Less than six hours into the fundraising push for North Texas Giving Tuesday Now, the tally board is flying faster than tomorrow’s Blue Angels over North Texas skies. If all goes to plan, they should be breaking the $10M point and headed higher totals.

At 11:30 a.m., North Texas Food Bank is continuing to top the leader board and even broke that $1M mark with 3,166 gifts.

Still there are more than 3,000 other nonprofits that could really use some support. So, take some time and check out the list of nonprofits. There just might be one that might strike your fancy and generosity.

* Graphic courtesy of North Texas Giving Tuesday Now

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What’s proving to be more contagious than COVID-19? Generosity. While the North Texas Giving Tuesday Now tally board is rising, the Moody Foundation once again stepped up and added to its March million-dollar grants to “support both immediate basic needs and first responder assistance” in North Texas.

They have just sent word that a total of $675,000 will be distributed to the following nine North Texas organizations to provide “much-needed services, including food, shelter, PPE, computers, rent assistance, employment, education, and physical and mental health resources”:

• Baylor Scott and White Dallas Foundation
• Communities Foundation of Texas/Dallas County COVID-19 Response Fund
• Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center
• Family Compass
• Methodist Health System Foundation
• Promise House
• Texas Health Resources
• The Salvation Army of North Texas
• The Thanks-Giving Foundation

Translation: The Moody Foundation has a total of $1,650,000 within six weeks to support COVID-19 relief funds.

According to Moody Foundation Chairman/Executive Director Francie Moody-Dahlberg, “The Moody Foundation is honored to support those working tirelessly on the front lines and the nonprofits meeting crucial COVID-19 needs. Like all Texans, we’re dedicated to navigating through this pandemic by working together within our communities to keep each other safe.”

As devastating as COVID-19 has been on North Texans and the area’s nonprofits, foundations like Moody have without hesitation opened their hearts and checkbooks providing a better understanding and appreciation of philanthropy.

* Graphic provided by Moody Foundation

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The final push is on for today’s North Texas Giving Tuesday Now with just six hours to go. Yipes! Having raised $13.5M for area nonprofits, this first ever and very needed 18-hour marathon for organizations that have been victims of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as those on the frontline battling the virus.

The North Texas Food Bank that has been put to the test in the past weeks and fed thousands and thousands of people is still topping the leader board with $1.46M followed by Methodist Health Care Foundation hauling in $415K.

And while you’re checking out the leader board top ten fundraisers, note that The Salvation Army of North Texas has a match still open. Just imagine how many others in the 3,000+ nonprofits have matches that need full-filling like Union Gospel Mission Dallas, Mercy Street, One Heart McKinney, The Human Impact and Brother Bill’s Helping Hand. You can check them out here.

Since the new world of social distancing and masked faces hit in March, folks have been more than generous helping their neighbors. While a bit of fatigue and being tapped out may have set in, this undertaking is proving that North Texans still know the best investment is their nonprofits.

* Graphic courtesy of North Texas Giving Tuesday Now

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Thanks to 89,963 generous donors, North Texas Giving Tuesday Now collected more than $20.7M for 2,572 area nonprofits fighting and having been victimized by COVID-19. It also provided nearly 300,000 volunteer hours that will help the nonprofits in future days.

Give your credit cards the day off to recover from a terrific workout.

* Graphic courtesy of North Texas Giving Tuesday Now

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The generosity of North Texans seems to never cease to amaze the rest of the world. A couple of examples deal with area healthcare groups. One is on the giving end and the other on the receiving side.

First, the giving was thanks to Medical City Healthcare donating $100,000 to the North Texas Food Bank and Tarrant Area Food Bank.

According to Medical City Healthcare President Erol Akdamar, “Good nutrition is fundamental to good health. Our community is counting on us now more than ever and these grants to the North Texas Food Bank and the Tarrant Area Food Bank allow us to help two outstanding organizations as they offers jobs to those in need and address our region’s escalating hunger problems as a result of this pandemic.”

A portion will “help to hire displaced hospitality employees as they carry out the work formerly handled by volunteers.”

Second, Parkland Foundation’s Public Health Preparedness Fund got a boost of $100,000 from Dallas-based  Energy Transfer. The funds will be used to support the Healthcare Heroes “video tribute campaign that encourages individuals to submit video messages expressing their gratitude to Dallas healthcare professionals. Energy Transfer has committed to donate $50 per video, up to a total of $100,000 to Parkland Foundation’s Public Health Preparedness Fund, which was launched to  help Parkland Health And Hospital System respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and to build Parkland’s capacity to respond locally to any future public health emergency.”

According to Energy Transfer’s Executive VP/Chief Human Resource Officer Chris Curia, “We are deeply appreciative for our healthcare professionals who are on the frontlines against the COVID-19 pandemic. Supporting Parkland Foundation’s Public Health Preparedness Fund will help local healthcare providers to continue the fight against this pandemic and any others that may come our way in the future. We are so fortunate to have one of the best public healthcare systems in the country here in our city and we are honored to be able to help support their efforts.”

* Graphic courtesy of Medical City Healthcare
** Graphic provided by Energy Transfer

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Despite its victimizing everyone from schoolchildren to major corporations, COVID-19 also continues to bring out the best in North Texas support. This past April the Texas Women’s Foundation’s Resilience Fund provided $320,768 for organizations benefiting low-income and marginalized women, girls and families in the community.

The nonprofits receiving the April Resilience Fund and COVID-19 Relief Grants included Carter’s House, Educational First Steps, Girls Embracing Mothers, Heart of Courage, Hopeful Solutions, ilooklikeLove Inc., Inspiring Tomorrow’s Leaders, Mosaic Family Services Inc., Nexus Recovery Center Inc., North Dallas Shared Ministries, Operation Kindness, Planned Parenthood of Great Texas, St. Philip’s School and Community Center, Texas Tenants’ Union, The Family Place, The Magdalen House Inc. University of North Texas Foundation, Wesley-Rankin Community Center and YMCA Metropolitan Dallas.

Heading the up the list of donors that made it possible was Texas Capital Bank in addition to Albertson’s LLC, Bonner B. Allen, Cathy Almond, Cheryl Alston, ATS Realty Solutions LLC, Angie Bain PC, The Baker Family Philanthropic Fund of TXWF, Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Vanessa Salinas Beckstrom, Lucy C. Billingsley, Billingsley Company, Dana Blankenship,  Julie M. Bleicher, Boeing Global Services, Melissa Bolden, Sonja Borda CFP, Lael Brodsky, Shonn Brown, Lee Brownfield, Capital Group American Funds, Chrysta Castañeda, Chadwick-Loher Foundation, Serena Simmons Connelly, Carolyn Cutler, Elise Daniel, John Dayton, Alencia DeAnda-Gregg, Peggy Dear Fund, DHG, Diana C. Dutton, Stacey Doré, Sara G. Duran, Earth and Humanity Foundation, Phyllis Farragut, Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, Ford Reynolds Fund of the Southwest Community Foundation, Fossil Group, Frito-Lay Inc., Hilda C. Galvan, Lacey George, Beverly Goulet, Mary E. Henderson, Hattie Hill, Brenda L. Jackson Fund of TXWF, Karla Jones, Margaret H. Jordan, Karen J. Simon Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation at the request of W.K. Kellogg Foundation trustee Christina Hanger, Kendra Scott LLC, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Chris and Mirjam Kirk Donor Advised Fund of Dallas Foundation, Ena Williams Koschel, Cynthia D. Kostman, Cindy Kozmetsky, Julie Kutchinski, Anne P. Leary, Julie G. Lowenberg, Major Shark Fund of Communities Foundation of Texas, Thalia F. Matherson EdD, Lisa Maurer, Hannah May, Amy McCracken, Cecilia McKay, Mckesson, Sabine McKnight, Lisette Mendez, Tracy Merzi, Sarah K. Miller, Miller Family Foundation, Sheena Mitchell, Oncor Electric Delivery, Vanessa Pacheco, Elizabeth C. Phillips, PKW Donor Advised Fund of The Dallas Foundation, Julie Porter, Joanna Ridgway, Jane Rose Hurst Esq., Roslyn Dawson Thompson and Rex Thompson Fund of TXWF, Dianne C. Saslaw, The Simmons Wilson Fund of TXWF, Lori Smith, State Farm, Charmaine Tang, Texas Capital Bank, The Capowski Team at Mid America Mortgage, The Perot Foundation, Theodore and Beulah Beasley Foundation, Elaine Tucker, United Way of Greater Atlanta, Barbara Lord L. Watkins, Pam Watkins, Katrina Watland, Jessica Weidman, Susan S. White, Shreenah Willis, Danielle Wilson, Lawrence M. and Sally B. Wolfish Fund of Communities Foundation of Texas and The Trea C. and Richard W. Yip Fund of TXWF.

You can join this generous group by donating here!

* Graphic courtesy of Texas Women's Foundation

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Parking lots are becoming the special places of interest nowadays thanks to the world created by COVID-19. For instance, the parking lots of James Madison High School and Lincoln High School were the scenes of a presentation of laptops to the 15 students, who were named Moody Scholars as part of the Moody Foundation‘s Moody Scholars program.

According to Moody Foundation Education Director Angela Blair, “For more than 50 years, the Moody Scholars program has provided opportunities for students to further their learning. Though we didn’t imagine hosting a parking lot graduation ceremony, we believe this unprecedented time will only strengthen our scholars and spur them towards greater learning and success.”

Receiving the laptops were the following masked students:

• James Madison High School – Jakiyah Beasley, Nykera Braziel, Jessica Glover, Char’Mondria Jones, Evelyn Reyna and Dulce Tovar
• Lincoln High School – Tim Fields, Mia Garrett, Zyjae Ridley, ZaNaya Robinson, Semaja Smith, Christina Thomas, Jayla Ward, Drazell Washington and Shanicia Williams

The Moody Scholars program “was created to provide financial assistance for qualified high school students pursuing higher education in Texas. Since its inception in 1969, Moody Scholars has awarded over $17 million to assist more than 5,200 students throughout the state.”

According to Moody Foundation Education and Scholarship Administrative Assistance Erika Tovar, “Our goal for the Moody Scholars program is to bring hope to our scholars’ futures and give them a solid launchpad to continue their academic journeys. We know our Moody Scholars would have loved to celebrate this milestone physically with extended family and friends, so we wanted to make this moment extra special.”

* Photo provided by Moody Foundation

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According to Foundation for the Callier Center and Communication Disorders Board Member Lisa Cooley,

A good or benevolent person, someone who has a helpful nature, describes a person that is kind. I can’t think of a better word to describe the people at the Callier Center for Communication Disorders.

As a trustee on the Callier foundation board, I have learned about the care that children and adults with speech, language and hearing disorders receive at Callier. I see the progress that patients make, the transformation that results, and the compassion with which Callier embraces each patient and his or her family. The clinicians at Callier perform acts of kindness daily.

Because of the pandemic, the Callier clinic closed for a couple of months, but they quickly transitioned to offering telehealth services and established the Callier Patient Emergency Fund to support families that have lost income or insurance. I am inspired by the stories I have heard and would like to share some encouraging sentiments from two families that have benefited from Callier’s telehealth services.

Three-year-old Benjamin Wallace receives speech-language therapy through telehealth from his speech-language pathologist Paige Burkink.

“We are so pleased to be able to continue our son’s therapy a couple times a week — picking up exactly where we left off,” said Megan Wallace, Benjamin’s mother. “We have been so impressed with all of the adaptations being made.”

Abigail Stupay receives hearing services through Callier’s telehealth program, and her mother, Vanessa Stupay, helps to facilitate.

“Because early intervention is crucial, we are doing up to three meetings a week with an audiologist, teacher of the deaf and an auditory specialist,” Vanessa said. “It’s been a learning curve for us all, but everyone is doing their part, so we can continue to move forward in helping our daughter communicate.”

Already, through gifts to the Callier Patient Emergency Fund, the community is helping Callier, so that they can continue to help patients.

On behalf of the Callier Center, I would like to thank The Meadows Foundation and North Texas Cares for their grants to support this fund. I would also like to thank the 82 donors who gave to the fund on North Texas Giving Tuesday. Because of your generosity, Callier continues to care for patients — especially those who have lost income or insurance coverage due to the pandemic. Thank you all for your kindness!

* Photo provided by Foundation for Callier Center for Communication Disorders

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For some nonprofits, COVID-19 put all their spring fundraising efforts behind the eight ball, literally. Still others scrambled to regroup and make the best of it. Such was the case of Aware Dallas, when its Aware Affair had to be canceled.

Aware Dallas President Jolie Humphrey and Event Co-Chairs Kersten Rettig and Clark Knippers looked at what they could offer to help raise funds for the 2020 beneficiaries (Baylor Healthcare System, Casa de Vida, Center for Brain Health Mosaic of Meaningful Messages, Center for Vital Longevity Optimizing Neuro-Cognitive Functions in Healthy Living, Dallas Museum of Art Meaningful Moments Program, Jewish Family Service Older Adults Program, Juliette Fowler Communities, The Senior Source, Stomping Ground Comedy, Texas Winds Musical Outreach, University of Texas Southwestern Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography for Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, Wilshire Baptist Church and 2019-2020 Myrna D. Schlegel Aware Scholarship Fund Grant Recipients Lauren Benefield, Melissa George, Grace Penaranda and Alyssa Temple) and came up with the idea of holding an online auction. As the new idea of online bidding was unknown territory for some, the Aware team soldiered on.

Their efforts paid off, netting a whopping $315,000. Of course, it helped to have the following folks and organizations staying committed as sponsors:

• Orchid — Lydia and Bill Addy, Alice and Curt Farmer and and Mrs. John Tatum
• Iris—Sally and Forrest Hoglund, Stacey and Charles A. Angel Jr. and Venise and Larry Stuart in honor of Kim McDavid, Kennington Family Philanthropic Fund
• Plum: Stephanie and Bennie Bray in honor of Amy Osler and Kim McDavid and in memory of Frances Chantilis, Karen and Mark Carney in memory of Mrs. Del McCarthy, Jolie and Bart Humphrey in honor of Stacey Jones Angel, Kersten Rettig and Clark Knippers in memory of Pat Knippers, Gail and Bill Plummer and Debra and Lewis Ropp.
• Sponsors also included Comerica, Hall Arts Hotel and Hall Group

* Graphic provided by Aware Dallas

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Since the Kappa Kappa Gammas Dallas Alumnae launched their annual Tablescapes fundraiser 25 years ago, a constant has been the support and involvement by The Garden Gate’s Maria and Junior Villanueva. Each year their presentation dazzled guests, committee members, featured speakers and even other designers.

Following Maria’s death in January following years of battling cancer, Junior requested that memorials be made to Faith Presbyterian Hospice.

With this request in mind, 2019 Tablescapes Co-Chairs Kim Purnell, Anne McPherson and Stacey Walker just revealed that they had “exceeded our 2019 Beneficiary funding level. This abundance of funds has enabled us to allocate a special gift to the Dallas community to commemorate our 25 years. The Foundation Board voted and approved this one-time donation to Faith Presbyterian Hospice in memory of Maria Villanueva and in honor of Junior Villanueva.”

While Maria’s death is a great loss for family, friends and the community, the Kappas’ generosity is a gratifying example of compassion.

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While the Katy Trail has been the spot for walking, running and cycling for years, the arrival of COVID-19 since March has turned it into the most popular place to shake off the anxieties of the day. Even before the virus changed our way of life, the Trail was having more than 1M users annually. Since March that usage has increased 20%.

Luckily, the Friends of the Katy Trail recognized the need for the Trail to undergo some major improvements more than a year-and-a-half ago. That’s when it quietly undertook a capital campaign — The Campaign To Complete the Katy Trail — to provide $8M for the building of a soft-surface path running parallel to the concrete path used by cyclists, as well as the planting of trees, native grasses and bushes.

According to Friends of The Katy Trail Board of Directors President Charlie Shufeldt, “The Katy Trail needs to be completed for the benefit of Dallas now, as well as for its future growth.”

It was just announced that thanks to the lead gift of $2.5M from Lyda Hill, the private campaign had reached the $7M mark. Now the campaign is underway for the public phase encouraging the entire community to help meet the goal.

Charlie said, “This gift is a testament to the vital community role that the Katy Trail fulfills in Dallas by connecting people, neighborhoods and other trails.”

Other large donors have included the City of Dallas, Lindsay and Blake Shipp and Laurie Sands Harrison, Capitol Peak Ventures, Katy Trail Ice House, Lydia and Bill Addy, Hillcrest Foundation and Pollock Foundation.

BTW, while the Trail is a City of Dallas park, it is up to the Friends operate and maintain it.

To be part of the final push, contact Major Gifts Director Ann Whitley Wood.

* Photo provided by the Friends of Katy Trail

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Last May when North Texas was soldiering through the COVID-19 war, Energy Transfer made an offer to support Parkland Foundation’s Public Health Preparedness Fund. Called Dallas Healthcare Heroes, the campaign was to generate “gratitude videos from across the nation” over a six-week period in conjunction with DHD Films. The videos would “serve as living tribute to those whose hard work and dedication made such a difference in the lives of so many during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

For every video, Energy Transfer would donate $50.

While the goal had been 2,000 videos, over 300 were received. But missing the mark didn’t deter Energy Transfer. Energy Transfer’s Hilda Lopez and Vicki Granado and DHD Films’ Shezad Manjee presented a $100,000 check to Parkland Foundation President/CEO Michael Horne and Parkland Hospital’s Dr. Roberto de la Cruz, Karen Watts and Donna Richardson.

Want a look at the videos that were submitted?  Here’s the weekly rundown:

• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4

According to Energy Transfer EVP/Chief Human Resources Officer Chris Curia, “Parkland Memorial Hospital is vital to our community. We are grateful for the hard-working medical team at Parkland; these true healthcare heroes continue to be on the front lines helping patients battling this virus, many of whom made great personal sacrifices to provide quality care to the Dallas community. We are honored to have been able to sponsor this campaign and the resulting donation to Parkland Foundation.”

* Photo provided by Energy Transfer

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It was one of the first signs of a change in protocol for fundraising activities. When Retina Foundation of the Southwest held its Visionary Luncheon at the Omni Dallas Hotel on Wednesday, March 4, there was a table at each of the entrances inside the Dallas Ballroom. On the table was a jumbo size pump container of hand sanitizer. Not everyone took advantage of the offer, but it was obvious that many had already heeded the warning of the COVID-19 virus impacting North Texas.

For this reason, the crowd of 600 including Terry Flowers, John Scovell, David Miller, Honorary Co-Chairs Nancy and Herbert Hunt Family including sisters Libby Allred and Barbara Hunt Crow and Visionary Awardees Helen K. And Robert G. McGraw, Amy McEvoy and Therese Rourk were assembled with no need for social distancing or masking up.

The luncheon crowd was made up of an equal number of men and women. Perhaps it was due to the fact that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was the headliner. As he walked into the ballroom, he looked like one of the hometowners. No surprise. He was indeed born in Dallas.

He paused to chat with Bobby Lyle and accommodated requests by guests for selfies, as well as one with Shelly Slater who would be interviewing him onstage.

At 11:30 the program began with Foundation CEO Karl Csaky welcoming the group, Luncheon Co-Chairs Nancy and Steve Rogers thanking the Hunt family and other sponsors for their support and videos recognizing the McGraws and interviewing Herbert Hunt. It was during Herbert’s video that he pointed out that his family had suffered from eye diseases. He is unable to see his 28 grandchildren and hoped that all of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren don’t suffer from the disease.

Following the video, Foundation Development managers Amy Lobner and Vanessa Peterson reported that the Foundation had already received more than $600K thanks to the luncheon.

They were followed by Molecular Ophthalmology Lab Senior Research Associate Dr. Tim Catchpole, who explained how the Foundation was working with stem cells in regard to improving macular degeneration. It presently involves an injection into the eyeball. They’re goal is to develop a less painful way of applying the drug.

Just three minutes later, Vision and Neurodevelopment Laboratory Director Krista Kelly discussed her work with babies with anopia — poor vision in one eye. She is collaborating with 18 pediatric ophthalmologists

To keep things moving right along, no sooner was lunch served than Drew and Shelly took their places on stage. Some of highlights from their conversation included:

• Sharing the credit — In achieving the all-time passing record last year, Drew realized, “It’s all about getting together to achieve the goal, not who gets the credit.” For instance, he thought of all the receivers who had caught the ball. Then he realized it also took the other players, coaches, staff and his surgeon to help him accomplish that record. He wrote letters to each of them to recognize their being part of the record.
• His children — His five-year old daughter Rylen Brees is “wild. She is the instigator… She does ballet and gymnastics. She could be a cage fighter.” His oldest son has an ear for music. His middle son is highly competitive. His youngest son is the “intellectual… highly intelligent.”
• His wife Brittany Brees — Brittany was driving their kids to school one day and middle son Bowen Brees reported that oldest son Baylen Brees was signing autographs at school the other day. Britt stopped the car and said, “You’re not famous until you make this world a better place.”
• 4 F’s — His priorities are faith, family, football and philanthropy.
• The Bible — He reads it first thing in the morning to “give him strength and peace.”
• The Brees Dream Foundation — Following the death of Brittany’s aunt from brain cancer, they started working on the creation of the foundation on their honeymoon in Bora Bora.
• Football ‘n’ America — Drew created a co-ed flag football program for children in grades K-10. One team is located in Prestonwood. The purpose was to “provide a safe, positive, competitive and family-friendly environment to learn the game the right way and have fun doing it.”
• Girls vs. Boys — “I enjoy coaching girls in flag football much better than boys. First of all, they’re better athletes than boys.”
• Tackle football for kids — Not until sixth grade at the earliest. “There are so many skills that can be learned before that. The more sports kids play the better.”
• Heroes of the past — Joe Montana was his god. He was really a baseball player. Ted Williams was his #1.
• Mentors — Doug Flutie, Mark Brunell and Nolan Ryan
• Retirement — “I’ve started thinking about it over the past few years. You’re got to find the way to navigate it.” Three-quarters of his life has been involved in football.
• Boston Children’s Hospital — The next day Drew was going to Boston to have his head shaved to support Boston Children’s Hospital.

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Before the summer heat started warming up Wednesday morning, Northside Community Health Center in northwest Fort Worth got a brand new name on its building. To honor a $1M gift from The Morris Foundation, the new name is The Morris Foundation Building. While the unveiling and dedication of the facility were limited due to social distancing requirements, the community family medical practice will be able to provide care for an unlimited number of folks in Fort Worth and Arlington thanks to the donation. Here’s a report from the field:

North Texas Area Community Health Centers (NTACHC) changed plans and held a virtual event to dedicate the Northside Community Health Center on Wednesday, July 15, though a few key guests were allowed to be there.

The occasion was a gift of $1 million from Fort Worth’s The Morris Foundation to rename the building in support of NTACHC’s mission of providing healthcare for the medically underserved. Before the remarks, NTACHC CEO Gerrie Whitaker greeted and thanked The Morris Foundation trustee Andy Miller as he played a key role in making this partnership possible. Chief Medical Officer Dr. LaTasha Jarrett and Miller talked about the programs they were planning to bring health and wellness to the forefront of the community.

NTACHC’s board President Dr. Carlos Morales removed his mask and spoke first. “Thank you everyone for being here this morning for this very special occasion. Today, we are honored to have Todd Liles, executive director and trustee for The Morris Foundation as we unveil the new name of our Northside Community Health Center building.

“Todd and the Trustees of The Morris Foundation are an incredible partner for North Texas Area Community Health Centers, or NTACHC as we affectionately call ourselves. The Foundation has not only helped us greatly with a $1 million gift to our capital campaign, but – we are proud to say—and we do often – that The Morris Foundation continues to help us tremendously with the health and wellness of our patients.

“Our patients are some of the most vulnerable in Tarrant County. You all believe in our patients and helping with their healthcare challenges. The support of the Foundation has allowed us to provide much needed assistance for many who face the daily challenges of staying healthy. We owe The Morris Foundation Trustees, and especially Todd Liles, our immense gratitude for this wonderful gift to our capital campaign and for this invaluable partnership.”

Liles said, “Thank you for having me here. All too often those who are most vulnerable wait until the last minute to get urgent care. But what we don’t have is a strong wellness program. We were excited to learn that North Texas Area Community Health Centers was building a new center on the north side of Fort Worth. And we knew we wanted to be a part of that building of the new structure.

“But when our head of healthcare and social services giving, Andy Miller, got to know Dr. Jarrett who’s leading this facility, we learned that you have a passion for wellness and that it was not going to be satiated with a ‘one size fits all’ for wellness, but she wanted something better. That’s what we do at The Morris Foundation. We look to innovative strategies and effective management that we can partner with to help improve and move the needle for these communities.

“You can’t have a happy and productive life if you don’t have wellness at the center. We are excited about the innovative process that Andy, Dr. Jarrett and the teams will be working on to make sure we have the outcomes that this community deserves.

“We look at it at a three workstream process that we would be engaged in now and over the years both in funding and expertise. Working together, we let data-driven information help us improve the healthcare of this community. We hope to expand the wellness program to include dental and vision. We’re excited about this partnership because we think it will last for many years.”

Morales and Liles unveiled the sign in gold lettering placed above the main entrance for all to see when they enter.

This gift was part of a $15.3 million capital campaign, led by U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, to build a new 34,000-square-foot Northside Community Health Center to better serve the medically underserved area. Primary care services include adult care, pediatric care, women’s health, and behavioral health, along with pharmacy, labs, diabetes management, health education and wellness.

In 2018, the Northside Community Health Center opened. The new Center was welcomed by the Northside community, Fort Worth and Tarrant County as it offered an environment that is family-friendly, hospitality focused, and promotes patient wellness. NTACHC currently sees approximately 13,000 individuals per year with the capacity to see an additional 7,000 in its new facilities.

* Photo credit: Simon Luna

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Despite COVID-19 seeming to dominate headlines, area foundations are making news themselves. The latest is the generous Hoblitzelle Foundation that has just revealed three newsworthy developments.

First is that Karen Shuford has just been elected to be the Foundation’s first female chair in its 78-year history. Other officers elected to three-year terms are Jere Thompson Jr. as vice-chair and Holland P. Gary as treasurer.

The other news is the election of community leader Lizzie Horchow Routman and former Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings to the Foundation’s board, which also includes State Rep. Rafael M. Anchia, Lydia Novakov, Dr. Daniel Podolsky and Catherine Rose.

According to Hoblitzelle Foundation President/CEO Katie Robbins, “On behalf of the Hoblitzelle Foundation and our board, we’re thrilled to welcome Mike Rawlings and Lizzie Horchow Routman as new directors.  Their leadership and engagement in our community coupled with their knowledge of critical needs in our city will be a tremendous benefit to those we serve.”

The final development was outgoing Foundation Chair John Dayton’s being elected honorary lifetime chair joining the following honorary chairs: Linda Custard, Jerry Farrington, Jerry Fronterhouse, Paul Harris, Caren Prothro, Deedie Rose, George Shafer, Bill Solomon, Kern Wildenthal and Don Williams.

Since its establishment by Esther and Karl Hoblitzelle in 1942, the Foundation has “approved 3,280 grants to 990 agencies, investing more than $240 million in the social service, cultural, educational and medical organizations in Texas.”

* Photo provided by Hoblitzelle Foundation

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Dallas’ Spay Neuter Network got an early Christmas gift. The Petco Foundation has awarded it a $40,000 grant “to help reduce the number of pets entering shelters through its intake diversion program and create a lifesaving community for animals.”

According to SNN Executive Director Bonnie Hill, ““Spay Neuter Network is excited about our partnership with the City of Dallas, Dallas Animal Services and Petco Foundation to help residents find alternatives to surrendering their pets to the City shelter. So far, this program has resulted in a positive outcome for 65% of pets. These dogs and cats either ended up staying in their homes, were rehomed to a new owner or went directly into a north Texas rescue instead of entering the City shelter. We could not do our life saving work without support from organizations like Petco Foundation.”

SNN’s mission is “to eliminate pet overpopulation in North Texas.” In addition to three clinics in South Dallas, Crandall and Fort Worth, SNN operates a Mobile Animal Surgery Hospital (MASH) that can handle up to 50 surgeries a day in Fort Worth and rural areas. Each of the clinics operates six days a week, performing 400 to 500 surgeries a week. Just last year, SNN’s surgeons performed more than 25,000 surgeries.

* Photo courtesy of Spay Neuter Network

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According to Lyda Hill Philanthropies Director Margaret Black,

Pegasus Park, a 23-acre, mixed-use office campus located on Stemmons Freeway near Inwood Road, was recently unveiled, and we also announced one of the key components of the project, Water Cooler. Water Cooler is sponsored by Lyda Hill Philanthropies, in partnership with Pegasus Park developer J. Small Investments, and will offer nonprofits reduced costs for rent and related services.

Water Cooler is seeking a rich array of tenant partners representing a wide range of social issues. Since space is limited, tenants will be selected through a competitive application process. The application process has begun and continues through Monday, August 31, and we hope to be able to fill the space with move-ins beginning in early 2021 through 2023.

Water Cooler will be a community of nonprofit, philanthropic and social-impact tenants that will office in approximately 150,000 square feet of space in Pegasus Park’s main tower. The sponsors aim to bring together diverse and quality nonprofits in a state-of-the-art environment to encourage collaboration. Water Cooler tenants will receive subsidized rent, access to philanthropic funds for furniture and infrastructure, and free or low-cost amenities and services designed to accelerate the nonprofits’ respective missions.

Our nonprofit colleagues deserve a contemporary environment as they work tirelessly to solve some of our world’s biggest challenges, which is more important now than ever. We believe cutting-edge facilities and space designed for collaboration are key ingredients to accelerate impact, and that is what tenants will receive with Water Cooler.

Along with subsidized rent, selected tenants will receive access to a “What-Else-Do-You-Need-to-Be-Awesome Fund” for furniture and infrastructure, amenities including a conference center to attract and retain talent, wellness activities, and shared services designed to enhance the organization’s problem-solving and collaboration with other nonprofits. Curated programming along with resources and services tailored to their needs will also be available. The location is also unbeatable as it is minutes from downtown Dallas between the Dallas Design District and the Southwestern Medical District.

Applications are being accepted until August 31 so we encourage everyone interested to begin reviewing information and telling others about Water Cooler. Details can be found on our website www.pegasuspark.com and applicants must email watercooler@lhholdings.net to request application access.

* Photo provided by Lyda Hill Philanthropies

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With all the challenges facing the healthcare world, Methodist Health System Foundation has achieved a major hurdle. It’s just completed its year-long $3.5M capital campaign for the Dr. Stephen and Marilyn Mansfield Oncology Unit at Methodist Charlton Medical Center.

Scheduled to open next year, the new facility will “nearly double the capacity of patients treated each year and centralize oncology care at Methodist Charlton.”

With Methodist Charlton’s “primary service area being Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville, Lancaster and southern Dallas,” the need for the expansion of oncology services was enhanced by “Susan G. Komen Dallas County’s most recent community profile as consistently experiencing the highest rates of breast cancer death in the Dallas area.”

According to Methodist Charlton President Fran Laukaitis, “Cancer is a real issue in the southern sector of Dallas, especially breast cancer. To combat this disparity effectively, it was clear that, in addition to our community education programs and outreach efforts, we needed a dedicated oncology unity.”

The unit’s naming was a secret undertaking by the Methodist Health System Board of Directors.

As Board Chair Julie Yarbrough explained, “Naming the unit the Dr. Stephen and Marilyn Mansfield Oncology Unit at Methodist Charlton honors a man who made an immeasurable contribution to the health and wellness of this community during his tenure as president and CEO of Methodist Health System.”

Helping to achieve the capital campaign’s goal were such donors as Katherine Carmody Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee; Community Impact Fund of The Dallas Foundation; Nita and John R. Ford; Nancy Ann and Ray L. Hunt; Brenda L. Jackson; Oncor; Hesta Stuart Christian Charitable Trust plus proceeds from the 2018 Robert S. Folsom Leadership Award honoring Sen. Royce West.

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Thursday launches North Texas Giving Day as if your email boxes haven’t already ballooned in overload with notices.

But this year’s slam-bang push is totally different. Thanks to the March hit by COVID-19, the area charities have been decimated. Nearly eight months of fundraising has been wiped out due to health concerns for residents.

Some organizations might not survive. Children, men and women will be without needed services; educational programs may be eliminated that might have given youngsters that extra helping hand; glorious art services that showcase both local and international talents may succumb.

But thanks to North Texas’ legendary generosity, spunk and compassion, the mother-of-virtual-fundraising North Texas Giving Day will hopefully show the world what greatness is.

So, if you’re fed up with the email blasts on this day, take heart. It’s one day of bountiful hope in a true killer of a year of hell for more than 3,300 North Texas nonprofits that will only be made possible thanks to you.

* Graphic provided by Communities Foundation of Texas

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Whatever North Texas Giving Day quarterback Susan Swan Smith is taking, it’s scoring touchdowns across the NTGD Leaderboard. Within just six hours of being alive and kicking this morning, the annual mega-fundraiser is continuing to beat its own past headline-making successes.

And all this record-breaking is being done virtually, without in-person activities!

At high noon more than 89,000 donors had provided 3,071 groups with more than $28M. Why, heck! Last year they didn’t hit that $29.5M mark until 6 p.m.

Topping the Leaderboard are

• North Texas Food Bank – $1,077,639 with match funds met
• Children’s Medical Center Foundation – $471,459 with match funds met
• The Salvation Army of North Texas – $464,877 with $17,561 match funds remaining
• Goodwill Industries of Dallas Inc. – $400,111 with match funds met
• Denison Forum – $298,509 with match funds met

If you’ve already given, why not check out how your fav nonprofit is faring on the Leaderboard. Who knows? You just might find some extra coins to pitch in again and join the fun of making North Texas generosity a showstopper.

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