Posts by Ashley Thornton
Restoring Dignity, Building Hope: Hygiene Products for Homeless Women
By Pam McKown What does it mean to be a woman? For some it means you calmly usher children to school, engage in a productive day at work, and then settle in safely at home with family to rest peacefully before doing it again. Yes, this is the reality for some women, but for many…
Read MoreChoir and Community: Youth Chorus and Retirement Residence Join Forces to Spread Joy!
by Florence Gassler Scattergood Choruses love to sing. That’s why they exist. Singers enjoy the way vocal exercises soothe our being, improving our technique to enable us to express ourselves with greater beauty and ease. We are drawn to poetry in the lyrics, increasing our capacity for empathy and understanding of world around us. The…
Read MoreNational Hospice Month, Part 1: “I don’t want to read about dying!”
by Tammera Ryan You are probably saying to yourself right now, “Why do I want to read this? Hospice is a scary word. I don’t want to think, talk, or read about dying.” Just so you know, I agree! However, I have been caring for patients and families for the last 13 years with Providence…
Read More“Caring Never Gets Old”: National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week 2015 to Highlight Seniors
by Kelsey Miller National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week is upon us! During this week before Thanksgiving every year in November, communities across the United States gather together to join in raising awareness and spurring action on behalf of our neighbors who experience hunger and homelessness. This year, the local effort in Waco is focusing…
Read MoreMowing a Lawn
by Barbara Bridgewater Several years ago, several of my church family decided to invest in some property in the Sanger Heights neighborhood where we live in order to provide inexpensive housing to our other church family members who wanted to live in the neighborhood and to other families who wanted to live here, too. We…
Read MoreMy Experience with the Waco Divide
By Jimmy Osborn When I was a sophomore at Baylor, I joined Young Life and was placed at a high school in North Waco called Connally high school. For those not familiar with Young Life, it is a Christian outreach program that places college and adult leaders at different high schools, and encourages relational ministry.…
Read MoreCreative Waco: An Interview with Fiona Bond
by Jenuine Poetess Recently, I had a chance to engage Creative Waco’s Director, Fiona Bond, to learn more about the project, its mission, and movements in Waco toward building and sustaining a thriving Cultural Arts District. I’m pleased to share the interview with you! More. Art. Now! Jenuine Poetess: Please share a bit about yourself…
Read MoreU Visa: Protection for Undocumented Crime Victims and our Community
by Analí Gatlin and Joel Looper In our last Act Locally blog, we touched on the endless complexities of U.S. immigration law. We wanted to use this entry to focus on one vital piece of legislation that affects undocumented immigrants who are also crime victims, some of the most vulnerable people in our community. That…
Read MoreSee the numbers behind the Prosper Waco goals
by Matthew Polk The Prosper Waco initiative is about setting bold goals for positive change in our community and finding ways to reach them. The Prosper Waco steering committees of community members have set goals around the following issues that our community wants to reach by 2020: More kids being ready to learn when they…
Read MoreSupporting Prematurity Awareness
by Meilana Charles November is National Prematurity Awareness Month and Tuesday, November 17th is World Prematurity Day. This month, individuals, groups and organizations around the world will provide information on the impact of early births on babies and their families. What is Premature Birth? According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2013) a…
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