The 2017 Fort Worth Planned Parenthood Annual Luncheon took place on Wednesday, March 1st, 2017 at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel and featured keynote speaker Barbara Pierce Bush. A cocktail reception for major sponsors held in a private residence the evening before the luncheon honored major sponsors who contributed to a record setting event. This year’s event chairs were Elizabeth Ray and Robin Sanders.

 The luncheon hosted a crowd in excess of 1,000 guests and raised more than $400,000 in support of Planned Parenthood’s essential healthcare and health education services for women, men, and teens in Central and North Texas provided through four Tarrant County health centers and others in Austin, Dallas, Paris, Tyler, Waco and surrounding communities.

Guests enjoyed complimentary hors d'oeuvres and signature cocktails at 2016 Fort Worth Cocktails for a Cause benefiting Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas that took place on Wednesday, November 2nd at Historic 512. Event chair Erin Taylor Fenner delivered a fun night for the group comprised of longtime and new supporters. Proceeds from Cocktails for a Cause provide essential healthcare and healthcare education services to women, men and young people who rely on Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas.

To learn more about Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, go to  PPGT.org .

Many children rely on free and reduced priced meals during the school day but what happens in the summer? As a sponsor of the Summer Food Service Program, CitySquare delivers over 250,000 free summer meals to children through a program known as Food on the Move. Healthy meals are delivered to children ages 1-18 in low-income neighborhoods, churches, nonprofits, and summer camps.

While the program has already been in action this summer, CitySquare and one of its community partners, BridgeBuilders, celebrated Food on the Move with kids and families on Tuesday, June 14^th at Turner Courts in southeast Dallas where free lunch for children was served followed by loads of fun activities including visits by Dallas Stars mascot, Victor E. Green and the Dallas Fire Department.

CitySquare’s Food on the Move program delivers meals to the community both at partnering locations like Turner Courts and with mobile feeding trucks. Every morning during the week, trucks with the mobile program depart the CitySquare Opportunity Center on Malcolm X Blvd. to deliver healthy meals and activities to children and youth awaiting their arrival at apartment communities in low-income neighborhoods.  Meals are also delivered to community partner sites with programs throughout the city. CitySquare’s mobile feeding program, staffed by CitySquare AmeriCorps members, delivers meals and provides enrichment activities to thousands of children.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture has hailed the program as “a model for the rest of the nation.”

During the school year, the meals children receive at school are often the only food they receive for the day. CitySquare’s Food on the Move program also provides suppers to children participating in after school enrichment programs.

Food on the Move takes a stand against childhood hunger, now offering support in DFW, Austin, Waco, Kaufman/Henderson Counties and Denver, Colorado.

For more information on CitySquare programs like Food on the Move, please go to http://www.CitySquare.org.

On Thursday April 28th, CityWalk@Akard residents celebrated the opening of a new playground. The innovative indoor play area was made possible by members of the Dallas chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Emerging Leaders Program (2012-13 Class).

Located at 511 N. Akard, CityWalk is a unique 15-story building that includes affordable rental units, permanent supportive housing for the formerly homeless and several luxury penthouses as well as office space, and one of 7-11’s urban units. Built in 1958, it was left vacant and decaying for many years but today CityWalk is a vibrant “vertical neighborhood”.

The poverty fighting organization CitySquare is headquartered in CityWalk and manages programs to support its residents. CitySquare helps residents stay safe, supported, and productive by addressing immediate needs, providing ongoing case management, and coordinating residential events and activities.

Support from organizations like the AIA Emerging Leaders Program has helped create a great place for families to live with a real sense of community.

On February 2nd, the General Richard B. Myers Veterans Biomedical Technology School received $50k from Reserve Aid. Polly Weidenkopf, ReserveAid's Executive Director, presented the check to General Myers who was in Dallas to meet the veterans enrolled in the school that bears his name at the MediSend Institute of Biomedical Technologies.

“Reserve Aid is honored to be a supporter of the General Richard B. Myers Veterans Biomedical Technology School and MediSend. Their total focus is ensuring that veterans receive the best possible biomedical education and that they are placed in careers that will ensure a successful future,” says Weidenkopf.

The General Richard B. Myers Veterans Biomedical Technology School trains Post 9/11 veterans to be professional biomedical equipment technicians (BMETS), the individuals responsible for the repair and maintenance of critical medical equipment. It is a growing field with excellent starting salaries and good career upside in the healthcare industry. The Myers School readies veterans for employment in only five months in a fast track, boot camp style program. Graduates are currently working for prominent healthcare organizations around the country such as Baylor Scott & White Health, SODEXO, DaVita Dialysis, VHA, Becton Dickinson, and the US Military.

“Polly and her organization have been by our side since we launched the school in 2013. Thanks to ReserveAid, veterans are able to support themselves and their families in good jobs, performing meaningful service to their communities,” said General Myers.

To date, the General Richard B. Myers Veterans Biomedical Technology School has been entirely privately funded. On April 1st 2016, the program will be approved for Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits. For more information, go to http://www.MyersBMET.org