2009 – March
January – February - March – April – May – June – July – August – September - October – November – December-General & On-going
Avance Waco is collecting Garage Sale items - Avance is having a yard sale in April and will be accepting donations for items to sell. If you have any items to donate and would like a place to store them, please contact Cyndi_Hernandez@baylor.edu or bring them to Avance (1618 Clay) in April.
Now until Tax time Free income tax preparation services - NeighborWorks® Waco, in partnership with AARP Tax-Aide and A.J. Moore Academy, announces that free income tax preparation services will be offered to the public beginning January 22. Eight sites will be open in Waco; Marlin and Mexia will also have a local site available. The most current information about site locations, as well as days and hours of operation, can be accessed by dialing 2-1-1 in the Waco area. Customers should bring a photo ID, all income statements for 2008, and social security cards for each person claimed on the return. For more information, contact Chad Klawetter with NeighborWorks® Waco at 254-752-1647 x202.
March 2 – Central Texas Senior Ministry officially begins doing business with a new name: Meals & Wheels – We Deliver! We are changing our public name in order to more accurately describe what we do. “Our transportation program is now our second largest service area after Meals On Wheels and folks need to know that we provide both of these services,” said Executive Director, Melody McDermitt.
- Meals On Wheels and Senior Centers combined to provide 253,257 total meals served in 2008.
- Our transportation system provided 52,890 one way transit trips.
Our new name, Meals & Wheels, better describes what we do. Our programs serve infants to 100 year olds. We transport Medicaid clients of all ages. We take folks to work sites as well as to the dialysis centers. Our agency delivers meals and people. Meals & Wheels is committed to serving Falls, Hill and McLennan Counties through our nutrition services and through our transportation service. Meals & Wheels-We Deliver! For more information call 254-752 -0316.
March 3 - Sharefest 2009 Information Meeting - 6:30-8:00 p.m.,Mighty Wind Worship Center, 1100 Washington Avenue-Downtown. Sharefest is an annual inter-church day of service in the community. Last year over 400 volunteers from 6 churches worked together throughout Waco and the surrounding communities to perform services such as landscaping and yard work for elderly citizens, cleaning up vacant lots, painting schools and other public buildings,and much more. Volunteers logged over 1500 man hours of work at 22 work sites. The day also included a food drive, a box-fan drive and a blood drive. This year the Sharefest day of service will be May 2. This information meeting is the perfect opportunity to learn more about ShareFest Waco and investigate how your church can participate!To find out more about this meeting or about how your church can get involved please call Teri Tippit at 254-848-4305 or email sharefestwaco@gmail.com. Here are some links for more information; there is also a “Sharefest” group on Facebook:
March 3 – Feast of Caring - 6:00 pm, McLennan Community College Conference Center. Annual fund-raising and awareness building event for Caritas of Waco. Includes a meal of soup and bread. For more information call 254-753-4593.
March 12 - McLennan County Hunger Coalition (MCHC) meeting - 11:45-1:00, Caritas of Waco Conference Room, 300 S. 15th. A coalition of representatives of food pantries, feeding programs, governmental agencies, faith-based organizations, businesses, and interested individuals committed to solving the problems of food insecurity and hunger in the local area, the MCHC meets monthly, usually on the second Thursday of each month. Visitors are welcome. For more information contact Esther Morales at 753-3545, email: foodoutreach@grandecom.net or Kenneth Moerbe, Chairperson, 715-0134, kpmoerbe@grandecom.net.
March 15 - Deadline for Churches to sign up to be a Sharefest Partnering Church. Sharefest is an annual inter-church day of service in the community. Last year over 400 volunteers from 6 churches worked together throughout Waco and the surrounding communities to perform services such as landscaping and yard work for elderly citizens, cleaning up vacant lots, painting schools and other public buildings,and much more. Volunteers logged over 1500 man hours of work at 22 work sites. The day also included a food drive, a box-fan drive and a blood drive. This year the Sharefest day of service will be May 2. To find out more about how your church can get involved please call Teri Tippit at 254-848-4305 or email sharefestwaco@gmail.com.
March 17 - Legal Assistance Project: Free Senior Law Forum. 11 a.m., Sul Ross Senior Center, 15th & Waco Drive. Please pre-register for lunch after the event. Participants will learn about advance care planning, wills and probate, Medicare, and guardianship. You will also receive forms such as the Medical Power of Attorney and Advance Health Directive which can be self-completed without the aid of an attorney. For more information contact Francine Lumbard at (254) 757-3401 or email legalassistanceproject@yahoo.com. For directions or to pre-register for lunch, call (254)752-6412.
March 18 - Topics in Health Literacy: Role of Interdisciplinary Team in HL: Panel Discussion; Effects and Barriers Associated with Cultural Diversity/Cultural Competency. Noon to 3:00 pm. Baylor University Science Building Room A 202. This session is one in a series of active learning opportunities targeting health professionals sponsored by the Brazos Area Health Education Center (BAHEC). To register contact Amanda Thomas at athomas@bahec.org or 254-753-4392 x 12.
March 18 - “What I Keep” Photography exhibit and seminar featuring photos of members of The Church Under The Bridge. 5:30 pm for dinner ($4), 6:30 pm for seminar, Lake Shore Baptist Church, 5801 Bishop Drive. Photographer Susan Mullally will discuss her work “What I Keep” in which she explores ideas of class, race, ownership, value and cultural identification. Mullally collaborated with members of The Church Under the Bridge, a non-denominational, multi-cultural Christian church that has been meeting under Interstate 35 for sixteen years. Many of the people have had significant disruptions in their lives, experienced periods of homelessness or incarceration, addiction to drugs and alcohol, mental illness or profound poverty and hopelessness. She asks each person what he or she keeps and why it is valued. The photographs are life size portraits (24″x36″) with brief statements about the person’s choice. Thirteen of the 48 photographs will be on display at Lake Shore Baptist from March 15 – March 30. For more information call 772-2910 or email lbaptistchurch@hot.rr.com.
March 18 – Waco Premiere of feature film “American Violet.” 7:30 p.m., Mayborn Museum, 1300 South University Parks. Free, public invited. “American Violet” fictionalizes the story of some Hearne, Texas, residents – all of whom were poor and African-American – falsely charged in a drug round-up in 2000. Based on a true story, Baylor alumnus David Moore played a significant role in their real-life defense. For more information contact Mark Osler, phone 710-4917 or email Mark_W_Osler@baylor.edu. To see a preview of the film, click here: American Violet preview.
March 20 - Heart of Texas Homeless Coalition Meeting. 11:45 AM. Waco Chamber of Commerce, 101 3rd St. No cost to attend. Join us to stay involved with what is going on in Central Texas to serve the homeless. Lunch will be provided. Reservations are required – please call (254) 722-7644 or email jennyc@ci.waco.tx.us. For more information, click here: www.hothomeless.org.
March 21 - Family Abuse Center volunteer training. 9 am to 4 pm. 4709 Bosque Blvd in the Onward & Upward Bldg. Speakers from Waco PD; DA’s office; A Father’s Story; Counselors; Survivors and others. Coffee, donuts and lunch provided, no charge. For more information contact Dinah Husbands, Phone: 254-772-8999 or email Volunteer@familyabusecenter.org.
March 24 - The Heart of Texas CROP WALK for Hunger Steering Committee meeting. 7:30 pm at the Seeds of Hope offices, 602 James. For more information, email seedseditor@clearwire.net or call 254-755-7745.
March 24, 25, 26 - “What I Keep”: A photographic exhibit including members of Church under the Bridge. 1:00-5:00 p.m. Lake Shore Baptist Church, 5801 Bishop, Waco. Susan Mullally’s photographs explore race, class, ownership, value, cultural identification and representation, and faith. When her work was featured at the UrBanquet, we asked if she’d be willing to display some of the nearly fifty photos in this series at Lake Shore. You can see all of the photos on the artist’s website www.susanmullally.com. Mullally is collaborating with members of The Church Under the Bridge in Waco, a non-denominational, multi-cultural Christian church that has been meeting below Interstate-35 for sixteen years. She writes: “Many of the people there have had significant disruptions in their lives, experienced periods of homelessness or incarceration, addiction to drugs and alcohol, mental illness or profound poverty and hopelessness. Many are working toward a new measure of stability and accomplishment through the programs and opportunities offered through the church. Other members have more stable lives and are drawn to service at the Church Under the Bridge.” For more information contact Lake Shore Baptist Church, phone: 772-2910 or email lbaptistchurch@hot.rr.com.
March 24 – Excessive Poverty in Waco Topic of Discussion at City Council meeting. 2:00, DeCordova Room of the Waco Convention Center, 100 Washington Ave. With double the average poverty rate, Waco’s designation as Texas’ 5th poorest city is getting some public scrutiny. Dr. Kenneth Moerbe, former executive director of Caritas and current head of the Hunger Coalition, and Jimmy Dorrell, Mission Waco’s director, have been asked to present their concerns and suggestions on how to confront the unreasonable poverty in the community. Public is invited.
March 24 – Legal Assistance Project: Free Senior Law Forum. 9 a.m., Area Agency on Aging Facility, 1514 South New Road, Waco. Participants will learn about advance care planning, wills and probate, Medicare, and guardianship. You will also receive forms such as the Medical Power of Attorney and Advance Health Directive which can be self-completed without the aid of an attorney. Refreshments will be served. For more information contact Francine Lumbard at (254) 757-3401 or email legalassistanceproject@yahoo.com. For directions, call 292-1800.
March 24 & March 31 – Infant/Toddler Social and Emotional Training: “Determining the Meaning of Behavior and Developing Appropriate Responses” presented by Smart Start Child Care Association. 6:00-8:00 PM HOT Workforce Center, 1416 S. New Road, Waco. Participants will learn how to support infants and toddler who struggle with relationship, exploring the environment, and learning. We will explore reasons for these struggles, describe strategies for understanding the child’s experience, and ways of supporting the child’s skills. Registration for one night is permitted , although both nights are highly recommended! Please specify when registering. Cost: Comprehensive Member — Both Classes $25.00 or one class $15.00; Basic/Non-Member – Both Classes $35.00 or one class $25.00. To register, send Childcare Center Name, Participant name and phone number to: Smart Start Child Care Association, 1416 S New Road, Waco, TX 76711. Payment must be received before registration is complete. Registration is limited to 50 participants, Deadline to register is March 20 by 5pm. For more information contact: Kathy Talbert – (254)296-5274.
March 28 – Prevent Child Abuse Texas: A Professional Development Workshop for Child Care and School Personnel. 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Greenville Avenue Child Development Center, 1013 S. Greenville Avenue, Richardson, TX. Presented by PREVENT CHILD ABUSE Texas, topics Include: Types of abuse, characteristics of victims, characteristics of perpetrators, documenting child abuse/neglect, protecting yourself against false accusations, how to report child abuse and the process of investigation, prevention of child abuse, what you can do, and community resources. Pre-registration is $15 if postmarked by March 21st with on site registration of $20.00 Seating is limited. Website: Richardson Daycare Conference. For more information: call 512.250.8438 ext 18 or email rscoggin@PreventChildAbuseTexas.org.
March 31 – Legal Assistance Project: Free Senior Law Forum. 12:30, McGregor Senior Center, 416 West 2nd. Participants will learn about advance care planning, wills and probate, Medicare, and guardianship. You will also receive forms such as the Medical Power of Attorney and Advance Health Directive which can be self-completed without the aid of an attorney. For more information contact Francine Lumbard at (254) 757-3401 or email legalassistanceproject@yahoo.com. For directions, call 753-6392.
March 31 – The 8th Annual Taste Of Central Texas Benefiting Central Texas Youth Services. 6 to 9 p.m. at the Bell County Expo Center, assembly room. The gala event will feature more than 25 vendors and restaurants from the area – everything from Coca-Cola to Dead Fish Grill in Belton. Tickets are $30 per adult ($35 at the door), and $20 for children 12 years and younger. Ticket price includes food and musical entertainment by the GTO’s. There will also be a silent auction. Profits from the event go to Central Texas Youth Services, which helps runaway, abused, neglected, at risk children/youth and their families in eleven Central Texas counties, including McLennan (Waco) and Bell (Temple/Killeen). Tickets are limited to 500 and may sell out in ADVANCE! For more information or to purchase tickets contact John DeVries by email usapolres@aol.com or contact the Central Texas Youth Services office by phone: 254-939-3466 or email: ctysbtx@swbell.net. For more information visit the event website: www.tasteofcentraltexas.com.