Busy Spring Season of Activities

Ed Ahrens

Spring commenced with the Kiwanis Classic Bingo where 299 Robson Ranch residents participated in 15 exciting Bingo games. Over $2,000 was awarded to Bingo winners and for door prizes. The next Bingo event will be on Sunday, June 22, at 2:30 p.m. All proceeds from these events will support the children and families of Denton County.

Early April brought typical spring rains and winds, but more than 200 residents braved the weather to visit 20 Robson Ranch and neighboring vendors at the Kiwanis Craft Bazaar. This annual event showcases exciting crafts and highlights some of our outstanding Robson Ranch residents and their specialty crafts.

A new activity for the Kiwanis Club was to support the Kiwanis CKI Club at UNT in preparing and serving lunch at the Ronald McDonald House in Fort Worth. The CKI Club is part of the Kiwanis International group of clubs for children at all levels of education. The CKI Club is for college-level students.

Thanks to the After Schoolers Club Garage Sale, the Kiwanis Club showcased and sold many “treasures” throughout the morning. It is always a great opportunity for members to find items to donate to the garage sale and then enjoy fellowship with residents and visitors during the sale.

During the month, members delivered donations to several organizations, including:

• Freedom House

• Refuge for Women

• Habitat for Humanity

• Kiwanis Children’s Fund

• Community Clothes Closet in Justin

• Children’s Advocacy Center of North Texas

Another new venture for the Kiwanis Club involves sponsoring a new Kiwanis Club in Flower Mound. Several members have dedicated significant time to supporting the activities of a Kiwanis International group that traveled to Flower Mound to help organize the new club. Flower Mound has generated considerable excitement for the club, and the Robson Ranch club will provide coaching and support as the new club begins its meetings.

During the meetings over the past few weeks, we heard from three inspiring speakers, and two new residents joined the club. As always, the Kiwanis Club of Robson Ranch invites everyone to visit a meeting, held on the first and third Friday of each month at 9 a.m. in the clubhouse.

Please see our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/kcrobsonranch for more information about our activities.

 

Message from Foster Village DFW

Bill Wilson, Kiwanis Club president, introduced Alix Ker from Foster Village DFW. Alix shared an emotional story of how she and her husband began their journey of hosting a foster child in their home. Their foster child came to them with incredible, life-threatening medical challenges as an infant. After many medical procedures, their now-adopted son is doing well with only limited medical intervention. This experience led Alix and her husband to become involved with Foster Village DFW.

Foster Village DFW, located in Denton, works to ensure that foster families and children have their basic needs met, connect foster families to resources and each other, and advocate for change in the system, creating a better future for our community, our children, and the caregivers who raise them.

Foster Village DFW has three missions: Equip, Connect, and Advocate.

Equip: When a child is placed with a family, they often arrive with just the clothes on their back. Foster and kinship families receive little notice before a child is placed with them and must quickly turn their house into a home for a child they have just met. They help equip caregivers by delivering a welcome pack with necessities and resources so they can focus on helping the children in their care thrive.

Connect: Meeting children’s basic needs is only part of the weight that foster parents carry. One of the most important but often overlooked goals of parenting children from hard places is for them to feel a sense of connection. As caregivers work to meet the emotional needs of the children in their care, they need support of their own, whether it’s a night out or someone to call when they are feeling overwhelmed or lonely. The goal is to create opportunities for foster families—both the children and the parents—to connect with each other.

Advocate: Foster Village brings dignity to the children and families they serve. They understand the root causes of why a child ends up in the foster care system, facilitate relationships between foster and biological families, and replicate community support around the nation. To build a “community beyond the system,” they present honest and accurate information about our vulnerable neighbors, their challenges, and the need for a supportive community.

For more information, please visit the Foster Village DFW website at www.fostervillagedfw.org.

 

Denton County Friends of the Family Addresses Members

Robson Ranch Kiwanis Club President Bill Wilson introduced Lori Nelson, Director of Community Engagement at Denton County Friends of the Family (DCFOF). Lori presented the following information about the work of Friends of the Family.

Every 83 minutes, someone in Denton County reaches out in search of safety and support. For over four decades, Denton County Friends of the Family has been that lifeline, providing free trauma-informed, comprehensive services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault and guiding them toward stability, justice, and recovery.

Those we serve are women, children, and men who have endured physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, psychological, and financial abuse. They come to us in moments of crisis, often having risked everything to seek safety. Our services are designed to respond to the full spectrum of abuse survivors face, ensuring no one walks their path alone.

Since 1980, Friends of the Family has been the sole provider of free, comprehensive services to victims of domestic and sexual violence in Denton County. What began with two staff members, 32 volunteers, and a 900-square-foot shelter has grown into an $8 million agency with a team of 85 staff and more than 500 volunteers. Today we operate two shelters, three non-residential office locations, a thrift store, and a family-focused children’s museum, working together to support more than 5,000 clients annually.

What We Do

DCFOF is the only provider of free, trauma-informed services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Denton County. Our services include:

• 24/7 Emergency Shelter

• Transitional Housing

• Legal Representation and Advocacy

• Counseling (Adult and Child)

• Community Education and Prevention Programs

• High-Risk Child Welfare Advocacy

• Camp HOPE and Pathways Mentoring Program

• Mobile and Hospital-Based Crisis Advocacy

• Battering Intervention & Prevention Program (BIPP)

Our Impact (2023)

• 5,763 unduplicated survivors served

• 6,048 crisis calls/texts answered

• 12,329 nights of emergency shelter

• 71 households supported through Transitional Housing

• 296 sexual assault response calls coordinated

• 106,323 services delivered

• 37,959 service hours provided

• 19,389 individuals educated through outreach

Contact Us:

• 24/7 Crisis Line: 940-382-7273 (call or text)

• Main Line: 940-387-5131; 4845 S. I-35, Corinth

• Upscale Resale/Donation Drop-off: 920 Dallas Drive, Denton

• Volunteer: bjackson@dcfof.org

• Inquiries: communityrelations@dcfof.org

 

The Kiwanis Club Was Excited to Have Dr. Susannah Holbert O’Bara Speak to the Members

Jim Galbraith introduced Dr. Susannah Holbert O’Bara, the superintendent of Denton ISD. Dr. O’Bara provided a comprehensive update on Denton ISD, which spans over 185 square miles and serves 33,372 students, along with 4,690 educators and staff across 45 campuses. With such a vast area and numerous campuses, the district emphasizes “One District—One Purpose” to unify efforts throughout this extensive region.

She covered the six goals established by the DISD Board to cover the expectations of students, staff, and community engagement:

• Students will graduate college, career, and/or military ready.

• Students will be engaged in extra/co-curricular activities.

• Students will demonstrate evidence of mastery of Algebra I by the end of the 9th grade.

• Students will demonstrate evidence of reading on grade level by the end of the 3rd grade.

• Staff members are highly engaged.

• Families and our communities are highly engaged.

Dr. O’Bara explained the use of bond money in the district and the impact of the community tax rates over the years. DISD has reduced the tax rate each year, while appraised values have increased. She highlighted the impact of state funding for schools and the numerous shortages resulting from insufficient funding in conjunction with the legislative requirements for services. Dr. O’Bara actively works with our state representatives and the legislature to inform them of the schools’ needs. Her presentation provided numerous details about the funding and challenges that DISD faces each year in providing the level of education students require.

She covered the many avenues available for DISD students in college preparation and technical careers that lead to success upon graduation. For example, she highlighted the career path in the Fire Science Program where students are eligible to be hired by the fire department upon graduation as firefighters or EMT specialists.

Dr. O’Bara looks forward to community engagement to learn more about the status of our schools and explore ways to support the efforts to improve student education.

Please see the DISD website at www.dentonisd.org/aboutdentonisd for more details.