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Community Guide
that has been helping families in need for 40 years. CCA began in 1973 as a Bible study of seven people and has grown to an organization of more than 150 employees and more than 2,500 volunteers. Success story: CCA serves more than 10,000 individuals per year in 42 communities throughout Collin, Dallas, Denton, Tarrant and Wise counties. Major fundraisers: Season of Hope Gala on Oct. 19, featuring Laura Bush as the keynote speaker, at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine. Volunteer opportunities: Donate. Give. Volunteer. Pray. The face of poverty has changed significantly in recent years. It could be a neighbor who was laid off from work, or a young mother who suddenly finds herself single. CCA can help these individuals transition out of crisis by offering a hand-UP, not a hand-out. But we need your support. Donations of goods sustain our reSale stores and are needed year-round. Volunteer your time to one of our many programs. Give a cash donation. Host or participate in a food drive. Donations needed: monetary; unneeded goods, like clothing, furniture and housewares How to donate: Visit the website for more information.
COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF NORTH TEXAS Contact information: info@cisnt.org Website: www.cisnt.org Address: 1565 W. Main St., Lewisville 75067 Director: Dana Smith Mission statement: To surround students with a community of support, empowering them to succeed in school and in life. Executive board members: Andy Eads, Kathy Duke, Jon Madsen, Jeannetta Collier, Amber Fulton Overview of services: Comprehensive dropout prevention programs. History: Communities in Schools of North Texas is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides research-based, dropout prevention services to socio-economically disadvantaged students with the purpose of helping students stay in school, eliminate barriers to academic success, and break the cycle of poverty. CISNT was established in 1993 and has grown over the past 20 years to become the primary provider of in-school dropout prevention programs, with 43 programs serving 4,600 at-risk students in North Texas.
September 29, 2013
Denton Record-Chronicle
Courtesy photo
Christy Leverett, manager of Christian Community Action's Lewisville reSale shop, rings up a customer. CCA relies on sales of donated items, especially furniture and household appliances, to help finance its programs. Success story: Mentor Impact at Denton High School: Alicia is a committed tutor with CISNT. For the past year, Alicia worked consistently with one student in particular named Emma who needed help passing her math classes and the math portion of the TAKS test. Emma’s counselor, math teacher and parent had been highly concerned about whether or not she would be able to pass the math TAKS this year because she had failed TAKS every year previously since elementary school. Alicia spent months working diligently with Emma on her math skills and tutored Emma during the weeks before the test, sometimes up to three times a week. Major fundraisers: “Link to Kids” Golf Tournament in October, Texas Star Gala in May, “Every Nine Seconds” Giving Campaign in December and January Volunteer opportunities: mentors, tutors, administrative Donations needed: school supplies, office supplies, general operating support How to donate: Go to www.cisnt.org/ donate, or e-mail info@cisnt.org to arrange in-kind donations.
CONGREGATION KOL AMI Contact information: 972-539-1938, office@kolami-tx.org Website: www.kolami-tx.org Address: 1887 Timber Creek Road, Flower Mound 75028 Director: Rabbi Geoffrey W. Dennis Mission statement: We are dedicated to making all Jews and those who support
Judaism feel welcome and comfortable in our midst. Congregation Kol Ami strives to meet the needs of a membership with a wide range of Jewish experiences. Executive board members: Caren Bornstein, president; Bruce Cohen, executive vice president; Elissa Ducar, treasurer; Victoria Milner, secretary Overview of services: worship, education, study and community History: Founded in the 1970s as a Chavurah fellowship on the University of North Texas campus, we have since grown to a community of more than 150 families who together sustain a dynamic spiritual life, a rich educational center, and a vibrant social scene for ourselves and for our children. Success story: Building of an interfaith Habitat home in Lewisville. Major fundraisers: Quiz Nite, including silent and live auctions and a delicious meal. Tables of 10 compete against each other in a game of trivia, followed by a live auction and entertainment. Proceeds benefit not only CKA but also our community. Volunteer opportunities: assisting congregants and the Jewish community, fundraising, and more to be announced Donations needed: religious school scholarships How to donate: Visit the website to donate through PayPal.
CORNERSTONE COOPERATIVE PRESCHOOL Contact information: 940-382-1463, cooperatecornerstone@yahoo.com
Website: www.cornerstone-cooperative .org Address: 1205 N. Locust St., Denton 76201 Director: Christina Smith Mission statement: Where parents make the difference. A cooperative preschool allows parents to be directly involved in their child’s school, because co-op parents contribute their own time and energy to make it work. Executive board members: Meagan Solomon, president; Tiffany Fuhrman, membership; Hope Scott, treasurer; Holly Nguyen, income treasurer Overview of services: Cornerstone teachers and parents have worked handin-hand to provide a high-quality, developmentally appropriate program that recognizes the importance of creative play in the lives of children. The school’s one-of-akind environment respects each child and family as a unique and valuable part of the community, nurturing not only future social, emotional and intellectual development of each individual child, but larger family and community relationships as well. History: Cornerstone Cooperative Preschool, originally and legally known as Little Creek Preschool, was begun in 1970 with its first class graduating in 1971. It was established by a group of parents who wanted a quality preschool for their children at an affordable cost. Their plan was to collectively act as an administrative body to run the school and to hire a professional teacher to lead the class with the assistance of a helping parent. Cornerstone is the only cooperative preschool in the Denton area and offers parents the opportunity to be closely involved with their children’s first school experience. Success story: Our whole school has been a success story of the little cooperative preschool that could. We opened our doors in 1970, changing our name to Cornerstone Cooperative Preschool in 1989 with huge success our first year, adding another teacher and opening enrollment to children from 2 to 5 years old. In fall 2006 the school expanded once again, by introducing a Tuesday/Thursday class for the bigger kids; this was followed by a Tuesday/Thursday toddler class in spring 2007 and an additional class for the 2- and 3-year-olds that fall. By now the school was at full capacity, almost doubling its membership since 2005. We are currently fully enrolled with more than 45 families, and several more on the waiting list.