Category Archives: Non-Profit

Food Bank Passes ‘Ultimate Test’ In Giving Aid

Libby Saenz is the Food Bank’s chief executive officer and oversees a staff of 80 employees that with volunteer assistance feeds about 76,000 people weekly.

The over 100,000-square-foot space of the former Valley Fruit Company is a place in motion with forklifts motoring between towering rows of canned goods. The Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley runs its operations from the historic warehouse site where citrus and vegetables were once processed and packaged. Today, millions of pounds of foodstuffs and produce are shipped out from the same Pharr location to food pantries and nonprofit…

Read More

Angel Tree Program Returns With Giving Season

Angel Tree Program

The Angel Tree Program, along with The Salvation Army’s iconic Red Kettle Campaign, is one of The Salvation Army’s best-known Christmas efforts. More than 100,000 children across Texas, enough to fill the Dallas Cowboys stadium, will experience the joy of opening presents on Christmas morning thanks to generous donors and the help of The Salvation Army. “The Angel Tree program provides toys and clothing to children and families who might…

Read More

Educator Works To Curb Cyberbullying

David Molak, even at age 11, clearly fits the description on the David’s Legacy Foundation website at davidslegacy.org.

Lou Ann Sarachene was already well-versed on David’s Law. It was passed by the Texas legislature in 2017 to strengthen the penalties for cyberbullying while teaching ways to combat all forms of bullying.  Sarachene reached out earlier this year to Maurine Molak, the co-founder (along with husband Matt and sons Cliff and Chris) of David’s Legacy Foundation. Sarachene is the former principal of Ruben Hinojosa Elementary School in Sharyland. She…

Read More

Project Casts Out To Reach Special Needs

Shane Wilson helps a special needs fishermen bring in a fish from the Laguna Madre.

The years had passed for Fito since his last fishing trip. A steady decline in health resulted in limits of his physical abilities. Once active in the outdoor life, the Brownsville resident had gone 15 years without fishing. Fito’s mother, Meg Beumel, thought those days were over for her son. Then via Facebook she heard of Fishing’s Future.  The nonprofit organization is based in South Padre Island and has chapters…

Read More

Empty Bowls Coming in September

The Food Bank RGV will present its Empty Bowls 2021 Luncheon and Silent Auction Sept. 21 and it recently welcomed Vantage Bank Texas as a Grapefruit sponsor. The sponsorship will enable the Food Bank RGV to provide up to 25,000 complete and nutritious meals in the Valley. The Sept. 21 event at Bert Ogden Arena from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. is Food Bank RGV’s signature fundraising event. Local restaurants will…

Read More

Overcoming Adversity for a Better VIDA

Eva Alvarado

When the staff at Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement think of Eva Alvarado, two words come to mind: perseverance and resilience. Alvarado is a divorced mother of three, two who are adults and now live on their own. Her youngest, a 14-year-old son, lives with her in Brownsville. Two years ago, her youngest was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, dyslexia and autism. Alvarado quit working because he required all…

Read More

Path Leads to Becoming the IT It Guy

Jose Cavazos

When Jose Cavazos’s co-worker at Barcom Technology Services in Harlingen told him they had a service call at the Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement office in Mercedes, he felt a sense of both nostalgia and excitement. Cavazos had considered stopping in VIDA’s former office in Weslaco several times, but it was always closed by the time he got out of work. “As soon as we walked into the building,”…

Read More

From Catch-22 To A Successful Career

Sometimes life plunges us into a classic catch-22. That is exactly where Cesar Romero found himself. Working as a nurse technician, Romero was earning $11 an hour. In order to increase his income, he applied to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Learning that the program required full-time-student status peppered his joy at being accepted. He could not afford to pay…

Read More

McAllen Business Inspired By Prayer & Service

The smiles on the faces of Jeanie Rowell and Ann Gamblin of The Lamb’s Loom in McAllen say it all. This little piece of heaven is, indeed, their Happy Place.

In thinking of entrepreneurs, we usually envision individuals who take on the risk of establishing a business because they have a product or service, which they believe potential customers want, knowing if they are correct it will lead to personal financial gain. The ladies who established The Lamb’s Loom felt the same way, though the personal gain they sought had nothing to do with money. For 14 years, these ladies…

Read More

Salvation Army Rings In Holiday Cheer & Help

The iconic red kettles of the Salvation Army and their greeters ringing Christmas bells by store entrances will continue through the challenges of an eventful 2020 – with added precautions. The kettles will be frequently wiped down with disinfectant to keep them clean. The volunteers will also be trained to keep themselves and others safe. Both the Christmas cheer and services of the Salvation Army will continue, no matter the…

Read More