Youth

After8toEducate (After8) seeks to improve life and promote independence by giving unsheltered students a safe place as a pathway out of homelessness. Youth services through After8 include housing supports, case management, mental and physical health care, life skills classes, support groups and counseling, psychiatric care, educational reconnection services through DISD, and family reunification services. After8 opened the Drop-In Center in June 2019. In the first 3 months, 37 homeless youth visited 277 times. Funding will support ongoing annual expenses as well as help close the $1.2 million gap towards the $4 million capital campaign.

After-School All-Stars (ASAS) North Texas provides comprehensive after-school programs that keep kids safe and help them succeed in school and life. ASAS North Texas provides academic support and enrichment opportunities to at-risk middle school students during the “danger zone” hours of 3-6pm. Core initiative programs include: High School Readiness; Social Emotional Learning; Health, Fitness, & Nutrition Enrichment; and STEM Enrichment. ASAS North Texas served 846 students and 100% achieved on-time grade promotion, and launched their first-ever six-week summer school program. Funding will support general operating costs for programs in 6 high-need Dallas schools, STEM and healthy living program equipment, and staff training.

The mission of Amachi Vision Corps, Inc. is to empower youth through education, training and job placement while helping to rebuild thriving communities and promote healthy lifestyles. Amachi Vision Corp, Inc. is committed to developing youth and community programs that simultaneously address core issues facing low-income communities. Core programs include: a summer feeding program, sports education, STEM education, and crime prevention. In 2018, they fed over 5,000 Dallas/Ft. Worth children in their summer reading program, and provided sports education to over 250 kids. Funds are needed to bridge the gap in resources to low-income children and families while addressing core issues they face.

AZAR Foundation, Inc. meets the needs of homeless children, at-risk youth, and families. Core programs include: Working with Head Start of Greater Dallas early start programs providing education and enrichment and 101 parenting tips; social justice and race equality programs; providing customized family services and educational programs to homeless shelters for children and families. AZAR has served over 100,000 youth and families. AZAR has coalition programs with Head Start of Greater Dallas and Texas Health and Human Services. Funding will support general operating costs for the AZAR Leaders Youth and Family Classes and Services and Coalition programs.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star (BBBS) builds and supports 1-to-1 relationships to ignite the biggest possible future for youth with the vision that all youth achieve their full potential. Mentoring programs include community-based, school-based, and mentor2.0. Within each, BBBS works with a variety of unique populations on targeted programming to meet their specific needs. All programs are centered around 1-to-1 mentoring to develop positive, meaningful relationships for lasting effects for children. BBBS served 2,000+ youth in 2018; on track to grow 11% in ‘19 thanks to 2,000+ community volunteer mentors and launched Bigs in Blue-police mentor kids. Funding will support operating costs for BBBS’ community-based, school-based, and mentor2.0 technology-based mentoring programs.

Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas’ (BGCD) mission is to enable young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Core programs include Academic Success, BGCD's program helping Dallas area youth achieve literacy and completion of high school; Healthy Lifestyles, a program promoting an active lifestyle, proper nutrition, and avoiding destructive behavior; and Good Character & Citizenship, growing teen leaders. BGCD provided a safe place to learn and grow to more than 6,500 youth in 2018 - with more than 90% advancing to the next grade level. Funding will support general operating costs associated with the Academic Success, Healthy Lifestyles, or Good Character & Citizenship programs.

Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County's mission is to enable all young people, especially those who need it most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Clubs provide education, leadership, and healthy lifestyle programs to the most vulnerable kids. Other programs include Comin’ Up, a gang intervention program, prevention programs organized to address alcohol/drug challenges, and pre-college programs focused on graduation and college enrollment. In 2018 they served 23,746 youth at 26 locations across Tarrant County, making them the largest Boys & Girls Clubs organization in Texas. Funding will support Academic Success and Healthy Lifestyles programs that assure success for each young person served at the Club.

Boys and Girls Clubs of Collin County's mission is to enable all youth to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Core programs include Power Hour, their academic success program which exists to aid students in homework help, tutoring, and high-yield learning activities; Money Matters, a financial wellness and literacy program developed for youth age 13-18; and SMART Moves, a program focused on healthy habits and nutrition. SMART Moves served 2,403 youth with 309,269 healthy meals and snacks, and Money Matters served 1,508 youth. Funds are needed to support general operating costs, Money Matters program, Youth of the Year program, and SMART Moves prevention program.

The mission of Bridge Lacrosse is to use the sport of lacrosse to broaden the horizons of the community's youth. Year-round, Bridge Lacrosse provides communities with opportunities to be engaged in lacrosse while focusing on developmental, enrichment and academic needs. Bridge Lacrosse provides a safe and fun environment and uses lacrosse to provide new and unique opportunities to the youth. In 2019, they will have served 800 youth. Bridge Lacrosse is proud of its successes with an 85% retention rate, 25% of alumni volunteer support and 13% growth in hours of programming and total youth served. Funding will support their competitive spring season, their largest program, the summer academy program and the growing college access curriculum.

Cafe Momentum equips adjudicated teens with life skills, education, and employment opportunities to help them achieve their full potential. Café Momentum is a 12-month paid internship set in a casual fine dining restaurant. Interns receive case management support to re-enroll in an accredited education program, address critical housing, food, and medical needs, and access counseling with licensed professionals, among other services. Café Momentum serves 140 teens annually with jobs and opportunity for less than 1/10 the cost of juvenile detention—and it's 3x as effective. Funding will support intern wages, uniforms, bus passes, and other costs associated with administering the internship program.

CASA of Collin County protects the best interests of abused and neglected children by training volunteers to serve as their voice in court. After 30 hours of training, volunteers are sworn in by the District Court Judge and assigned to a child. CASA follows each child for the entirety of the legal case to advocate for medical, educational, and other needs. They are often the only constant and trusted individuals in the child’s life. In 2018, 285 CASA volunteers advocated for the 597 abused and neglected children who were appointed to the organization. CASA believes that every child and legal case is unique. Funding will help ensure that there is a CASA for every vulnerable child in the community.

CASA of Denton County recruits, trains, and supports community volunteers who advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children. CASA of Denton County’s only program is court advocacy for children in the foster care system. They aim to provide a trained volunteer advocate for every child from Denton County in need of one so that the court is well informed about each child’s needs and best interests while the child navigates the child welfare system. CASA will serve approximately 70 more children in 2019 than in 2018, after increasing program staff. CASA volunteers gave more than 22,500 hours in 2018. Funding will support serving more children in need. In 2019, CASA will only serve approximately half of the children currently in Denton County foster care.

Cedar Hill Action Team's vision is to provide youth enrichment programs that influence successful strategies needed to become responsible citizens. Cedar Hill Action Team (CHAT) Core Programs include Mentor Programs and Camps that help foster student leadership, inspire kids to make better choices and assist with improving academic performance. CHAT also has a school supply program to ensure every student is prepared to learn and succeed. CHAT served 119 kids at Camps and mentored over 60 middle school-aged students this year. CHAT also gave out over 50 school supply bundles. Funding will support general operating cost for Cedar Hill Action Teams programs.

Children At Risk's mission is to improve the quality of life for children in Texas. Children at Risk’s four main issue areas are improving child health and nutrition, strengthening public education, enhancing parenting and family well-being and ending child trafficking. Children at Risk helped 200,000 children gain access to school meals through the Food in Schools program. Children At Risk gives parents tools through the Texas School Guide. Additionally, Human Trafficking Tours raise awareness. Funding will create Human Trafficking educational programs for schools, expand afterschool meal programs through outreach to targeted ISDs, and rank over 7,000 schools.

Children’s Advocacy Center of Collin County provides safety, healing, and justice for children in Collin County who have been victimized by abuse or neglect. Core services include Forensic fact-finding interviews for children affected by abuse or neglect; Trauma-focused therapy for children and non-offending family members, and Family Advocacy and Support Services meeting the short/long-term economic/social needs of children, families/caregivers. In the past year, Children’s Advocacy Center of Collin County served over 4,000 clients and achieved the goal of providing services to 100% of children needing therapy and other services at no charge. Funding will supplement the Holiday Project toy drive, support general operations of programs agency-wide, and purchase Rainbow Room items.

Clayton Youth Enrichment exists to prepare North Texas children to live great lives through experiences in their after-school programs. Clayton offers enriching after-school and childcare programs designed to provide safe, nurturing communities where children learn and practice social and emotional skills, use their hands and imaginations to discover new learning connections and prepare to be tomorrow's leaders. In 2019 Clayton provided 400-700 hours of enrichment and $514,000 in scholarships to 7,000 children across 75+ locations across Tarrant County. Funding will support scholarships and staff training in trauma-informed care, small group facilitation, and social-emotional learning.

Communities In Schools of North Texas (CISNT) surrounds students with a community of support empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. Communities In School Case Management programs support K-12 students who are at-risk of dropping out of school through holistic services that target barriers to success. Afterschool Centers on Education provide students with free academic support and enrichment to give them a safe place to learn after school. Of CISNT case-managed students served in 2018-19 97% promoted to the next grade; 96% of eligible seniors graduated, and 99.6% stayed in school. Funding will support case management services during the 2019-2020 school year for 3,540 North Texas K-12 students at-risk of dropping out of school.

Community Storehouse is dedicated to the education and well-being of low income children in the community. Think of Community Storehouse as the first responders to any issues that threaten to interfere with a child’s success in school. Programming is developed based on the needs of children in their region. The cycle of generational poverty can and will only be broken through education of children. Community Storehouse provided over 100,000 services to over 5,000 low income children in 2018-2019. Funds are needed to support their on-going educational programs. Funding allows Community Storehouse to work hands-on with the children that they serve making the largest impact!

Council for a Strong America (CSA) engages law enforcement, military, business, faith and sports leaders who promote evidence-based policies and programs that enable kids to be healthy, well-educated and prepared for productive lives. CSA's Fight Crime:Invest in Kids and Mission:Readiness members educate local & state policymakers. The Police Training Institute connects police & youth for safer communities. CSA hosts educational meetings between policymakers and CSA staff, Op-eds and letters to the editor, “Connecting Youth and Communities with Law Enforcement (CYCLE)” – a no-cost training program that includes classroom instruction for youth and police, plus listening sessions and town hall meetings. In the past year, CSA advocate to have Senate Bill 952 passed with Mission: Readiness support, hosted a Mission:Readiness capitol press conference with Partnership for a Healthy Texas, and hosted CYCLE training in Austin, Texas. Funding will support adding staff for more meetings with legislators, local initiatives that benefit youth, and providing funds to the Police Training Institute for CFT-area training.

Dallas Afterschool's mission is to improve the quality and availability of afterschool and summer programs in our community. Core programs include the Program Quality Initiative (PQI) and the After the Bell Alliance (ATBA). PQI improves the quality of free and low-cost afterschool programs, while ATBA seeks to increase access to programs for families that need them most. PQI supports 175 afterschool programs that reach 14,000 low-income students in Dallas County. Funds are needed to support both our consulting service, the Program Quality Initiative, and our advocacy branch, The After the Bell Alliance.

Dallas Tennis Association’s mission is to provide opportunities to improve the mental and physical well-being of the community through education and the sport of tennis. Dallas Tennis Association reaches approximately 25,000 Dallas children each year through the Dallas Tennis & Education Academy. They provide children with tutoring, tennis instruction, and life skills training & equipment. Core programs include in-school PE assemblies, after-school, summer, and a junior development program. In the past year, Dallas Tennis Association’s development program has a graduation rate of 100% and opened a location at Solar Prep. Funding will support staffing & resources at additional sites, travel stipends for players to events, and the costs of administration (record grades, nat. reports, etc.).

Dallas United Crew’s (DUC) mission is to unite and empower Dallas through rowing and dragon boating. DUC provides disadvantaged youth the opportunity to be part of a competitive youth rowing team. DUC equips students, regardless of background or ability, for success on and off the water with life lessons learned in a racing shell: teamwork, accountability, resilience, integrity and perseverance. In 2019, as of October, DUC served over 700 youth to date. 100% of 2019 rowers matriculated to college, and 80% were recruited to row with scholarships/admissions assistance. Funds are needed to support disadvantaged youth rowers, specifically, assisting with
transportation, equipment, scholarships and academic support.

Dune's LGBT Homeless Solutions Foundation seeks to help LGBT young adults achieve growth, success, respect, and financial stability. Core partnerships include MHMR Healthy Community Collaborative, which provides rapid rehousing support; Tarrant County Workforce Solutions, which meets education and employment needs; JPS True Worth Services, which meets healthcare needs; and MHMR for mental health and addiction services. They recently purchased their first location and have served 5 young adults in the last 30 days. Funds will help support general operating cost associated with provide effective services to the youth seeking assistance.

Faithful Friend trains and provides service dogs through a remarkable process that uniquely benefits at-risk youth and US veterans with disabilities. Faithful Friend’s mission takes them into North Texas juvenile facilities where they engage kids in a life-changing program. Assisting in training service dogs for US veterans is a powerful, therapeutic motivator; interrupting negative patterns, redirecting a kid's energy & focusing that energy in a positive, productive direction. Faithful Friend youth outreach has achieved a 99% participation rate in juvenile centers across North Texas resulting in marked reductions in behavioral problems. Funding will support At-Risk Youth Outreach and fund operating costs, canine feeding, veterinary costs, and travel to outreach events.

The mission of Food for the Soul is to fight childhood hunger, school by school, in North Texas. Food for the Soul’s flagship program is the Backpack Program, through which they serve over 1,500 food-insecure children in North Texas. Participants receive 6 meals and 4 snacks every weekend. Additionally, they host a Pre-Game Meal Program, providing hot meals to 220 high school football players before games. Since its inception in 2009, Food for the Soul has provided over 2.5 million free meals and snacks to hungry children in North Texas communities. Funding will support the purchase of food to be distributed through their Backpack Program, serving more children in the Metroplex.

For the Nations Refugee Outreach provides educational and acculturation services that help meet the practical needs of refugees and to share with them the gospel of Jesus Christ. Core programs include Educational English, a literacy and acculturation class for refugee adults; After-school program, which provides tutoring, homework help, and enrichment activities for refugee children/youth; and the Summer Reading Program, teaching reading, math, science, art, dance, and more. In the past year, the Summer Reading Program served 527 refugee children, 50 youth went to KAA camp, and the after-school program served 400+ students per week. Funding will support operating costs for educational preschool programs, after-school programs, and summer reading programs for refugee children/youth.

Fort Worth Police Athletic League’s mission is to unite communities of Fort Worth and the Police Department by providing youth programs that motivate, inspire, and develop confidence, trust, and respect. Core programs include After Dark Code Blue Basketball, two boxing gyms for boys and girls, flag football for boys and girls ages 5-13, cheerleading, Badges for Baseball Cal Ripken youth mentorship, two outdoor excursions per year, and Frisbee Disc Golf. In the past year, Fort Worth Police Athletic League has seen an 80% increase in student grades, 13 kids achieved Golden Gloves, improved student conduct, increased physical fitness, and better overall self-esteem in their students. Funding will support the cost of equipment, tournaments, events, uniforms, and registration fees for 600 children.

The Gift of Adoption Fund, Inc. is a national charitable organization that inspires adoption by providing grants to qualified parents – giving children who need families a permanent home and a chance to thrive. Gift of Adoption Fund accomplishes this through events, grant submissions, and donors. In 2019, they provided 24 grants to Texas families for $101,000. To date, Texas has united 134 children with new families through grants of over $400,000. Funding will support the Gift of Adoption grant fund, event sponsorships, and covering the operating costs for an event in Texas.

Gill Children’s Services is a funding source of last resort that provides a safety net for Tarrant County children whose needs have not been met by other community resources. Gill Children's Services has one core program which provides last-resort financial assistance to Tarrant County children. Gill Children's Services has fulfilled over 61,000 unmet needs since 1979. Last year, Gill allocated over $567,000 for 2,143 children's needs. Funding will support general operating and program expenses to address the growing need for a last resort financial assistance program.

Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas builds girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. Girl Scouts prepares girls for a lifetime of leadership, by providing countless girl-led experiences and skill-building opportunities through key programs like: STEM programming, entrepreneurship opportunities that build business skills; outdoor adventures and social-emotional skills development. In 2018, Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas served 25,000 girls and provided progressive STEM experiences to over 5,000 students at the STEM Center of Excellence. Funds are requested to support school and community troop collaborations, camperships for low-income girls, and STEM Center supplies and equipment.

Girl Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains, Inc builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Core programs include Girl Scouts at School, where staff bring the troop experience to low-income area schools; outdoor education programs at Stevens Ranch in Glen Rose, Texas; and volunteer-led troops where girls explore topics like STEM, the outdoors, life skills, and entrepreneurship. In 2019, Girl Scouts programs served 19,000 girls with 5,600 volunteers. 82% of girls say because of Girl Scouts they are leaders in other activities. Funding will support general operating costs for Girl Scouts at School, outdoor programs including resident camp, and forming volunteer-led troops.

Girls in the Game seeks to help every girl find her voice, discover her strength and lead with confidence through active health and leadership programs. Core programs include Middle School After School at selected school sites and Teen Squad, a citywide initiative that allows teen to earn scholarship dollars for coaching younger girls in their communities and participating in professional development activities. Evaluation results from last year show that 89% of girls expressed increased leadership abilities and 78% experienced more grit at program's end. Funding would contribute to program supplies, transportation, and coach training materials, support, and compensation.

Girls Inc. of Tarrant County inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. Girls Inc. provides over 20,000 girls across Tarrant County with life-changing experiences and solutions. Core programs include the Whole-girl Experience, which focuses on mentorship and leadership; STEM, which focuses on career exposures, hands-on activities, and experiences to inspire and sustain interest in STEM; College & Career, which focuses on preparing girls for college or careers through workshops, campus visits, and certifications. In 2018, 6,055 girls received comprehensive programming across 137 sites, including schools in Fort Worth, Arlington & Crowley school districts. Girls Inc. has more demand for the delivery of all Girls Inc. programs than they can currently meet due to current funding and staffing limitations. Funding will support general operating expenses.

Girls on the Run DFW Metroplex's mission is to inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which integrates running. Girls on the Run uses physical activities for teaching life skills and promoting holistic health outcomes for girls in grades 3-8. The 10-week curriculum, includes lessons that specifically target helping girls improve in Competence, Confidence, Caring, Character, Connection, and Contribution. In FY18-19, they served 919 girls in the Dallas region, and 83% of girls improved in feeling confident in the ability to make intentional decisions. Funding will support scholarships for girls, shoes, snacks, training for coaches, and materials for lessons and activities.

Girlstart’s mission is to increase girls’ interest and engagement in STEM through innovative, nationally-recognized informal STEM education programs. Core programs include Girlstart After School, a weekly, high-quality, hands-on STEM after school program designed to increase STEM learning for 4th-5th grade girls and Girlstart Summer Camp, weeklong, technology-intensive summer programs for 4th-8th grade girls. Girlstart facilitated STEM learning for 641 girls at 20 after school programs and 89 girls at 3 technology-intensive summer camps in 2018-19. Funding will support STEM learning for high-need girls in 20+ after school programs and 3 weeklong, technology-intensive summer camp programs in 2020.

Gladney's mission of Creating Bright Futures Through Adoption is based on a belief that every child deserves a loving and caring family. Core programs include Domestic Infant Adoptions, Adoptions from Foster Care, Medically Fragile Adoptions, International Adoptions, Gladney Home for foster youth, Post Adoption Services, AdoptED high school outreach, Gladney University workshops for parents and professionals, and reFRAMED podcast. In FY 2019, Gladney placed 211 children with adoptive families and started the Gladney Home for teen girls in foster care seeking to be adopted. Funding will support Expectant Mother Services, Adoptions from Foster Care, the Gladney Home, Post Adoption Services, and Gladney University.

Heart House's mission is to use education as a catalyst to combat poverty and promote equity for refugee children in Dallas. Services include: homework help, counseling, snacks, field trips and events. In 2018, Heart House was a United Way Social Innovation receipient. Funds are requested for organizaiton capacity, technology and other items needed for classroom. In addition, funds are also requested for the Head, Heart, Hands program, a social-emotional focused after-school program.
 

HOPE Farm is a leadership program guiding at-risk boys to become Christ-centered men of integrity. Core programs include: reading literacy, leadership and resources for mothers. In 2018, they implemented the reading literacy program resulting in boys increasing their reading skills by more than one grade level, provided life skills for moms. Funding is requested to help cover the costs associated with the reading program and with feeding over 50 boys on a daily basis.

HopeKidsNorth Texas provides free ongoing events for families who have a child (ages 0-18) diagnosed with cancer or a life-threatening medical condition. The HopeDay program consists of weekly events, such as private movie screenings, sporting events, and other fun activities to keep kids focused on the future rather than dwelling on what they are dealing with in the present. HopeKids North Texas serves over 1,050 families across the DFW metroplex by offering them over 450 free events each year. Funds are needed to support and grow the HopeDay program to expand our geographical reach in areas where families reside, yet limited programming.

Inspired Learning Center's mission is to provide opportunities for youth to discover and pursue passion and purpose in a guided, self-directed manner. Core programs include Inspired Learning Academy, a mentor-driven learning community focused on guiding teens to become successful self-directed learners leading a life of passion and purpose; and the Teen Coworkspace where teens collaborate with mentors from the industry to complete Passion Projects. In 2018, Inspired Learning Academy entered its third year of operation and increased membership by 22% over the previous year. Funds are requested to support leasing a building space for the growing Inspired Learning Academy co-located with the new Teen Coworkspace.

Kids Vision Coalition's (KVC) mission is to create partnerships to provide children the vision care to see, learn and succeed. Core programs include providing vision screenings, eye exams and prescription glasses to underserved elementary school children; and to research the impact on a child's ability to learn. During the last year, they have formed a coalition of partners to provide vision services to north Texas elementary students beginning in Fall 2020. Funds are requested for vision services for elementary school students, specifically to support KVC partners delivering these services and related research.

L.A.D.I.E.S. AND G.E.N.T.L.E.M.E.N. seeks to provide youth with resources that support personal wellness, academia, performing arts, and cultural awareness. Core programs include Youth Ambassadors, a program that equips youth with global leadership skills; Travel Education, which provides youth with education about the world's rich history and improve cultural awareness; and Performing Arts, a cohort of youth that comes together to use talents for charitable causes. Youth Ambassadors have completed a total of 21 hours of community service serving more than 700 people in the community. Funds are needed to support the Travel Education program that support general operating cost of travel, room and board, attraction fees for youth.

Lone Star CASA’s mission is to train/support volunteers to advocate for abused children of Rockwall & Kaufman Counties. The goal - a CASA for every child in need. Lone Star CASA is a program of recruiting citizens, conducting training sessions and supporting their work, appointed as Guardians ad Litem, to advocate for, guide, and support abused and neglected children who have been removed from their home and placed in foster care with an opened court case. CASA served 266 children, every child in need in the program area, in FY-2019 and added a collaborative family engagement initiative to program. Funds are needed to support the operation of all pre-training/training activities and the supervision of advocates on cases in the two-county area.

Mercy Street sparks Christ-honoring community restoration through mutually-transforming relationships with the future leaders of West & South Dallas. Mercy Street’s main tools to build these life changing relationships include long-term mentoring, sports teams, and the Leadership Institute. They serve over 1,100 unduplicated students through mentoring, sports and leadership programs, and the average mentor-mentee match lasts 3.5 years. Funding will support general operating costs for mentoring, sports programming at their state-of-the-art sports complex, and their Leadership Institute.

MISSION POSSIBLE KIDS (MPK) empowers kids and teens to become "agents of change" in the world by helping others--changing their own lives, too! MPK’s service-learning programs work with elementary-ages at 5 low-income elementary schools & other sites; Teens, they are the #1 largest intern site in Collin County for high-schoolers. In the past year, MPK Empowered 295 low-income DFW kids to give back, helping 10,000+ people. Additionally, in 2018-91, 21 teen interns became future-ready last summer! Funding will support empowering hundreds of low-income DFW kids to give back and giving more teens a jumpstart on their career through the Teen Intern program.

NTC Offsite Camping Ministry brings camp experience to underserved communities within the North Texas Conference and provides opportunities for youth to experience God in nature. They offer weekday GO Camps during the summer in underserved communities of the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church. They also rent out their bubble soccer to churches for team building. NTC Offsite Camping Ministry served over 300 youth in the North Texas Conference of the UMC this past 2019 summer season. Additional funds will support additional communities in the NTCUMC area and support the cost of expenses to run GO Camp week.

POETIC's mission is to equip girls who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking to reclaim their voices and persist forward. POETIC builds a pipeline out of the juvenile justice and CPS system and into intensive aftercare for youth who have been exploited and trafficked. POETIC puts an on-site school, trauma therapy with 24/7 access to support, creative arts therapy and paid internships all under one roof. Poetic was named 2019 Social Innovator of the Year and DCEO Nonprofit team of the year. Additionally, 93% of POETIC girls avoid going back into juvenile justice. Funding will support hiring more staff (therapists, caseworkers, teachers) to increase capacity and helping build out the Entrepreneurial Institute and on-site store.

Positive Coaching Alliance - North Texas (PCA-NTX) creates a character-building youth sports environment in schools. PCA-NTX partners with over 25 school districts in the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area to provide live workshops, interactive online courses, and thousands of multimedia tools that equip student athletes, coaches, and parents to have a better character building athletic experience. Since being established in 2009, PCA-NTX has impacted 250,000 student athletes through 800 live workshops focusing on under-served areas of our city. Funding is requested for character building resources to thousands of youth in the greater DFW area.

Project Transformation Central Texas supports literacy & social-emotional development in children, develop young adult leaders, & connect churches with communities. Core programs include summer day camps for elementary age children, which focus on developing literacy and social-emotional skills and paid, summer internships for college-aged young adults, which develop leadership skills and engage the interns in vocational discernment. In 2019, their programs served 210 children, and 95% either maintained or improved their reading level. Project Transformation Central Texas also offered 27 internships to young adults. Funding will support the operating costs of summer camps and the leadership development program.

Project Transformation North Texas (PTNT) engages young adults in purposeful leadership and ministry supports children in holistic development and connects churches with communities. PTNT combats learning loss by supporting over 1,000 children and youth annually during out of school times (both summer and afterschool). Programs are focused on social-emotional learning, literacy development, and mentoring which is provided by over 120 young adults pursuing leadership development. PTNT served 1,000 children and youth during the 2018-19 program year, and 97% maintained or improved in reading. 120 young adults served as mentors. Funding will support general operating costs for the Afterschool and Summer Programs serving 1,000 children and youth grades 1 - 12.

ReBirth Empowerment Education's mission is to empower youth 16-24 to transform their lives, rebuild their communities, and define their roles in society. Their core program, ReBirth Youth Pre-Apprenticeship, creates college and career pathways using an integrated GED basic education and job skills training in construction, cybersecurity, customer service, leadership development, job readiness, placement, case management, and financial literacy. Funding will support program and general operating costs for the ReBirth Youth Pre-Apprenticeship program to launch a pilot cohort of 40 participants.

SHHS Alumni Association’s mission is to provide support to the students, faculty, and administration of Sam Houston HS in order to promote success. Core programs include awarding scholarships; "Texans Helping Texans," which provides support for vulnerable students; and "Alumni Support," which ensures that all teachers/sponsors of on-campus orgs can request funding for various projects, ensuring their valuable time can be spent on instruction, not fundraising. In the last year, they awarded $9500 in scholarships and expanded Alumni Support, Texans Helping Texans, and Staff Appreciation programs. Funds are needed to support expansion of all the aforementioned programs.

SPARK! seeks to ignite the spark of creativity inherent in all children. Core programs include week-long camps, field trips, and the new makerspace-inspired Creator Studio, a free afterschool and weekend program for youth to pursue their own passion projects while learning and gaining skills working with a variety of technology and equipment. Each year, more than 16,000 children explore their creativity through SPARK! hands-on programs, 40% of whom are from low-income families. Grants and donations help offset programming fees for all students and provide additional funding support for youth from low-income homes.

Step Up's vision is to provide all girls the opportunity to fulfill their potential. They engage their professional network of women to mentor and develop the next generation of leaders. Core programs include confidence, college and career programming, mentoring and career exploration field trips. Step Up impacted over 240 girls in the 2018-19 school year providing the opportunity for them to become confident, college-bound and career focused. Funds are requested to support expanding their college and career programming to impact more teen girls in under resourced communities in Dallas.

T.R. Hoover CDC strengthens and empowers holistic, collaborative services that impact the South Dallas community through housing, economic, and community development. T.R. Hoover CDC’s core programs include hosting Bridging the Gap Meetings for collaboration of Civic and Social Service outreach; providing afterschool enrichment for kids in the neighborhood and local school; and partnering to provide the ME First Community Health and Wellness Education Faits twice a year. In 2018. T.R. Hoover CDC served 1,000 kids. T.R. Hoover CDC partnered with DISD to build the Thompson Community school. Additionally, over 40% of KIOTS Program participants graduate with a bachelor’s/associate’s degree. Funding will support operating costs for organization overhead, program support staff, and T.R. Hoover Multipurpose Center Building Repairs.

Texas Lawyers for Children's (TLC) vision is to build a brighter future for abused children by protecting their rights. To achieve this vision, TLC works to improve case outcomes for abused and neglected children by enhancing the quality of legal services they receive, by raising public awareness, and by facilitating improvements in systems that serve children and families. TLC created a unique way to provide resources to and allow connection between 3,000 judges and attorneys across Texas, serving over 100,000 children. Funds are needed to expand TLC's education advocate project in North Texas and to recruit more pro bono attorneys to protect abused children.

United Through HOPE's (UTH's) mission is to provide a safe setting of naturalistic opportunities to build confidence and the soft skills for successful social interactions. UTH has multiple social skills and job readiness groups where members, aged 3-young adult, naturally practice their soft skills. Additionally, scaffolding supports exist including parent support groups, various counseling and exposure methods, and consultation to help with generalization of skills. Funding is requested for innovative tech by Floreo VR, Brain Power powered by Google Glass, and Psious to help boost social awareness and reduce social anxiety.

The mission of URU The Right to Be, Inc. is to foster STEM learning among diverse people using multimedia at the intersection of arts, humanities, science and technology. Core programs include: 1) Changing the Face of STEM which uses art, virtual reality, and experiential learning to engage young people of color and all girls in STEM, robotics, and coding; and 2) Building Bridges starts dialogue between women of color and white women in STEM about their respective challenges. In 2018, they engaged over 1,000 kids (over 50% girls), parents, and teachers at events in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and other cities in immersive STEM learning. Funding will support Changing the Face of STEM in Dallas and ongoing interaction with Dallas students, parents, and teachers throughout the year.

The YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas’ mission is to put Christian values into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind, and body for all. Three of the YMCA’s core programs include Safety Around Water, which focuses on drowning prevention of children, afterschool care which focuses on enrichment education and community health, which focuses on chronic disease and childhood obesity prevention/intervention. The YMCA served over 4,000 students in Afterschool programming, 70,000 in sports and over 6,700 in drowning prevention programming. Funding will support drowning prevention, afterschool care in ten school districts and summer learning loss in ACE campuses in DISD.

Youth For Christ Dallas-Fort Worth reaches young people everywhere working together with the local church and other like-minded partners. Juvenile Justice Mission reaches young people in a variety of youth-serving institutions such as detention centers and probation programs. Juvenile Justice After Care goes into the community and continues to mentor the young people one-on-one. They serve 2 Juvenile Detention Centers and 150 kids per month. Starting in November, they will begin serving another 100 kids. Funding is requested to support general operating costs primarily for the Juvenile Justice Ministry and After Care program.

Youth Revive, Inc. ignites youth by empowering them to become character-driven community revivalists. Youth Revive’s core program is the Ignite Me Action Civics Curriculum, 12-week character education and action civics curriculum that's facilitated directly in the classroom of high schools. Last school year, 201 students completed the Ignite Me Action Civics Curriculum producing growth in outcomes, civic knowledge and civic disposition. Funding will support new program opportunities, the general operating budget, and current program expenses.

Youth With Faces gives youth in the juvenile justice system the skills needed to break the cycle of incarceration and create positive futures. Their innovative career-focused programs include vocational, educational and life skills training, as well as industrial certifications for juveniles in custody. They also provide post-release resources including access to a network of employers. Youth With Faces provided career training and certifications to over 200 students in 2018, and expects to serve more than 250 students in 2019. Funding will support general operating costs for a number of career-focused programs that help youth find success when returning to their communities.