posted by admin on Oct 1

“Destiny is no matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved“ William Jennings Bryan

During my first month working for Waco Habitat for Humanity, I was asked to participate in the family selection process and provide Spanish translation for a home visit. When families are going through the selection process, part of the process requires some members of the Selection Committee to visit the families in their homes.

Leaving a job where I seldom interacted with people, making a home visit was kind of foreign to my past day-to-day activities. But nonetheless, I went, not knowing what to expect. It took a while to locate the home of the applicant; the house was placed toward the back of a lot. Now, I have lived in Waco, Texas most of my life and I never knew that such living conditions existed in this town. The house was a two-bedroom house and had an alleyway entrance.

Upon entering the home, my eyes had to adjust because the house was extremely dark. The bare bulb that hung off a cord in the kitchen gave little light and moved back and forth which provided an eeriness in the house. The house had several roof leaks and holes were abundant throughout the floor. The kitchen counters were covered with linoleum that was lifting up from all angles. The one thing that was astounding was how the house smelled of cleaning agents. The applicant may have lived in a modest setting but she maintained what little she had with a fierce pride.
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posted by admin on Oct 1

Graduate of Avance becomes Executive Director…

Avance is a program that educates parents with the necessary knowledge of child development and trains them with parenting skills so they can learn how to raise their children in a caring environment. Bereniz Moreno’s story illustrates how a mother is in a position to have tremendous impact on her child-either positively or negatively. Moreno is a living testimony to the program and as the executive director of the Avance-Waco program considers it extremely gratifying to see the positive change that happened in her family repeated in other family households.

“The day the Avance recruiter came to our door and talked my mom into attending the program changed my family’s life,” said Moreno. “My mother was dedicated to our care; however, she would yell and scold us and we felt we were always in trouble, after attending the Avance program, my mom became more affectionate in discipline, more consistent, she would explain why we were disciplined, this in turn made our household peaceful.”

“My dad encouraged mom in the Avance program, he noticed her attitude with us during discipline, and saw how mom nurtured and encouraged us; thereafter, he always supported her decisions when it came to us. For nine months in that first year, my mom, and I would attend the Avance program. While my mom attended her weekly classes, I was cared for in an educational setting. My mom learned basic developmental skills and was trained to monitor our linguistic, social, physical, emotional, and cognitive changes. She also attended a toy-making class that taught her how to make educational toys using everyday household items. Avance has a home-visiting component that follows up to ensure the training is provided in the homes, and parents receive personalized suggestions; I remember how that visiting day at my house was so intense because my mom was so invested in the program.” Read the rest of this entry »

posted by admin on Oct 1

Soyla Salazar – “The Miracle Baby”…..

Virginia Vasquez Salazar called her husband, Jesus “Chuy” Salazar and told him it was “time”. Chuy remembers saying “time – for what…ohhhhh!” They lived in a mobile trailer in Hallsburg, Texas and he had started work early this day. He picked up Virginia and they made the trip from Hallsburg to Waco in record time; however, they arrived with little time to prepare Virginia for delivery.When Virginia was brought to the recovery room, she was asked if she would be breast or bottle-feeding the baby. Virginia responded that she would be breastfeeding Soyla. When the baby was given to Virginia, she noticed that the nose area was a distinct blue. She asked the doctors, “Why does my baby have blue around her nose area?” she said they initially responded, “The fast delivery may have caused some bruising.” When the baby would not “latch on” for breast-feeding they took the baby to another area.

Virginia and Chuy were talking about the name Soyla, which means “alone” in Spanish. “Soyla is the only girl on my side of extended family and the only one in our family; therefore, she is Soyla,” said Chuy, “the only girl.”

They both remembered the look on the doctor’s faces when they returned and both of them sensed something was wrong. “The baby is being prepared for flight to Cooks Memorial Hospital in Fort Worth,” Virginia remembered the doctor saying. They said they had some news.” The baby would be taken by helicopter to Cooks Memorial Hospital because she had pulmonary attrition – one of four of the heart valves was not opening and closing properly. The blueness in the nose area was caused by the lack of oxygen to the lungs,” Virginia remembers the doctors saying.
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posted by admin on Oct 1

So you think you want to dance…Getting Started

NOTE: To get a foundation grant you must have a non-profit status from the Internal Revenue Service (501(c)3).

(1) The Foundation Tables that follow have been categorized by concepts and may fund multiple concept categories – see the bottom of the table. The Foundation Tables are arranged by concepts in the “Categories” button to the right. For the most part I was looking for foundations that fund workforce and financial literacy concepts. Geographically, the Foundations listed in the Tables fund in every state – making the process more competitive – you really have to show demonstrated performance to get funded.(2) If you are looking for your non-profit’s first grant and have established a project plan with goals/objectives/measurable outcomes, I suggest you start with your area’s local foundations. Just do a google for “local foundations in your town”, and see what you get – then do your foundation research – go to their websites to “hear” clearly the foundation’s mission and purpose to see if your non-profit’s mission and purpose align.(3) Annual Reports usually indicate who was funded, if you cannot find one on the foundation website go to Guidestar.com they have a copy of the foundation’s IRS forms that indicate who, where and how much was funded, these are available to the public. This is good information to know for financial project planning. Go to the funded organization’s websites and see what you can learn about how they aligned concepts.(4) The foundation’s websites have guidelines for submission and most applications are done on-line. Most of the foundations that I have seen have very minor applications, some require a Letter of Inquiry first to determine if your concept really does fit their mission before inviting you to submit the full application – when you submit the application they will require a copy of your 501©3 non-profit certification and financial documentation; i.e. audit, tax returns….

If you have a grant question – just ask.