By Michael V. Hannigan
It may be a few months away, but I have a date for you to save: Saturday, Sept. 21.
That’s when the “Nonprofit Resource Connection” is scheduled. Now the name may not ring any bells because it has been changed, but this will actually be the second year for the event.
The idea is to bring the county’s nonprofit groups together in one place so that potential volunteers can visit with the different agencies and learn where they can plug in and help.
The event is scheduled for the Cain Center and organizers are working on the details, but it looks like this year will include some health booths … you know, blood pressure, a blood drive, things like that.
I am talking about this now because it is important. These groups do vital work in the county and most of them are understaffed and underfunded.
As in way under.
A lot of us don’t know much about these organizations — the food pantries and the Help Center and the Crisis Center and KAB and the Family Peace Project and the Chapman House and the Family Resource Center and many, many others — and in a way, that’s a good thing. It means we haven’t needed their services.
But in a way, it is also a bad thing … because these organizations and the people they serve need our help.
I have reported this figure before, but I think it bears repeating: One-quarter of the children under age 18 in Henderson County are living below the federal poverty line.
I’ve also reported this one before: Henderson County is in the Top 10 percent of Texas for domestic violence murders.
And this one: There were 161 confirmed cases of child abuse reported in Henderson County last year.
Yes, there’s plenty of work to be done … just not plenty of hands to do it.
So please think about coming to the Nonprofit Resource Connection on Sept. 21 and finding a place to plug in to the community.
For more information, please contact Mary Waddell at 903-670-3324 or email [email protected].
thanks