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2010 – April

Now till Tax time – Free help with taxes! - Click on the links to see the schedules:

April 1 – Census 2010 Count Day. More details coming soon. For more information contact Cheryl Allen by phone at 254.754.3404 or email at CherylAllen@wacofoundation.org.

April 8 - 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. Anyone who has an interest is welcome. For more information contact Esther Morales at 753-3545 or foodoutreach@grandecom.net.

April 9 – 14th Annual Central Texas Youth Connection One Day Conference – Moving Forward: Effective Ways to Reach our Youth. Time: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, registration starts at 8:00.Place: McLennan Community College Conference Center, 4601 N. 19th Street, Waco. Cost: $75, $20 with current Student ID – covers conference fee, lunch and program materials. This conference sponsored by the Youth Connection (www.youthconnectionwaco.org) will feature several dynamic, motivating speakers including Dr. Beverly O. Ford who will speak on empowering youth for change and motivating “unmotivated” youth, Jo Ann Jumper who will speak on Empowering Youth to Become Successful at Gaining Independence and Linda Russell who will speak on the topic of Parent Education Unwrapped, and other educational sessions. The conference is designed to provide new insights and skills for professionals working with youth. Individuals serving in education, social studies, health care and related fields will find the topics offered at the conference to be timely and beneficial to them in their work. More details, including registration forms, coming soon! For a flyer, click here: Youth Connection Conference. For more information contact Carolyn Nichols by email at cnichols@hillcrest.net or by phone at 254-202-8480.

April 14, 15 & 16 – Volunteer Training for Care Net Waco. Time: 1 pm – 5pm, must attend all three days. Place: Care Net Administrative Offices, 4700 W. Waco Drive. Care Net is searching for volunteers who have a heart to minister to men and women facing an unplanned pregnancy. They have a wide variety of volunteer opportunities including facilitating classes, event planning, peer counseling, office support and many others. Some volunteer positions require 12-hour Care Net training and a period of in-house training. If you are interested, click here to open and/or download a volunteer application and contact stella@carenetofcentraltexas.org. to make an appointment to bring it in, or call her at 254-772-6175.

April 16 – Heart of Texas Homeless Coalition Meeting. Time: Lunch at 11:45 AM, meeting starts at Noon. Place: TBA. Cost: 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. To RSVP for lunch, please call Chelle Samaniego at 254-750-5967 or send an email to ChelleS@ci.waco.tx.us.

April 17 – Come see the Habitat Restore Booth on Earth Day at Cameron Park Zoo.

April 17th – Homebuyer Education class at Waco Community Development. Time: 1- 6 pm. Place: CDC Offices, 1624 Colcord (corner of 17th and Colcord). Our homebuyer education classes are a mini-review of our financial literacy classes plus, Mortgages, Insurances, taxes, home maintenance, responsibilities of homeownership, being a responsible neighbor, appraisals, surveys. All classes are free and will be accepted by local down payment assistance programs. For more information please call 235-7358.

April 20 – Free Legal Support Forum for Central Texas Senior Citizens. Time: 9am – Noon. Place: Waco Area Agency on Aging facility located at 1514 S. New Road, Waco (near the VA Hospital.) Topics such as navigating the Medicare system, Medical and Durable Powers of Attorney, Health Directives, Guardianships, Wills and the Probate process, will be covered. All information will be presented in an easily accessible group format designed to help both seniors and their caregivers through the sometimes overwhelming decision-making process involved in long term-care planning. Refreshments will be served at each event. For a press release with more information, including additional dates and times, please click here: Legal Support Forums press release. For more information please contact Francine Lumbard by phone at 254-757-3401, or by email at legalassistanceproject@yahoo.com.

April 20 – Panel Discussion: Ending Hunger in McLennan County. Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m., Place: McLennan Community College, HPE Lecture Hall. Hear from the experts about the issues facing McLennan County, Texas, and the U.S. regarding hunger. Find out about simple actions you can take to end hunger in McLennan County. Admission is free, a canned or non-perishable food item is requested. For more information, contact Alexis Weaver, 757-5630 or aweaver@wacochamber.com.

April 20 – Heart of Texas Crop Walk for Hunger Steering Committee meeting. Time: 5:30 pm. Place: Seeds of Hope office at 7th & James Baptist Church, 602 James (call 755-7745 or email seedseditor@clearwire.net for directions) Join us to help plan the 2010 Waco CROP walk. Three-fourths of the proceeds from the CROP walk will go to Church World Service (CWS) a world-wide relief, development, and refugee assistance ministry. One-fourth of the proceeds will go to a hunger-related charity. For more information call Linda Freeto at Central United Methodist Church: 420-2862 or LFreeto@CentralFaith.com. To visit the Crop Walk website, click here: Waco CROP walk.

April 22 – Style Show benefitting Mission Waco children’s ministry at “THE ROCK”. Buy a table or just bring a friend, but join us for lunch at the Phoenix Room to see local clothiers show their stuff! Donations will help develop our after-school and summer programs, including adding needed playground equipment. Each year, participants leave with an enhanced understanding of the incredible work of one of Mission Waco’s programs and so will you. Call us at 753.4900 to get your ticket.

April 24 – Habitat ReStore 50% off sale. Time: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Place: Habitat Restore, 1224 Franklin Ave, Waco. Lots of items 50% off. For more information, visit www.wacorestore.org.

April 24 – Beyond the Backyard (Garden Training Series – Part 4) the Garden as Classroom. Time: 9:00am – 12:00pm, followed by a potluck and garden Q&A. Place: Rapoport Academy. Cost: Suggested donation of $10 to cover material costs. Workshop Topics: Working with schools and using the garden as an educational tool. Interested in learning more about growing a garden and building community? Join the HOT Urban Gardening Coalition for our first garden training series – in 6 parts. For more information, see UGC’s website: http://hotugc.wordpress.com. To register, contact Bethel Erickson at vista@worldhungerrelief.org .

April 25 – Habitat for Humanity Informational Meeting (English). Time: 3 p.m. Place: Habitat Office, 220 N. 11th Street. Looking for an affordable opportunity to buy a safe, decent home? Wait no more! Attend one of our informational meetings (required to apply for a home through Waco Habitat’s partnership housing program). For more information, including a list of dates for information meetings in English and Spanish, visit this website: http://www.wacohabitat.org/apply. Contact Habitat for Humanity Waco by phone at 254-756-7575 or email at info@wacohabitat.org.

April 29 – Start of a new series of Financial Literacy Classes at Waco Community Development. Time: 6-8 pm, Thursdays. Place: CDC Offices, 1624 Colcord (corner of 17th and Colcord). Our Financial Literacy classes meet 6 times to complete the series. They cover budgeting, managing credit, identity theft, credit reports, Owning vs. renting, credit cards, mortgages. All classes are free and will be accepted by local down payment assistance programs. For more information please call 235-7358.

Act Locally: Waco

2010 – April