Helping a Hometown Hero:
ABC Makes $3,000 Donation to Helping A Hero, to help build a house for SPC Bradley Thomas, Brazosport High School Graduate
Recently, an urgent request was made to help raise $200,000.00 by the end of May for one of the 10 most severely wounded combat survivors in the entire United States., SPC Bradley Thomas of Jones Creek, Texas. Funds were requested to build Bradley a home with a full lift system. The ABC Public Relations Committee made a request to the ABC Board for approval of a fund donation to help this injured veteran from Brazoria County. Available funds were approved in the amount of $3,000.00 for SPC Bradley Thomas.
On May 31, 2011 ABC mailed funds to HelpingaHero.org specifically for SPC Bradley Thomas. Bradley suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of an EFP attack on his Stryker in 2008 in Iraq and has been in specialized care for the past 3 years. Brad is now semi conscious and is unable to communicate or respond to requests. He requires full time 24/7 care and his family will be providing this care once he returns home augmented with VA caregiver support each night. Brad’s home will be built in Jones Creek, Texas which will take 100 days to complete.
HelpingaHero.org is a 501(c)(3) non profit, non-partisan organization providing support for military personnel severely injured in the war on terror. The principal activity is to provide specially adapted homes for qualifying service members as well as engaging the community to provide services and resources for our wounded heroes and their families.
What better way to support the troops and the freedoms they fight for, the core value of ABC-Free Enterprise.
The ABC Board and Public Relations Committee thanks
ABC members and others for their support of ABC fundraiser events,
which help so many within the community.
ABC helps out in the community in so many ways. One example is through the ABC Public Relations/ABC Cares Committee which organizes the ABC Cook-off and the ABC Inshore Fishing Tournament fundraisers each year to benefit the local community. On August 24, 2011, the committee presented $1,000.00 each to local charities as follows:ActionS, Inc.. Operation Backpack, and The Women’s Center of Brazoria County.
ACTIONS, INC. OF BRAZORIA COUNTY - ActionS, Inc. of Brazoria County is a non-profit organization chartered in 1978 and governed by a volunteer Board of Directors from various areas of expertise. ActionS, Inc. provides senior citizens, sixty (60) years and over, the opportunity for meals, transportation, and socialization free of charge at seven (7) county wide centers. For those seniors that are home bound, home delivered meals are available upon qualification. All services are free if the senior wishes not to donate to the program. Below are numbers of units of service provided by ActionS, Inc. to seniors of the county for the period of July 2010 to June 2011:
Transportation runs: 24,404
Hot Center Meals: 43,155
Home Delivered: 83,943
Information & Referrals: 1,452
Telephone Reassurance calls: 26,269
ActionS, Inc. has a staff of six (6) full time employees and ten (10) part time employees plus volunteers. ActionS, Inc. also assists with emergency evacuations via the County Emergency Management office, assisting the Cambodian village with post Hurricane Ike and daily needs, Homeland Preparedness (CERT program), SPCA’s ani-meals program providing seniors home delivered food for their pet, and other various non-profit organizations in the county.Contact your local county courthouse at (979)265-4261, extension #1480.
Members of the P/R Committee pictured left to right: Jim Mahon - Candlewood Suites; Betty Smith - ActionS, Inc.; Mike Mathis, ABC P/R Chairman - Delta Rigging & Tools; Ruby Pratt, ABC Staff Liasion; Buck Blevins, ABC Chapter Chairman - Infinity Construction Services, LP; back row (l to R) Chris Cloninger, Wholesale Electric Supply; Laurie Groth, ABC Cares Chairperson - Performance Contractors, Inc.; Lisa Bundick Woods, ABC Board, Tri-Construction Co. and Terry McAlister, ABC Chapter President and CEO.
OPERATION BACKPACK - Operation Backpack provides local homeless and hungry students with much needed food for the weekend. Last school year, more than 250 students were classified as homeless within BISD and many more were chronically hungry. Students are classified as homeless when they do not have a permanent residence. Some families have fallen on hard times and are forced to stay wherever they can until they get back on their feet. Some older students find “couch-surfing” a safer option than staying at “home.” Other students simply do not have access to the food resources they need during the weekends. True to Life Ministries (TTLM) works with individuals and organizations to gather donated food and supplies. Volunteers use these items to fill backpacks for qualifying students at the end of each week. The backpacks protect the students’ confidentiality, and they are discretely returned on Mondays so the process can start over. During the summer, “Operation Backpack Summer Style” prepares sack meals and sends teams of volunteers to strategic neighborhoods to feed children and facilitate games, activities, and Bible lessons.
Operation Backpack began the 2009/2010 school year serving students from one school. During the 2010/2011 school year, approximately 100 backpacks per week were filled and distributed to seven local schools. Thanks to faithful and generous community support, 2,838 backpacks were filled. True to Life Ministries estimates a minimum of 3,200 backpacks will be filled during the 2011/2012 school year, as efforts are expanded to new schools. There are many ways to help! A shopping list of needed items can be downloaded at www.ttlm.org. Food items can be delivered to the TTLM office from 9a.m.-5p.m. Monday through Friday at 204 Dixie Drive across from Kroger and next to Katartizo Fabrics. TTLM is currently inviting individuals to become a backpack sponsor. It costs approximately $65/month to fill a student’s backpack for the whole month (approximately 7 meals per weekend). Financial contributions can be mailed to P.O. Box 2615 Freeport, Texas 77542. Please call the TTLM office for more information at 979.665.8384.
The ABC P/R Committee pictured with Meredith King (second from left)
from operation backpack.
THE WOMEN’S CENTER OF BRAZORIA COUNTY – The Women’s Center, a United Way agency, works with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Founded in 1982 by a grassroots group that was tired of seeing domestic violence victims spending the night in police department foyers, the agency consisted of a shelter for these victims, as well as an office and a resale shop. Since inception, the agency has expanded to include a second shelter, 4 more offices, 3 transitional living homes, a Supervised Visitation Program for court-ordered participants, parenting classes and workshops, a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program, a Speakers’ Bureau, two 24-hr. HOTLINES, and volunteer training. The agency works with approximately 1,000 people every year (excluding the hundreds who come through our Parenting Classes and Workshop). Services provided include temporary shelter, education, professional trainings, opportunities for non-custodial parents and children, group and individual counseling, around-the-clock hospital accompaniment and assistance, such as protective orders, transportation, and jobs, to help victims heal, be productive, and get on with their lives. Our newest initiative is preventing victimization through seminars that focus on healthy relationships, anti-bullying, and resolving conflicts. For more information about our services or our active volunteer program, call the main office at 979 849 9553. For assistance, call our HOTLINES at 1 800 243 5788 or 1 281 585 0902.Plans are now in the works for year 2012 events. Stay tuned for ABC events and dates to be announced right after the first of the new year.
ABC Public Relations Committee pictured with Vicki Ennis (second from
left) from the Women's Center.