All 4 the Kids September 2019
The winds of seasonal change are slowly cooling down the Texas heat – albeit not soon enough! September usually marks a time when things slow down as we’re gearing up for the holiday season bustle, but Houston Children’s Charity has still been keeping busy and helping so many area children with our year-round programs (and getting some wonderful help from our partners in doing so). Here’s a look back at the past month!
September Highlights include:
- Our partnership with the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation for the 2nd Curiosity Cruiser.
- Over 40 volunteers assisted our various programs from organizations such as Houston Methodist, The Bellaire Lodge, Greystar and Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church – Young Adult Ministry.
- A total of over 600 children and their family members assisted through our A Better Night’s Sleep and The HCC Closet programs (read more below).
- Houston Children’s Charity received a total of nearly $6,000 from Spec’s Wine, Spirits and Finer Foods as their Charity of the Month for August, benefiting Chariots for Children.
- HCC was honored to be the charity of choice for The NES Global Talent 5th Annual Charity Golf Tournament (story below).
- Our partner, BMW of West Houston‘s Drive For a Cause/Accelerate Into Autumn event benefited HCC’s Chariots for Children program.
At the Ladies for Literacy Guild Membership Meeting held on September 18th, the 2nd Curiosity Cruiser was unveiled with our President & CEO Laura Ward in attendance. Houston Children’s Charity is thrilled to partner with the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation in this endeavor. Our $75,000 donation helped make this mobile library ready for the road to put books into kids’ hands! The first Curiosity Cruiser has:
- Visited 243 locations
- Serviced over 3,500 children
- Traveled over 7,000 miles
- Distributed nearly 19,000 books to disadvantaged kids in high-need neighborhoods
Houston Children’s Charity is happy to celebrate National Literacy Month by bringing books and knowledge to under-served communities and children. Books have such an enormous impact on kids and are so vital for education and development.
The HCC Closet provides a bountiful shopping experience for families in need. This past month saw an especially generous donation from Bread of Life of over 6,500 batteries to help keep our warehouse supplies powered up and running and – more importantly – to also include with donated toys that require batteries!
The HCC Closet continues to accept donations, especially new and gently used items, housewares and toys every Tuesday from 10am to 4pm CST at 5151 Mitchelldale Unit A4. Currently the Closet’s largest needs are for new and gently used fall clothing, socks/underwear and jackets. School uniforms are still available as well!
BMW of West Houston kicked off their Drive For A Cause/Accelerate Into Autumn charitable initiative from September 1st through the 15th. A donation to the Chariots for Children program was given for every test drive taken. HCC attended the M Gruppe Breakfast event on September 14th and GM Maria Moncada Alaoui encouraged the 60 attendees to take test drives to benefit the program. Their Drive for a Cause event earlier this year raised $10,000.
Houston Children’s Charity has begun its search for our Van Hero to team-up with one of our Chariots for Children heroes for the freedom of mobility.
Several of our partners have already graciously answered the call to assist our Chariots heroes by donating 10 vans to children and their families who need them on November 6th, 2019. However, 22 children are STILL wait-listed to receive handicapped-accessible vans and still need daily transportation. We’re looking for a hero to emerge and come to the aid of one of these 22 young heroes that need a team-up to get off the wait-list and enjoy new adventures with their families and loved ones. Learn more about our #VanHero search here.
NES Global Talent held its 5th Annual Charity Golf Tournament on Friday, September 27th, at BlackHorse Golf Club, drawing over 120 participants. All tournament registration fees and proceeds from the luncheon raffle items will benefit HCC’s A Better Night’s Sleep program. We are so thankful for this continued partnership and NES Global Talent’s contributions to give our special children beds for a proper night’s rest.
Saturday, September 28th saw another successful A Better Night’s Sleep bed distribution completed! The program continues to provide needed bedding (mattress, box springs, pillows and blankets) to over 200 Houston area children. We are thankful for the gracious support of Texas Mattress Makers, who made it possible to purchase so many mattresses as well as lending the usage of their facilities and volunteer help. Whataburger powered up our hard-working volunteers with their fabulous breakfast donation and a huge thanks goes out to those who came out to load the bedding items for our special children and their families: The Bellaire Lodge, Greystar, the Houston Methodist I Care in Action team, Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church. Our volunteers make all those happy faces and sweet dreams possible!
Our 23rd Annual Gala will be held on Friday, March 27th, 2020 at The Post Oak Hotel at Uptown Houston. Our Gala Chair this year will be Hallie Vanderhider and classic rock band Chicago will colour everyone’s world with their soulful tunes highlighting the evening’s entertainment. Reserve your table now for a front row seat to this legendary act performing live!
Ongoing & Upcoming Programs
The Young Houstonians for Houston Children’s Charity will be holding a Leadership Session on Tuesday, October 8th at the HCC Offices at The Post Oak Hotel at Uptown Houston. Opportunities to join the Leadership Board as well as open Committee position opportunities will be discussed. Don’t miss your chance to join a rapidly-growing organization that demonstrates how much young Houstonians care about the under-served children within the community. Please RSVP here.
Christmas Program registration opened on September 1st. Families in need of assistance this holiday season can apply here.
We are always looking for companies to partner with for toy drives throughout the holiday season. Please also keep teenagers in mind for these drives since those items tend to be forgotten with toy donations.
Houston Children’s Charity will enlist the helping hands of over 750 volunteers during the holiday season…ALL helping to create CHRISTMAS MAGIC! Please contact our office or visit our website about volunteering opportunities!