BCFS Health and Human Services-Abilene Bets the Farm This Halloween

 

The entire BCFS Health & Human Services’ Community Services Division (CSD)-Abilene office got in the Halloween spirit this year. The staff decorated doors and dressed up in costumes in a fun, lighthearted farm theme. BCFS-Abilene invited the families served through the Healthy Outcomes Through Prevention and Early Support (HOPES) program and the youth served through Preparation for Adult Living (PAL), Texas Workforce Commission, and Our House to take part in the event.

This year’s party gave families and youth the opportunity to trick-or-treat in a safe, fun environment on a rainy day. Among the families who celebrated with BCFS HHS-Abilenewasa farmer, a chef, a honey-bee, a pig, and even a corn stalk.

CSD-Abilene has more events lined up for the holiday season, including a Christmas Breakfast for youth, and a Polar Express-themed party for those in the HOPES program to include a special guest appearance by Santa himself.

 

A bumblebee buzzes by.

 

Read more about the BCFS HHS programs in Abilene.

PAL and Friends Gather for Spooktacular Event

 

BCFS Health and Human Services’ Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) held a Halloween party for its service population and friends. The party was held at the BCFS Health and Human Services-San Antonio Transition Center, where more than 70 attendants came together.

The event featured a diverse group that represented the support groups surrounding the people PAL serves. Kimberley Rodriguez, Regional Director of BCFS HHS Community Services Division (CSD) for Central Texas, said that although the PAL program works specifically with young adults in their late teens and early 20s, expanding the guest list allowed the siblings, children, friends, and relatives of those in the PAL program to participate and get involved.

A booth was set up by BCFS Health and Human Services-San Antonio’s Resiliency Through Healing, where PAL party guests could learn about the counseling and support services available for young adults. The night’s activities included a pumpkin decorating contest, a mystery game, and two raffle-prize drawings. Dinner and snacks were available for all who attended.

CSD plans to continue curating engaging events that attract attendance while providing services they can showcase in the midst of all the fun.

 

Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.
Pumpkin decorating contest finalists
The usually easy-going BCFS staff came dressed as their most serious selves.
A face painter was on site to give everyone the look they wanted
This young pumpkin decorator shows off her latest creation
A mystery game keeps people guessing

 

To discover more about the Preparation for Adult Living program, click here.

Marissa Cano Speaks at Community Events

BCFS-McAllen’s Marissa Cano Shares Insight with Rio Grande Valley Community

Photo: Marissa Cano

BCFS South Texas Regional Director Marissa Cano was recently invited to deliver the keynote address at the Family Crisis Center of the Rio Grande Valley’s sixth annual Champagne Brunch. The event is held annually to advance the center’s mission to empower adults and children experiencing domestic violence and/or sexual assault, increase awareness and responsiveness in the community through prevention, education, outreach and advocacy.

At the event, Marissa discussed the adverse effects of domestic violence and her firsthand experience with the brutality that affects one in three women (and one in four men) in the United States. In a candid engagement, Marissa talked about living with — and overcoming — abuse, and how her personal history informs her career as the director of a social services agency and a passionate advocate.

Also this month, Marissa spoke at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley as part of the Delta Tau Lambda sorority’s fourth annual Salute to Latinas: Fuerza de la Mujer Latina, where she addressed human trafficking, its telltale signs, and our collective responsibility to say something if we see something. She also talked about some of the work being done in the Rio Grande Valley to undermine the horrific crime.

Marissa joined BCFS Health and Human Services-McAllen in 2012. In 2016, she was named South Texas Regional Director, expanding her leadership vision of the BCFS Community Services Division efforts to include Harlingen and Corpus Christi.

Men’s Breakfast Speaker Hits It Out of the Ballpark!

Jimmy “The Rookie” Morris has lived a life of inspiration; which made him the perfect speakers for BCFS Health and Human Services’ annual Men’s Breakfast hosted in Kerrville.

The sky was dark and the air was crisp in Kerrville. The thoroughfares seemed empty, but the community turned out in a show of early morning support for BCFS Health and Human Services’ Kerrville Men’s Breakfast. The event, which raised funds to help complete the organization’s new Texas Hill Country Resource Center for children, youth and families, featured uplifting words from former Major League Baseball pitcher Jimmy Morris.
Morris was a high school baseball coach who preached to his team to always follow their dreams, and to be undeterred by naysayers.
“There are two types of people: those that want to see you fail, and those that want to see you succeed. The people at BCFS want you to succeed,” he said to nearly 200 community and business leaders, supporters and youth as day broke in the Texas Hill Country.
Morris coached baseball at Reagan County High School in the 1990s in Big Lake, Texas, a west-Texas oil drilling community. When his team challenged him to follow his own message of never giving up on your dreams, they made a friendly wager: If his team won district, he would try out for the majors again, reigniting a dream extinguished ten years prior due to injury.
Believing in his own hard work and his grandfather’s encouraging words, Coach Morris gave the big leagues another shot and, at age 35, made his rookie debut as a starting pitcher with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1999. While his major league career only lasted a few years due to persistent tendonitis, , Morris became a living testament for having a can-do attitude and following your dreams. His memoir, The Oldest Rookie, led to yet another first – his Hollywood debut – inspiring the 2002 feature film “The Rookie,” starring Dennis Quaid.
Having fulfilled his dream of playing major league baseball, Morris returned to his passion of working with youth and inspiring others to live out their dreams. Thanks to Morris’ support, more than $31,000 was raised for the new BCFS center, which will impact the lives of thousands each year.

“One Stop” Community Center Opens for Children and Families on the Westside

Senator Leticia Van de Putte and Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales were joined by children and families, business leaders and community supporters for the grand opening of BCFS Health and Human Services’ new Westside Community Center.
For more than seven years, BCFS Health and Human Services has led programs on the Westside aimed at getting children and students off the streets and away from gangs, while also boosting their success in school and connecting them with positive extracurricular activities. For many years, that outlet doubled as a hip, local coffee shop known as Guadalupe Street Coffee. Now, thanks to the availability of a larger space across the street and a restaurant partner that was able to take over café operations, BCFS Health and Human Services has reopened its doors as a comprehensive, “one stop” community center.
The organization’s move allows it to expand its programming and collaboration with several community partners, including Youth for Christ, Life Restored, Urban Connection, Roll Models, Lanier High School, Rhodes Technology Media Charter School, City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health, The Texas Hunger Project, and more. The center will now be a “one stop shop” for local children and families, providing everything from parenting classes and mentoring, to community garden activities! It will also offer space to community organizations and businesses – at no charge – so they can hold meetings, team building exercises, and other activities that support business success and growth on the Westside.
“For seven years, BCFS Health and Human Services has been proud to be part of the heartbeat of the revitalization of the Westside,” said Krista Piferrer, Executive Vice President of External Affairs. “Together with our many partners and neighbors, we are making the Westside a safer, healthier and more prosperous place for families to live, work and raise their families.”