Posts by Ashley Thornton
Gardening Waco Part 3: Growing Communities
(For the other parts of this series, click here: Gardening Waco. — ALW) By Aime Sommerfeld Lillard This final instalment of Gardening Waco will come full circle back to community gardens in the area. The first thing I would like to draw attention to is that a community garden can be, but is not always, an…
Read MoreThe P-20 Council: Promoting College and Career Readiness in Greater Waco
By Christine Holecek Preparing local students for a successful journey through school and college to careers is critical to the well-being and growth of our community. The Heart Of Texas P-20 works to promote streamlined, transparent degree pathways for students to move quickly and successfully through their education and onto college and/or a career. The Heart…
Read MoreRead Locally Waco: Don’t eat me, Monster!
Read Locally Waco is a project to promote literacy in Waco. Throughout the semester we will post stories that use sight words our children are learning in Waco ISD. You can print these stories and lists of words to use with your children or with other children in your life. This week’s story uses words…
Read MoreThe Artist’s Gift of Love
By LuAnn Jennings I’m a theatre director, and recently I was talking with an actor who was suffering from stage fright. This actor is a person of faith, as am I, and I said something like this: Sometimes people will suggest combating stage fright by imagining the audience in some non-threatening way. But I suggest…
Read More2018 Greatest Hits #7: What’s a Community Health Worker?
(During these last few weeks of December we will be reprising the Top 10 Most Opened Blog Posts for 2018 from the Act Locally Waco blog. I couldn’t possibly pick my favorites – so I used the simple (cop out?) approach of pulling up the 10 blog posts that got the most “opens” according to…
Read MoreGardening Waco Part 2: Digging Deeper while Gardening
(For the other parts of this series, click here: Gardening Waco. — ALW) By Aime Sommerfeld Lillard I’ve gone back and forth about the best way to talk about the benefits gardening provides. I’m sure some people would like a well-crafted research study that demonstrates statistically positive results of gardening. Others would prefer a simple…
Read MoreMen of Color Find strength through Initiative at MCC
By Madiha Kark Young men of color face challenges every day; they strive to be seen beyond their stereotypical portrayal as depicted by news media and pop culture. Especially in higher education, their representation is small, and completion rates have been historically low. At McLennan Community College, the Men of Color Success Initiative focuses on…
Read MoreHow can I help my child become school ready?
By Christina Helmick Did you know that preparing your child for school starts before they even enter the classroom? School readiness is an essential part of the development of a child before, after, and during their years in school. A child’s success is a parent’s success, and there are many free resources to support the…
Read MoreSisterhood of the Empowering Clothes
By Rachel E. Pate Located on the Quinn Campus in the heart of east Waco, Esther’s Closet promotes empowerment, education and provides a much-needed resource to the women of the city. Launched on March 29, 2016, Esther’s Closet is a self-sufficiency program that assists unemployed women in preparing for interviews and entering the workforce by…
Read MoreLegacy Square and the Legacy of R. L. Smith
By Allison Abel I work at a local, non-profit organization called NeighborWorks Waco. Our primary mission is to build stronger neighborhoods. Developing affordable homes in neighborhoods that are good candidates for revitalization is one of our main programs. Our newest project is a small subdivision located on Hood and Turner streets in East Waco, across…
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