Did you know if you have a library card with the Houston Public Library, that you can have internet access? It’s true. Get online anywhere, anytime with HPL’s Mobile Wifi hotspot. HPL member’s can check out mobile phones, laptops, or tablets. Visit the website for more information on how you or someone you know can benefit from these great options.
The HPL Mobile Bus will start visiting the Dixon Library and McCrane-Kashmere Gardens Neighborhood Library. The Mobile Bus will be in the parking lot.
Where: Dixon Library: 8002 Hirsch Rd. Houston, Tx 77016 Days & Times: Wednesday’s 9am- 4pm and Saturday’s 10am- 4pm
or
Where: Kashmere Multi- Service Center (Kashmere Gardens) 5411 Pardee St. Houston, Tx 77026 (temporary location)
Days & Times: Monday’s 12pm- 7pm, Tuesday’s 12pm- 4pm, Thursday’s 12pm- 4pm, and Friday’s 9am- 4pm
Visit the website for more information on checking out devices or hotspots.
The City of Houston and the Mayor’s Office of Education is collecting personal experiences and narratives on the experiences of youth in the City. We would love to know about the challenges, needs, and supports for children in COH.
The City of Houston and the Mayor’s Office of Education hope to collect experiences and narratives primarily from YOUTH but parents, family members, educators, service providers, and other professionals working for/with children can also fill out the survey.
Survey Deadline has been extended to Sunday, March 21st, 2021.
My Brother’s Keeper, has partnered with the organization GOODR a Non-Profit Organization in Atlanta to help feed families impacted by the snow storm last week.
The event will take place this Sunday Feb 28th from 1:00pm-5:00pm at Worthing H.S. The goal is to serve 1000+ families as they are sending two 18 wheelers of produce.
To adhere to CDC guidelines we are operating a drive-thru distribution.
One registration is allowed per household. Families must pre-register to attend. Follow the link for more information and registration.
O2L is committed to expanding access to high quality out-of-school time services to all families in Greater Houston, and we understand that many OST providers are challenged by everyday barriers that negatively impact programming attendance and retention, or youth engagement.
What is the Barrier Buster Request for Proposal?
The Barrier Buster Request for Proposal is an opportunity for O2L to expand its’ reach and support of out-of-school-time. This funding opportunity aims to target barriers which directly impact youth attendance and retention, or youth engagement within out-of-school time programs. OST providers can request up to $10,000 for the cycle in which they apply.
Who can apply?
Any free or fee-based OST provider with a 501c3 status (minimum of 2 years) and serving youth 5-18 years-old during out-of-school time hours. Public and charter schools running an OST program on their campus are eligible to apply for this grant. Schools are encouraged to work with their OST provider (if applicable) or their district’s grant department/ foundation.
For question about the Barrier Buster process email Tiffany Echevarria at TEchevarria@unitedwayhouston.org or Krystal Perez at KPerez@unitedwayhouston.org. For questions about e-Cimpact please email eCimpact@unitedwayhouston.org.
What are qualifying Barrier Buster requests? OST providers face all kinds of barriers that impact their ability to program daily. Barriers include but are not limited to transportation, competing priorities, parent/youth buy-in, incentivizing youth voice, or community awareness of youth programs. Barriers are unique to each community and population of students served. OST providers are the experts of their communities and best understand their own challenging barrier(s). There are no one-size fits all, you tell us the barrier true to your program, your students, and your community! Please keep in mind, priority will be given to requests that use funds toward direct service.
Notice: COVID-19 and Barrier Buster Requests For COVID-19 related barriers, priority will be given to projects surrounding direct, future impact on programming attendance and retention, or youth engagement for out-of-school time programs; funds cannot be used to cover previous expenditures or losses.
Qualifying requests will: • Identify a clear barrier that is a recurring challenge for the OST provider during programming hours. (Funds should be directed to address barriers occurring prior to the end of high school graduation.) • Provide a clear rational for how the barrier directly impacts youth attendance and retention, or youth engagement. • Describe how this barrier is unique to the program in the proposed community. • Provide a clear description for use of Barrier Buster funds requested to address the barrier(s) identified. • Requests should not exceed $10,000.
What are non-qualifying Barrier Buster requests? • Requests from for-profit OST providers. • Requests addressing programming after high school graduation. • Requests exceeding $10,000.
What are the Requirements?
Application: Applicants must answer all application questions and submit a program budget. Applications must be submitted on e-Cimpact.
Project Budget: Please provide a minimum of one price quote for program purchases over $500. Project Budget should be specific and itemized: a. Program Revenue (all associated donations, i.e. cash and in-kind) b. Program Expenses (all items with associated costs; indicate which expenses will be paid for with O2L Barrier Buster funds.)
Supporting Documents: Applicants must also submit an IRS 501(c)(3) designation letter (minimum of 2-year status), the most recently completed IRS Form 990 Income Tax Return (filed within the last 3 years), and a signed copy of the Anti-Terrorism Patriot Act form (found within the resource center on e-Cimpact).
What is the Timeline?
What are next steps?
Interested applicants are encouraged to watch the pre-recorded Barrier Buster Proposal Conference. Details pertaining to this funding process will be provided along with step by step instructions for how to navigate the e-Cimpact portal.
To obtain a login for e-Cimpact or if you already have a login and need to obtain access to this application, please email e-Cimpact at e-Cimpact@unitedwayhouston.org for your request.
Attend the upcoming Technical Assistance Call (optional).
What are the grantee requirements? If awarded Barrier Buster funds, grantees are expected to complete the following:
Agree to, sign, and return the Service Provider Agreement via email to TEchevarria@unitedwayhouston.org by the due date assigned.
Use Barrier Buster funds in accordance with the Service Provider Agreement and set timeline.
Submit Barrier Buster Grantee Report within 30 days of project completion, no later than June 15, 2020.
Questions For question about the Barrier Buster process email Tiffany Echevarria at TEchevarria@unitedwayhouston.org or Krystal Perez at KPerez@unitedwayhouston.org. For questions about e-Cimpact please email e-Cimpact@unitedwayhouston.org.
February’s meeting has a new date and time. Join us on Wednesday March 3rd from 9:30 am- 11:30 am. You will hear from our special guests who will share their experience from the Fall Barrier Buster cycle. Additionally, we will thoroughly review the Spring Barrier Buster grant opportunity- please save your technical questions for that meeting.
Crowd Source Rescue: Focus on warming vulnerable seniors facing dangerous temperatures with space heaters and generators.
Resources for Differently-Abled
Houston’s Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities is partnering with CrowdSource Rescue to deliver bottled water to people who are differently-abled and don’t have access to reliable transportation. Apply at http://crowdsourcerescue.org/freeze
Resources for Homeless
Houston Area Women’s Center: Shelter and support services for victims of domestic violence. Phone: (713) 528-2121 or visit http://www.hawc.org/
Star of Hope: The Star of Hope homeless shelter welcomes donations of toiletries such as lotion, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste and airbrushes, plus diapers (size 0) and pull-up diapers (size 4T and 5T), underwear for men and women (all sizes), towels and washcloths, twin size sheets and blankets. Sohmission.org
CrowdSource Rescue: Will cover hotel for any TX people needing to pay for it if a nonprofit or organization reaches out to them. The nonprofit or organization should send an email to connect@crowdsourcerescue.org with the details.
Harris County Sheriff’s Office If you or someone you know is without shelter and in need of transportation, call the Harris County Sheriff’s Office at 713-221-6000 and let them know you are looking for transportation with the HOT Team.
SUPPLIES-Food, water, funds
Mutual Aid Houston: Fill out this form if you are in need of immediate food or water due to the Houston freeze. Mutual Aid Houston will be distributing $100 via Venmo and CashApp until they hit their distribution limits. https://forms.gle/AWoSsA8L2Y5FJXXH8
Free Meals for Young Children (from District H Newsletter)
Children under the age of 6 who live in 43 delivery zip codes are eligible for a Kids Meal Inc.’s free meals delivery program. Meals will also be provided for older siblings when school is out. More info on how to apply can be found here or by calling 713-695-5437with any questions. The application is here in English or Spanish.
FEMA announced federal emergency aid has been made available to individuals and business owners who sustained losses in the designated area. People can begin applying for assistance by registering online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-3362 or 1-800-462-7585 TTY.
Memorial Assistance Ministries Financial Assistance: Financial Assistance Apply online or by phone in English (713) 574-7533 or Spanish (713) 574-7536. Must be low income and live in MAM’s zip code service area: 77008, 77009 , 77018 , 77022 , 77024, 77037, 77039, 77040, 77041, 77043, 77055, 77076, 77079, 77080, 77088, 77091, 77092.
HOME REPAIRS
Crisis Cleanup: Register online at https://www.crisiscleanup.org/login?from=%2F or call 844-965-1386 to request help with cleanup or building. Volunteers will contact you when they have resources to help. Flier contains more information in Spanish and English.
Disaster resource page to help homeowners rebuild with confidence. Articles on the page cover topics from tips for avoiding scammers when contracting for repairs to documentation for insurance best practices: https://www.ghba.org/disaster-resources/
MENTAL HEALTH
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Call (800) 273-8255 for English or (888) 628-9454 for Spanish.
Crisis Intervention Hotline of Houston: For 24/7 confidential crisis counseling. Call the general line at (832) 416-1177 or (832) 416-1199 for the Teen Talk Hotline. You can also visit crisishotline.org
Mental Health Support Line: This new service helps callers 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Call (713) 558-3777.
Gallery Furniture, 6006 North Freeway or 7227 W. Grand Parkway South
Lakewood Church, 3700 Southwest Freeway
National Association Church, 1605 Air Center Blvd, Phone: 832-626-7111
The warming center has a capacity to hold up to 500 people and is accepting pets.
Those who need help finding a warming center, are experiencing homelessness or who are medically dependent on power may call 3-1-1 for assistance. Those outside the city of Houston can call 713.837.0311.
Report Price Gouging: To report price gouging or other disaster scams call 800-621-0508 or file a complaint online athttp://txoag.force.com/CPDOnlineForm.
Volunteer Houston assists agencies who are looking for volunteers throughout Houston. For information, go to volunteerhou.org.
The Houston Food Bank needs nonperishables such as peanut butter, canned proteins, protein bars and other things that don’t require cooking. To register for volunteer work or to make a donation visit www.houstonfoodbank.org or call 713-547-8604.
Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston: This agency administers programs ranging from Meals on Wheels to Animals, and offers refugee services and promotes interfaith and community partnerships. The facilities are closed through the end of the week, but for future volunteer opportunities or to make a donation go to imgh.org.
Salvation Army: Offers a variety of services from disaster relief to homeless shelters, food pantries, job training and rehab. Salvationarmyusa.org
Text-to-Give Campaign Benefitting Houston Food Bank: Text ABC13 to 41444 to make a donation of any amount
Donate Blood with the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center: The severe winter weather has caused planned blood drives to be cancelled. Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center Headquarters: (713) 790-1200 or 1 (888) 482-5663
Coalition for the Homeless: working with governmental entities to ensure needs of people experiencing homelessness are met as cold front impacts our region
Lucille’s 1913 Community Kitchen: To help them with preparing and distributing hot meals for those in need, go to the website for donation and volunteer information. Venmo info@lucilles1913.org, Paypal donate@lucilles1913.org
Participate in a Supply Drive: Cajun Navy and Cajun Commissary have partnered with Gallery Furniture to organize a supply drive and distribution. They are asking for bottled water and non-perishable food and blankets.
Bread of Life Disaster Relief Assistance Fund: Beyonce and her BeyGOOD Foundation are partnering with Bread of Life and Adidas. Bread of Life Disaster Relief Assistance Fund offers “one-time financial assistance to those who’ve experienced a sudden or emergency-related financial hardship due to an unforeseen or unavoidable event.
Act Blue: 100% of your donation will automatically be split between these organizations on the ground providing immediate relief:Family Eldercare, Corazon Ministries, Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley, Central Texas Food Bank, Houston Food Bank, Food Bank of West Central Texas, The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, North Texas Food Bank, Southeast Texas Food Bank, Feeding Texas, South Texas Food Bank, and ECHO (Ending Community Homelessness Coalition)
February is Black History Month, a commemoration that began as a weeklong observance in the late 1920s but was never meant to be confined by days on a calendar, and even though it was indeed a celebration it was also always meant to highlight the kinds of critical reflection and contemplation fundamental to the recovery of Black history. In that spirit, I want to briefly relay a calendar of events related to work in African American life and history — occasions taking place virtually at Rice in the weeks ahead, and also at other virtual venues featuring members of the Rice community. I think you’ll find the events below informative and thought-provoking. This kind of work, bearing on critically important issues in Black life and history, is continuously underway at the university, and February is always a particularly good time to get to know more of it.
Below are events, you can participate in as you are looking to learn and grow.
Feb. 22 3 p.m. “Rockwell Lecture: Alumni Panel” with Stephen Finley, associate professor at Louisiana State University; Biko Gray, assistant professor at Syracuse University; and Margarita Guillory, associate professor at Boston University.
Feb. 25 Join Rice’s Center for African and African American Studies, the Rice Department of History and the Department of Multicultural Community Relations in Rice’s Office of Public Affairs for a virtual lecture by Ya’Ke Smith, an award-winning filmmaker who also serves as an associate professor in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas. For more information contact Jan West: Jan.F.West@rice.edu.
Feb. 26 1:30 p.m. “Dangerous Creole Liaisons” with Jacqueline Couti, the Laurence H. Favrot Associate Professor of French Studies the Department of Modern and Classical Literatures and Cultures, associate director of the Center for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality, and affiliated faculty at the Center for African and African American Studies at Rice; Grégory Pierrot, associate professor of English at the University of Connecticut at Stamford; and Anny-Dominique Curtius, associate professor of Francophone studies at the University of Iowa.
March 4 4 p.m. Campbell Lecture on Racial Justice: “The Stakes of Racial Justice and the Future of American Democracy” with Eddie Glaude Jr., chair of African American studies at Princeton University, eminent scholar of African American history and religion, and prominent critic and C-SPAN and MSNBC commentator on racial justice.
The Warren Fellowship for Future Teachers, funded by a generous gift from the Naomi and Martin Warren Family Foundation in Houston, Texas, is developing a corps of pre-service educators who want to learn more about the Holocaust and how to effectively teach about it in their classrooms. The Fellowship was created in 2003 and has more than 400 alumni.
The Warren Fellowship’s main objective is to provide new teachers with the necessary historical and pedagogical tools for teaching about the Holocaust from the onset of their teaching careers. This program will also develop a teacher corps for Holocaust Museum Houston as the Museum continues to expand its educational outreach in Texas and the Southwestern United States.
Upon being named a Warren Fellow, up to eighteen pre-service teachers and two faculty Fellows will participate in a four-day, virtual summer institute hosted by the Holocaust Museum Houston in Houston, Texas. This institute is designed to immerse participants in historical and pedagogical issues related to the Holocaust. Holocaust scholars from across the country will provide historical content, and university faculty and museum educators will provide pedagogical context.
For more information or to apply to the 2021 Warren Fellowship for Future Teachers, please use this link: 2021 Warren Fellowship Application
If you need any additional information, please contact Heleva Bacchus at hbacchus@hmh.org or via phone at 713-527-1642.
