Foundation Response: Additional COVID-19 Relief Funds Awarded

April 29, 2020

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

The Rees-Jones Foundation COVID-19 Response

During this time of need, The Rees-Jones Foundation remains committed to the North Texas community. To address urgent needs, The Foundation has invited nonprofit organizations in North Texas who are serving the vulnerable population most impacted by COVID-19 to submit a request for funding. 88 requests have been received and are under consideration or have been acted upon as of April 23, 2020.

The Foundation continues to work closely with its board to ensure that request decisions on urgent requests are timely and based on the evolving needs of the community.

In addition to The Foundation’s own grant making, The Foundation is collaborating with other foundations and funding organizations through the North Texas Cares initiative. This funder collaborative is providing support to organizations that work with people and communities who may be most negatively affected by COVID-19.

The Foundation has awarded the following additional grants:

Bryan’s House – $20,000

Their mission is to serve children with medical or developmental needs and their families by providing specialized childcare, respite care and social services.

Funding will support their financial assistance program, which, due to job loss associated with COVID-19, has rapidly expanded. Bryan’s House is projected to serve 40 families in the coming months through financial coaching and assistance. In addition, many families served are experiencing difficulty affording and accessing child necessities, therefore Bryan’s House is providing diapers, food, and hygiene items to those families.

Child Care Group – $25,000

Their mission is to champion a strong two-generation system that teaches children and parents, trains early childhood professionals and assists families.

Funding will provide toddler care items such as formula, wipes and diapers, and child developmental activities for the 1,600 children served by Child Care Group. Additionally, funds will enable them to continue child and family mental health counseling through tele-therapy.

Children’s Advocacy Center for Denton County – $100,000

Their mission is to provide justice and healing for abused children through interagency collaboration and community education.

Funding will help sustain staff and their ability to respond to reports of child abuse throughout this difficult time. CAC Denton County is experiencing an increase in demand for their services reporting more child abuse calls in March than any other one-month period in their 22-year history. Children’s Advocacy Center for Denton County remains a beacon of hope for children suffering from abuse and neglect as they continue providing services virtually including forensic interviews, therapy, family case management, and other services to help children heal.

Children’s Medical Center Foundation for Children’s Health – $100,000

Their mission is to pursue and secure philanthropic contributions to enable Children’s Health System of Texas and its related entities to fulfill the mission of making life better for children.

Children’s Health is committed to keeping their frontline medical staff and their families cared for. Hospital staff with children now out of school have the added responsibility of providing childcare while they continue to serve on the front line. Funding will reimburse childcare expenses for hospital staff as they continue to work extended shifts.

CitySquare – $25,000

Their mission is to fight the causes and effects of poverty through service, advocacy, and friendship.

Funding will support CitySquare’s TRAC program, which serves foster youth and homeless youth by providing food, personal and hygiene items, counseling and shelter including shower and laundry services. CitySquare reported a significant increase in youth seeking their services due to job loss and overflowing shelter capacity. CitySquare is working to provide youth with temporary hotel stays while permanent arrangements are secured.

Educational First Steps – $75,000

Their mission is to increase the number of economically disadvantaged children receiving high-quality early childhood education.

Funding will provide small grants to EFS’s grassroots childcare providers to help them stay open during this time and offset funds used to purchase COVID-19 supplies.

Fortress Youth – $20,000

Their mission is to ignite a brighter future for urban youth by engaging them today and equipping them for tomorrow.

Funding will assist Fortress Youth as they provide food provisions and educational activities to the families with children attending Van Zandt-Guinn Elementary in Fort Worth’s Historic Southside and families of preschool students living in the Las Vegas Trail and Stop Six neighborhoods of Fort Worth. Fortress is providing over 1,000 meals each week to these families that are isolated from most food drop options.

Genesis Women’s Shelter – $100,000

Their mission is to provide safety, shelter and support for women who have experienced domestic violence, and to raise awareness regardless of its cause, prevalence and impact.

Funding will enable Genesis to continue providing emergency shelter and transitional housing services. Due to the shelter in place order, Genesis is experiencing an increase in demand for meals, personal items, and activities for children. The funds will also support the counseling program, which is serving sheltered and non-sheltered clients via phone sessions.

Highland Park Presbyterian Church Outreach – $100,000

Their mission is to lead all generations to become transformed followers of Jesus for the flourishing of Dallas and beyond.

Funding will support HPPC’s efforts to provide food provisions and other supplies to communities in need across Dallas. HPPC staff and volunteers work weekly to package fresh food boxes for the families of their partner ministries: Dallas Leadership Foundation, Primera Iglesia Bautista, and Christ Community Church in Richardson.

Incarnation House – $5,000

Their mission is to prepare homeless and housing insecure youth for life success by providing access to educational, emotional, and other support services.

Funding will support Incarnation House’s ability to provide food boxes with personal items, toiletries, socks and underwear to homeless and vulnerable teens. Additionally, funds will be used to transport teens to medical appointments and other necessary services. Incarnation House staff is assisting the high school youth with distance learning in order to stay on track for graduation.

Nexus Recovery Center – $15,000

Their mission is to serve as a link to sobriety, independence, and dignity for low-income women and their families affected by addiction.

Funding will offset expenses related to continued programming for children and adolescent girls in the shelter such as additional food and hygiene supplies.

Men of Nehemiah – $5,000

Their mission is to rebuild the lives of men and women that have been torn apart by the vicious onslaught of poverty, homelessness, substance abuse, crime and violence.

Funding will offset expenses related to COVID-19. Their shelter remains open to homeless and formerly incarcerated men, and as such, is seeing an increased demand for food, personal items, cleaning supplies and protective gear. Funds will also support MoN’s access to technology in order to continue to provide mentoring, counseling, case management and job readiness programming.

Operation Kindness – $25,000

Their mission is to care for homeless cats and dogs in a no-kill environment until each is adopted into responsible homes, and to advocate humane values and behavior.

Funding will supplement the care and medical treatment of the animals on-site. Additionally, funds will help re-stock the Pet Food Pantry, which remains open during this time, and is experiencing an increase in demand.

Salvation Army DFW Command – $250,000

Their mission is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.

Funding will support the Salvation Army’s distributions hubs, shelters, and spiritual care services. The Salvation Army has created two distributions hubs, one in Dallas and one in Fort Worth, where food and supplies are distributed to their 13 service community centers throughout five counties in North Texas. Through this model, the Salvation Army is feeding an estimated 13,000 people each week. Additionally, many of these community centers will have case managers on site to help with financial assistance, counseling and spiritual support for those experiencing job loss. The Army continues to operate four emergency shelters housing families with children requiring additional services and food.

Wilkinson Center – $25,000

Their mission is to transform the lives of Dallas families by providing pathways to self-sufficiency with dignity and respect.

Funding will help with supplemental food acquisition and funds for financial assistance and related staff. Wilkinson has transitioned their services to focus on delivering food to seniors and vulnerable families. Wilkinson case managers are experiencing an increase in demand for their financial assistance services, which they continue to provide virtually.