Posts by Ashley Thornton
Someone in Lorena Knows How to Raise a Child!
By Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton, Spokesman for Waco Police Department. This originally appeared on the Waco Police Department Facebook page, and Sgt. Swanton has also graciously shared it with Act Locally Waco. Thought I’d share a story that happened last night while doing a part-time gig at the China Spring vs. Lorena Football game. A…
Read MoreWhy should we care about housing and homelessness?
With this post Act Locally Waco introduces Phil York, Coordinator of Grants and Contracts at Waco Habitat for Humanity. A self-described “policy nerd,” Phil has agreed to a stint as ALW’s housing and homelessness policy blogger. Welcome aboard, Phil! We are looking forward to your insights on this crucial element in making Waco a great…
Read MoreHigh Hopes from a Boring Sentence
On Sunday October 20, on Section B page 1 of the Waco Trib, a few paragraphs deep into a story with the headline, “Poverty Initiative Moving Forward” is an innocuous little sentence that made my heart go pitter-pat. Here it is: “The city of Waco recently hired the W.J. Upjohn Institute to come up with…
Read MoreVocalize your Waco Pride!
by Ashley Bean Thornton (In an earlier post we introduced three big goals for Waco (1) Make Waco a city of opportunity. (2) Make sure pathways to opportunity are clear and well marked. (3) Provide effective support to help more of us keep our footing on the path. In this blog Ashley Thornton explores some ideas regarding…
Read MoreFavorable Conditions for People to Advance
by Jodi Stacey, Community Activist and organizer of the Low Income Families in Transition (L.I.F.T) workshop at First Baptist Church Waco. In last week’s blog we introduced three big goals for Waco (1) Make Waco a city of opportunity. (2) Make sure pathways to opportunity are clear and well marked. (3) Provide effective support to…
Read MoreA long way to go…but we may be making progress
by Ashley Bean Thornton A few weeks ago Jimmy Dorrell graciously invited me to give a short, 5-minute, talk as a part of the annual Walk for the Homeless in downtown Waco. What looked to me like a few hundred people came out that beautiful Sunday morning to learn and to show their compassion and…
Read MoreThree Healthy Meals, Seven Days a Week
By Matt Hess, Executive Director of World Hunger Relief, Inc. This post is reprinted from the Farm Notes newsletter, September 2013. “But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.” (Proverbs 14:22) With a vision of three healthy meals seven days a week, for all people in McLennan County, the Food Planning Task…
Read More“Speak no Evil” – Let’s use our Language to Create
by Rev. Dr. Leslie Ann King of First Presbyterian Church, Waco I own a pair of “wise monkey” bookends. As you remember, the wise monkeys are depicted as hearing no evil (hands over ears); seeing no evil (hands over eyes); speaking no evil (hands cupped over mouth). The bookends are constant reminders to me about…
Read MoreChef Boy
by Shamethia Webb I’m not the best cook. But the spreads I prepare for my niece and nephews–age eight, nine, and 11—are palatable enough I suppose. I’ve been told I’m the best cook in the world (This from a nephew who likes to put mustard on his black beans). And that I season “fantabulously,” a…
Read MoreHunger Action Month: Thoughts about SNAP
By Ashley Bean Thornton When I was a child, my parents worked and made money. They went to a store and spent some of the money on food. They brought that food home and made meals for me or sometimes we went out to eat. Now that I am an adult, I work and make…
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