve its community with high quality, patient-focused care, close to home. Visit www.crmc.health.

Texas Women’s Foundation has announced details of its Leadership Forum & Awards Celebration on May 8, 2025, at the Omni Dallas Hotel (555 S. Lamar St., Dallas, TX 75202).

The day begins with #BESTSELF, an event designed to empower teen girls to prioritize their health and wellbeing, develop strong communication and conflict resolution skills and lean into leadership opportunities. The evening dinner and Awards Celebration honors the 2025 Maura Women Helping Women and Young Leader recipients.

Co-chairs for the event are business and community leaders Debbie Dennis, Chief Customer Officer and SVP Human Resources and Corporate Affairs at Oncor Electric Delivery, and Brooke Hopkins, Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal.

Texas Women’s Foundation President and CEO Karen Hughes White said, “We invite you to join us on May 8^th as we pour into the next generation of leaders at #BESTSELF and then hear from our stellar slate of honorees who have dedicated themselves and their careers to uplifting women, girls and families to strengthen our communities.”

Maura Women Helping Women Award:

For 46 years, the Maura Women Helping Women Award has been presented to more than 230 courageous individuals who have catalyzed change for women and girls. Brenda Jackson, selection co-chair and former Maura Women Helping Women Award recipient, and Carrie Freeman Parsons, TXWF Board Chair and selection co-chair, led the committee to select the following honorees:

Cynt Marshall, Marshalling Resources Founder and The Dallas Mavericks (retired CEO)

Cynt Marshall has been a dynamic force in business over a 36-year career at AT&T.  When she was hired as the CEO of the Dallas Mavericks in March 2018, she set her sights on a culture transformation. Her vision was for the Mavericks organization to become the NBA standard for inclusion, diversity, and workplace culture, and the Dallas Mavericks have twice received the NBA’s Inclusion Leadership award. She is  founder of Marshalling Resources, a consulting firm. Her first book, You’ve Been Chosen, was released in September 2022 and was nominated for an NAACP Image award. Marshall is the recipient of several honors and awards including the 2024 Lone Star EMMYS President’s award, the 2024 Junior Achievement of Dallas Business Hall of Fame Laureate award, among others. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with degrees in Business Administration and Human Resources Management and holds four honorary Doctorate degrees.

Anne Chow, The Rewired CEO Founder

Anne Chow is a transformative business leader whose trailblazing corporate career spans over three decades. She is currently Lead Independent Director on the Board of Directors of Franklin Covey and serves on the boards of 3M and CSX. She is a Senior Fellow and Adjunct Professor of Executive Education at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and the national best-selling author of LEAD BIGGER: The Transformative Power of Inclusion. In her prior role as CEO of AT&T Business, she was the first woman of color CEO in AT&T’s 140+ year history, responsible for leading a $35B global operating unit comprised of over 35,000 people. Widely recognized for her role model leadership, Chow was named to Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Business twice, Forbes inaugural CEO Next List of Leaders set to revolutionize American business and was inducted into the Dallas Business Hall of Fame.

Carine M. Feyten, Ph.D., Texas Woman’s University Chancellor and President

Since 2014, Carine M. Feyten, Ph.D. has served as chancellor of the Texas Woman’s University System and president of Texas Woman’s University, the nation’s largest university with a woman-focused mission. Spearheading the largest construction boom in the university’s history (nearly $500 million) and first ever comprehensive campaign, she has more than tripled the endowment, launched many major initiatives such as the Jane Nelson Institute for Women’s Leadership and the Doswell School of Aeronautical Sciences focusing on preparing women pilots. Personally, she is deeply committed to amplifying the impact that emerges from TWU’s distinctive campus where women comprise 90% of the student body. She has made strategic investments to extend the university’s mission to whole-person development. Her leadership fosters a supportive environment that prepares graduates to succeed in today’s complex global society. These efforts were recognized by the American Council on Education with the 2023 ACE/Fidelity Investments Award for Institutional Transformation.

Jennifer Bartkowski, Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas CEO

Jennifer Bartkowski is the Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas (GSNETX), having held multiple leadership roles over the last 15 years. She pioneered a national Girl Scout STEM initiative built on the success of the $15M STEM Center of Excellence in southwest Dallas to change the workforce pipeline for North Texas. She is now leading a transformational strategy to reimagine Girl Scouts to serve more girls in more communities in more inclusive ways. Bartkowski holds a Master of Public Administration from Texas A&M University and has worked with a variety of organizations including United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the American Lung Association of Texas. She serves as Chair of the Leadership Dallas Alumnae Association and The Dallas Summit, Board Chair of Black Women in Nonprofit Leadership, sits on the Aggie Women Network Board of Directors, and is a founding board member of Carson’s Village.

Nirupama “Rupa” DeSilva, M.D., Parkland Health, UT Southwestern Medical Center Professor

Nirupama “Rupa” DeSilva, M.D. is a Professor of OBGYN at UT Southwestern.  A specialist in pediatric-adolescent gynecology, her clinical practice is at Children’s Medical Center. Dr. DeSilva also serves as Parkland’s Medical Director of Family Planning and Child Poverty Action Lab’s Expert in Residence. Throughout her career, Dr. DeSilva has had great interest in increasing access to effective medical care within her community, as well as educating people about their reproductive needs so that patients can decide if a contraceptive option is best for them. In her role as Medical Director of Family Planning, she is dedicated to working with her team to increase access to women’s health for marginalized women through innovation. In this vein, she has created many new projects, including a new mobile van that can make access to contraception easier for those women who desire it. 

Young Leader Award:

The Young Leader Award recognizes breakthrough leadership exhibited by a trailblazer who is achieving success in a field, initiative or sector, and creating a path of opportunity for other women to follow. This year’s recipients:

Haleigh Jones, Crawford, Wishnew & Lang Attorney

Haleigh Jones is an attorney practicing civil litigation in Dallas. She handles trials and appeals in high-stakes, commercial cases. She uses her law degree to effect positive change and advance the lives of women in Texas, most recently pursuing a school district for violations of Title IX that led to sexual abuse of a female minor student. Jones is a mentor in and servant of her local and state bar associations. She served as the president of the 2024 Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, a 2,500-member bar association with more than 30 committees whose two-fold mission is to improve the lives of young lawyers and to improve the DFW community. In 2021, the Dallas Women Lawyers Association recognized Jones as its “Rising Raggio.” The award, named after Louise Raggio, recognizes an outstanding young woman lawyer who has had significant professional accomplishment and acted as a leader in the Dallas community.

Cristal Retana Lule, Children’s Health Vice President of Community Relations

Cristal Retana Lule is committed to advancing equitable access to opportunities and resources to enhance the overall quality of life for all. As Vice President of Community Relations at Children’s Health, she leads the organization's community outreach initiatives also focusing on local and regional advocacy. Lule is a first-generation Texas and proud daughter of Mexican immigrants. She began her public policy career as a legislative staffer in the Texas Senate and has held several influential roles at both the state and local levels. She also served as Mayor Pro Tem for the City of Farmers Branch where she launched several initiatives including the city’s first night court, youth commission, senior repair program and more. Lule has received numerous accolades, including the 2024 League of Women Voters Volunteer Award, 2023 DFW Hispanic 100 Emerging Latina Leader Award and was recently appointed to serve as the 2025 state chair-elect for the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas.

To learn more about this event and purchase a sponsorship, visit https://txwf.org/join-us/events/lfac-event/ For those interested in sponsorship, contact Joy Busch at maura@txwf.org or 214-525-5321.

About Texas Women’s Foundation:

One of the largest women’s foundations in the country, Texas Women’s Foundation (TXWF) knows that now more than ever is the time to create more equitable communities to build #StrongWomenBetterWorld. TXWF raises funds from a broad base of donors, including individuals, foundations and corporations. These resources support more than $6 million in investments each year that advance economic security and leadership for Texas women and girls through research, advocacy, grantmaking and strategic/educational initiatives. Since its inception in 1985, TXWF has invested nearly $85 million in Texas women and girls.

The Foundation’s statewide research on issues impacting Texas women and girls provides corporate, state and local decision-makers and lawmakers with critical data to inform policies, practices and programs across the state. Its advocacy, grantmaking and educational initiatives support solutions that help Texas women and girls survive and thrive. In addition, Texas Women’s Foundation is an acknowledged leader and advocate in the gender lens investing movement, deploying 100 percent of its invested assets – endowments, operating investments and donor-advised funds – in a gendered impact portfolio that yields strong financial returns and social benefits to women and girls. For more information, visit www.txwf.org, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram or donate now