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When Karla Cosme Maldonado, Experiential Life Skills Coordinator with BCFS Health and Human Services Transitional Foster Care, saw her students’ faces on a video call, she knew something wasn’t quite right.

“We were taking a virtual tour of the [Pacific] Science Center in Seattle, and I could tell the students were not very engaged,” said Karla.

As classrooms have moved online around the world to slow the spread of COVID-19, educators have kept pace by blending technology with whatever is available from home. Though adapting is not easy, the results often showcase the creativity and resourcefulness of teachers.

These new limitations have brought the talents from staff at BCFS Health and Human Services Transitional Foster Care to the forefront. Last week their education team put on costumes and makeup for a retelling of “Snow White.”

“Unfortunately I didn’t get to see the performance with our students,” said Sonya Thompson, Executive Director at BCFS Health and Human Services-San Antonio, “but I was there for rehearsal. I don’t think it was just the kids who had fun; [the staff] definitely had fun too.”

“All you have to do is read the news to know that parents have their hands full right now,” said Melissa Bueno, Regional Director of BCFS Health and Human Services-San Antonio Foster Care and Adoption. “These are some great ideas that our staff came up with to break up the monotony of the day and take a burden off foster parents.”

Both Sonya and Melissa have been impressed with the innovative and engaging adjustments the Transitional Foster Care program has made to continue serving children during the coronavirus. Last month the teachers challenged their students to create floats at home for a virtual parade, and this week they will take an adventure through history using a virtual time machine.

“I know what we’re all going through, and I want our kids to have a little fun,” said Karla. “Sometimes you can even hear the parents laughing in the background.”

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The BCFS Health and Human Services-Abilene staff has not allowed the COVID-19 response to deter their efforts to recognize Child Abuse Awareness month.

They are using their social media presence as a virtual means to do many of the things they would otherwise not be able to do during this period of social distancing. The team has been posting facts, tips and information regarding child abuse awareness since the first of the month and have been conducting contests to encourage participation.

“We are offering different prizes for participation,” said Briona Sattarphai, Program Director. “We are asking people to post comments and pictures of themselves doing the activities we are promoting – such as spending time with their kids or making washing their hands fun. Prizes include gift cards for meals or family activities and awareness swag.”

Alana Jeter, Regional Director for North Texas, said she is very proud of her staff and is encouraged by the community’s response to their virtual campaign.

“Our staff even celebrated ‘Go Blue Day’ on Friday, April 3, and posted pictures to our Facebook page of our staff meeting utilizing Microsoft Teams video meeting app with everyone wearing blue,” said Alana.

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BCFS Health and Human Services-San Antonio held the Inspire Fashion Show at Granberry Hills in San Antonio, Texas. The event emphasized the professional and creative inspirations of youth served by nonprofit BCFS-San Antonio while giving local supporters, partners and guardians a chance to encourage the biggest and best aspirations of those youth.

As each participant walked the runway, Chaunice Holley, International Dream Model 2019 and a dedicated volunteer with BCFS-San Antonio, shared with the crowd a brief description of where each youth saw themselves in a few years’ time. A game designer, social educator, marine biologist and music therapist were among the future careers that the contestants saw themselves pursuing.

One of the contestants even shared a poem he had written, titled “A Job.” Before delivering his poem, the youth said that “not everything is done and I’m not [anywhere] near where I want to be… but hopefully I can get there.” He said that the poem represented not the achievement of some great goal but rather “the process and the gray area between what you need to get to [that] final destination [when] you don’t know where it is at.”

This year’s fashion show featured 12 youth who each participated in two rounds of fashion: professional and formal. The importance of this and other BCFS-San Antonio events was the fun yet formative nature; youth received well deserved encouragement in their personal style and life goals, and were able to share their future plans with a community that supports and  believes in the visions they each hold.

Learn more about BCFS Health and Human Services-San Antonio.

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Thanks to the sponsors of the Inspire Fashion Show:

• Alamo City Barber College
• Avant Salon and Spa
• Bealls
• The Body Shop
• Granberry Hills
• H-E-B
• Institute of Makeup Artistry
• The Lifestyle Hair Studio
• Oaks Crossing Catering
• Oh Yeah Cakes
• Pretty Petal Florist
• Rex Formal Wear
• Ross
• San Antonio Threads
• Target
• Tiff’s Treats
• Vanity Boutique
• Versona
• NYX

Special thanks to Chaunice Holley and DJ Xavier Salinas

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Breckenridge Village of Tyler (BVT) hosted another unforgettable night for its residents at KE Bushman’s Celebration Center in Bullard, Texas. “A Night To Remember: Decades in Review,” sponsored by the de Wet family of Kiepersol and Chick-fil-A of Tyler, was held on Friday, February 28.

The showcase of talent explored decades gone by with music, decorations and dress from as early as the 1920s and as recently as the ‘90s. At least 11 organizations united to make the night as special as it was for BVT’s growing number of residents, which has nearly doubled since the completion of three new homes last Spring.

While the night was special, it is only one of many ways that BVT, a residential facility for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities, instills and shares their values in the lives of their residents and the broader community of Tyler, Texas.

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Learn more about BVT in their highlight video from last fall.

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Del Rio Learns Self Defense

BCFS Health and Human Services-Del Rio sponsored a Women’s Self Defense Workshop last month in collaboration with Cotrina Ventanilla de Salud.

Attendees learned a variety of self-defense techniques as well as the importance of only using them as a last resort, when avoidance or flight is not an option. The event was open to the public for all women ages 10 and up and was taught by Hector Cruz Jr., a martial arts instructor at Amistad Eagles Gym in Del Rio.

Claudia Lopez, a family violence specialist with BCFS-Del Rio, said the annual event was a success with 40 women in attendance. The workshop has grown in popularity each year, she said, and there is a possibility that they may start having them more often. It was originally intended as a workshop for teenagers, but they soon found that it attracted interest from women of all ages.

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Click here for a video

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Will Meiron, program director at BCFS Health and Human Services-Abilene, was selected as one of the annual “20 Under 40” winners in Abilene, Texas. The award is presented by Abilene Young Professionals – a program of the city’s chamber of commerce – in partnership with the Abilene Reporter News. Will received the award for his work both with BCFS-Abilene and Sockdolager Brewing Company.

“Every day we encounter people right where they are,” Will said in an email. “It could be a crisis, it could be a celebration, it could be just a normal day. However, in our work in this community we must do what is right. There is no middle ground.”

In addition to his position as program director at BCFS-Abilene, Will is the chair of Key Connections, a program that mentors at-risk young adults. He is also a member of eight local boards or organizations.

“Communities are built generation to generation,” said Greg Jaklewicz, editor and news director of the Abilene Reporter News. “The next generation must be given support and encouragement to succeed, not just to fill shoes but to lead a city on new paths…. In his way, [Will] is encouraging his peers to stay in Abilene and find their place. In turn, that will encourage the following generation.”

Will received his official recognition at a ceremony last night held at 201 Mesquite Event Center in downtown Abilene. While he expressed deep appreciation for the award, Will is already focused on what’s to come for the city.

“Our next step in doing what is right for BCFS-Abilene is the groundbreaking of Our House for Women,” said Will. “It is one more way that our BCFS community can do even more to support my Abilene community.”

Read Will’s full interview with Abilene Young Professionals here.

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Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz proclaimed January 2020 to be National Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month in Laredo, Texas.

Common Thread, a project of BCFS Health and Human Services, helped draft the proclamation and was invited to take part in the announcement ceremony. Irasema Resendez, national partnerships manager with Common Thread, represented the organization at the ceremony and spoke about efforts to help victims of trafficking in the community.

“[The] Common Thread program has two key elements: immediate response and long-term advocacy,” Irasema said. “Advocates maintain a critically important relationship with the survivor, providing intensive case management and working to build protective networks for them.”

Also speaking at the event were representatives from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Laredo Independent School District, the Webb County District Attorney’s office and the Mexican consulate.

The proclamation grew out of the efforts of Marilyn Bautista, a Laredo community activist who now serves as an advocate for Common Thread. Miranda Calhoun Burke, community advocate supervisor for Common Thread, spoke about how the city’s proclamation came to fruition:

“As a member of the Laredo community, Marilyn Bautista was shocked to learn that so many resources are available to those in need specifically those who have endured abuse and violence at the hands of others. When she learned of these resources’ existence, the desire to ensure that every one of her neighbors has access to information about available help became a driving motivation in her life. Since that time, she has worked tirelessly to bring awareness in her community to the realities of abuse, domestic violence and violence towards women. In this pursuit, she has become a trainer, an event-coordinator and a public voice. In these various advocacy roles, she made important connections with influencers in her community to ensure further awareness. One of the individuals she connected with and advocated alongside (through local holidays and proclamations) was Mayor Pete Saenz.

“When Marilyn heard that BCFS was opening a program focused on supporting victims of sex trafficking, her first thought was, “Our community needs this! No one else is doing this!” and she quickly applied for the role of representing our agency in the Laredo Community. She began eagerly researching human trafficking and sharing what she learned with anyone who would listen. Marilyn is a powerful voice in her community, she stands on the side of those oppressed, and she’s the current megaphone for Common Thread and our efforts in the community! Mayor Saenz is one of the community’s influencers that Marilyn has connected with in efforts to increase public knowledge regarding human trafficking, and the ones who are there to support survivors.”

Marilyn has also been working with the Laredo police department, fire department and EMS to train them on how to best handle situations when they first come across victims of human trafficking.

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Read more about this proclamation at the Laredo Morning Times.