Dallas food pantry for people with HIV, AIDS must pack up, move

Thanks to the Dallas Morning News for covering this important story:

Resource Center of Dallas forced to move food pantry

Dallas food pantry for people with HIV, AIDS must pack up, move

Clients of a food pantry for people with HIV and AIDS got some unsettling news this week: Their free grocery is being forced to move.

The pantry in Oak Lawn has been a discreet symbol of how gays in Dallas organized to cope with a health crisis more than 20 years ago that forced many into poverty. Its history is entwined with the social agency that runs it, the Resource Center of Dallas, which is marking its 25th year and is one of the nation's largest centers serving the gay, lesbian and transgender community.

We are literally having to look at property right now," said Mike McKay, executive director of the Resource Center. A move will cost at least $25,000, and, he said, "It is a $25,000 unbudgeted expense for us."

The pantry operators received word a few weeks ago that their lease – which runs through December – would not be renewed. This week, the leasing agent for the property owner – RSA Inc. – said it would give the pantry an extra month to vacate.

"They are a landmark, and no one is out to get them," said Peter Deinken, a vice president at the leasing firm Harry B. Lucas Cos.

Mr. Deinken's letter to the Resource Center says a rear wall needs to be demolished and rebuilt, and it can't be done with that part of the building occupied.

In an interview, Mr. Deinken said the entire building is to be renovated.

"The properties are due for a face-lift to bring it up to snuff to the vibrancy of the whole district. ... Everyone wishes them all the best, but there are things that can't be held up," he said.

The 2,900-square-foot pantry operates on Cedar Springs Road. Its unmarked entrances are off a parking lot to give clients privacy.

Monday through Thursday, pantry doors open at 11:45 a.m., usually to a line of prescreened clients eager for vegetables, fruit and meat. Food comes from such places as Kroger, Whole Foods Market, and the North Texas Food Bank. During the holidays, client numbers increase to more than 1,500 a week.
On Wednesday, clients were given letters to let them know of the move.

"We are committed to maintaining our pantry program that many of you rely on to meet your nutritional needs," the letter said.

"Oh Lord, one more blow," said a 50-year-old man who identified himself only as Mark. "This will really hurt."

He said he has been coming to the pantry and the Resource Center almost since they opened in the 1980s. "It is a wonderful benefit and vitally important. And most of us are on fixed income."

Another client, Michael, said he hoped the new site would be close to a bus line. He said he has no job and no car.

"The pantry is very essential. I come here for meat, eggs and milk," he said.

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The Truth about the United Way?

I hate to be the Doubting Thomas, but...

Kim Horner at the Dallas Morning News reported that the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas set its "largest fundraising goal ever at $58 million." Read the DMN article here.

However, the same article also states that the agency raised $60M last year... so I am not sure how $58M can be the most ever. But I was at the event: they said it time and time again in their fight for relevance in a world that is increasingly filled with appeals for charitable support.

"Biggest goal ever."

I have an inside source who told me that last year's $60M total reflected a few one-time gifts, possibly designated for special causes that will not be repeated. So, they somehow do not count this in their total.

Additionally, the UWMD claims to be re-focusing their work on not just recruiting gifts, but a tri-fold approach of:

- GIVE

- VOLUNTEER

- ADVOCATE

The better angel of my nature wants to believe them, and expect big changes (particularly in the area of advocacy, where I have always felt that the United Way was squandering its capacity to drive real, substantive change on a systemic level around the issues that they claim to care about).

However, the darker side of me is skeptical at best. My concern is that they are only using "volunteer" and "advocate" in their branding pitch as a way to get people to give more.

Another of my inside sources at UWMD confirmed my suspicions, as (s)he told me that this whole approach is really just about fundraising.

"We don't do any of this, but the new approach 'tests well' with donors. They think that they can raise more money off it," said my version of Deep Throat. I'll call him/her ... Deep Pockets.

Basically, Deep Pockets told me that donors like the idea of other people volunteering and advocating for systemic change, and will throw money at organizations that can get them to do that. And the UWMD knows this, and wants to capitalize it.

We'll see. Time will tell.

For now, I just hope that they hit their $58M.

(On a sidenote, did you know that it takes over $50M to operate the Dallas Symphony Orchestra each year? I find it sad that the local United Way has to fight like hell to raise funds for the top 92 human service organizations in town while our community shells out nearly as much cash for ... what? a few dozen concerts and some 'outreach'? I am not saying that is not valuable, but seriously.)

As I reread this piece before hitting "Publish," I am tempted to call it "Don't Tell the Donor" ... but that title is already in use over at the fantastic blog of the same name(http://donttellthedonor.blogspot.com/).

Alas. Perhaps I should launch an anonymous blog to tell you what I really think?

Freedom Day 2008

Dallas Fire Station No. 43, on Lombardy Lane, is one of six set to receive renovations today from volunteers as part of an Entrepreneurs Foundation of North Texas event.

Congratulations to the eternally amazing Pam Gerber, Executive Director of the Entrepreneurs' Foundation of North Texas (a subsidiary of the Communities Foundation of Texas), for organizing yet another fantastic Freedom Day last Thursday, September 11, 2008:

Dallas fire stations to get makeovers from volunteers Dallas Morning News

Dallas fire stations to get makeovers from volunteers

12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, September 11, 2008
By TANYA EISERER

Six Dallas fire stations and the fire museum will get a much-needed makeover today.



MICHAEL AINSWORTH/DMN
Dallas Fire Station No. 43, on Lombardy Lane, is one of six set to receive renovations today from volunteers as part of an Entrepreneurs Foundation of North Texas event.At least 400 volunteers will fan out across the city to renovate the stations as part of the seventh annual Freedom Day hosted by the Entrepreneurs Foundation of North Texas.

"We're enormously excited," said Dallas Fire-Rescue's executive officer, Leanne Siri. "The community has really responded. "

Pam Gerber, a foundation official who is coordinating the project, was in Home Depot on Wednesday buying last-minute supplies for the project.

"We've got 190 gallons of [donated] paint," she said. She said numerous items have been donated, including landscaping supplies, fans, mattresses and televisions.

She said the project is an effort to replace the "dark images" of the Sept. 11 attacks with "hope and commitment to our communities."

"This is the biggest proverbial thank-you note that we could give to our firefighters," she said.

The fire stations to be repaired today include:

• No. 3 (500 N. Oakland Avenue)

• No. 11 (3828 Cedar Springs Road)

• No. 16 (2616 Chalk Hill Road)

• No. 37 (6742 Greenville Avenue)

• No. 43 (2844 Lombardy Lane)

• No. 46 (331 E. Camp Wisdom Road)

She also said the foundation is planning to do more renovation work at other fire stations on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Read the story online here:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-firerepairs_11met.ART.Central.Edition1.26c03e6.html

Read more about Freedom Day here:
http://www.efnt.org/content-freedomday.asp

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Market-based Approach to Hunger Relief

Jason Krasilovsky, left, and Victor Marshall, Fannie Mae volunteers, chop onions at the DC Central Kitchen. The potatoes and onions come from Toigo Orchards and Farms in Shippensburg, Pa. (By Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post)

One of the reasons why I love the D.C. Central Kitchen is that they're on the cutting edge of not just the non-profit sector, but the world overall. This powerful article talks about how their Farm Cooperative, which buys produce seconds from regional farmers, has been helping them to achieve remarkable savings while also improving food quality... something they were doing WAY before the "slow food" revolution got popular:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/23/AR2008052302567.html

If you are involved with a hunger relief organization such as a food pantry, soup kitchen or food bank, I strongly encourage you to consider ways that local produce can reduce your costs while also supporting the place that you call home.

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The Caruth legacy continues to shape Dallas' non-profit scene

Portrait of a Donor: Mabel Peters Caruth (click here for full story)

Thanks to the far-ranging vision of lifelong philanthropist Mabel Peters Caruth, who passed on her estate to the Communities Foundation of Texas in 2000, the amazing legacy of her family's generosity will continue to grow.

The Caruth family, which has been a leading part of Dallas since 1948, donated much of the land that is now the home of the Southern Methodist University (SMU). Now, thanks to Mrs. Mabel Peters Caruth's final act of generosity, the family's house will become the new home to two of Dallas' most pretigious benefactors: the Hoblitzelle and Summerlee foundation, which are both currently housed in the same building in Preston Center.

The long partnership between all three of these foundations can only be enriched and deepened by this move, which bodes well for all non-profits in Dallas. Thanks to Brent Christopher and his staff at CFT for leading the charge to forge a better future for Dallas.

Here is an article with the details:
Dallas Morning News: Foundations to occupy restored Caruth home

Tomorrow: Book Club on Jonathan Kozol's 'Letters to a Young Teacher'

Thanks to the RELIGION Blog | The Dallas Morning News for writing about tomorrow's Urban Engagement Book Club on Jonathan Kozol's 'Letters to a Young Teacher.'

For more info about this free event, visit:
www.UrbanEngagment.org

The book club is an important outreach effort of Central Dallas Ministries. Held on the first Thursday of every month, the event gathers over 100 people from all walks of life: CDM donors, staff, clients and friends... hope to see you there!

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United Way gives $46M to N. Texas nonprofits

The Dallas Morning News and the Dallas Business Journal both released stories on the big news of May for nearly 100 of the largest and most effective non-profits in Dallas:

United Way gives more than $46 million to 93 area charities

I am proud to say that Central Dallas Ministries received the largest increase of any of the 93 agencies, increasing its allocation to over $800,000 this year.



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Do mega-gifts increase overall philanthropy?

Ross Perot Jr. claimed that, although the national economy is sluggish, charitable giving in Dallas has never been more robust. He then backed this up with a $50 million gift to the Museum of Nature & Science.

The problem with Perot's claim is that mega-gifts like this can easily mask a declining philanthropic environment. In a city like Dallas -- where Boone Pickens, Harold Simmons and others secure national headlines for their philanthropy -- it is easy for the general public to assume that charitable giving is up.

My concern, which I have seen borne out at Central Dallas Ministries, is that this gives many donors an excuse to avoid contributing: the attitude can almost be that "the mega-rich are taking care of that," followed quickly with a quieter "and they should."

For example: Central Dallas Ministries has raised over $25 million through public and private sources for the first phase of our capital campaign. Some of our donors have not realized that these funds are highly designated and do not help us to pay for operations.

As we have often joked in our office, "we could have marble desktops but be unable to afford the light bill."

Thankfully, overall fundraising is up at Central Dallas Ministries by more than 20% this year. This may not be the trend at other organizations: we benefit from a highly public profile.

Not all organizations are as fortunate, even though they are seeing the same increase in demand for services that we are -- the nation's food banks are reporting facing higher costs but feeding more people. At CDM, we have seen nearly 40% more people than at this same time last year.

What are you seeing at your organization?

Is fundraising up? More importantly, is fundraising up more than demand?

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Dallas after the Great Flood of 1908

Thanks to Back Talk Lakewood/East Dallas for linking to this article about "the history of Dallas and how our city developed, 100 years after the Great Flood of 1908":

Ever wondered just why it is the Trinity looks the way it does downtown or who came up with the idea to have a White Rock Lake Park in the first place? The Morning News published an interesting historical look at the development of Dallas after what is now known as the great flood of 1908. Among the things you'll find out by reading the story is why Central Expressway goes north but not south (a dispute over land prices with the railroads), how Union Station came to centralize Dallas' rail service, and who came up with the designs for Turtle Creek Boulevard and Stemmons Corridor. It's an informative look at how things came to be the way they are here in Dallas.

See the full article in The Dallas Morning News here:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/052508dnmet1908flood.3b52dfb.html


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TONIGHT: Get On Board

"The Center for Nonprofit Management is hosting the Get On Board Fair Thursday (tonight!) for people who want to serve on the board of a nonprofit group and other potential volunteers," reported Bob Miller of The Dallas Morning News.

Attendees can visit with more than 100 North Texas nonprofit organizations and learn about what skills they will need to get involved as a nonprofit board member or as a volunteer.

The fair is from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Cityplace Conference Center, North Central Expressway at Haskell Avenue. It's free and open to the public.

To register, find the list of participating nonprofits and get directions, visit www.cnmdallas.org or call 214-826-3470.

More info here:
http://www.cnmdallas.org/get_on_board.aspx



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The Opening of "the Bridge"

Congratulations to the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance for today's wonderful announcement: the grand opening of The Bridge, Dallas' homeless assistance center. The event drew hundreds of neighbors together to celebrate this wonderful step forward.

But let us remember: this is a mighty step forward, but we have not reached the end of our journey to end chronic homelessness. The road ahead is long, and we must walk it hand-in-hand with our neighbors... those who are homeless and otherwise.

I was greatly encouraged by the editors of The Dallas Morning News, who made a similar statement in their editorial this morning: Editorial: A step toward ending homelessness.

Ending homelessness in Dallas is a marathon event, not a 100-yard dash. Today's opening of The Bridge homeless center in downtown marks an innovative change in the way this city confronts the homeless problem. But it's important to remember that this is still just an initial step in a long and arduous slog.

Thanks also to one of The Dallas Morning News' finest reporters, Kim Horner, for prefacing the event with this piece: $21 million downtown Dallas facility will focus on chronically homeless

The Associated Press also covered it here: New homeless center opens in Dallas

It was also good to see Our Girl Friday, Catherine Cuellar, at the event for Pegasus News, which covered the event here: The Bridge, Dallas' new homeless assistance shelter, opens Tuesday. PegNews is a gracious host of Larry James' Urban Daily. In fact, one of his recent blogs that they cross-posted was "The Business Case for Ending Homelessness".

Again, congratulations to the MDHA for this momentous event.

And congratulations to Judy Noble, wife of my dear friend and college mentor Peter Noble, for launching the MDHA's new Web site:

http://www.MDHADallas.org/

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