By Brett Greenfield
The complexity of the human brain is utterly fascinating. The brain holds the mechanisms that allow humans to breathe, speak, move, think, and act in the world. It also contains our ability to understand our senses, emotions, and memories. The intricate movement of electricity, chemicals, and blood throughout our brains and bodies only adds to the depth of understanding required to understand the brain. Trying to know what is going on in our own heads, much less trying to learn what is going on in someone else’s is a difficult task. Our decisions, memories, thoughts, feelings, senses, and so much more filter through the complex web of our working brain. Despite its complexity, there are fundamental functions of the human brain that when understood, provide a depth of insight for understanding ourselves and others in a way that allows each person to be more understanding, empathetic, and compassionate to others.
From our earliest moments in life, our brains do some heavy lifting to ensure we get what we need to survive. When babies cry, they are using their voice to tell their caregivers they are hungry, tired, dirty, or maybe just need a little love and reassurance. Each and every time a baby cries and there is a loving caregiver present to meet their need the brain activates its complex systems that begin to form the foundations of trust in relationships, language, physical health, and other important functions. As children grow up and become teenagers and adults, these basic needs never go away, they simply get more complex along with their brains and bodies.
Unfortunately, many children do not have this same experience of getting their needs met. The brains of these children continue to develop, but the already complex systems required to function become confused, making it more difficult to function. The human brain is pretty good at knowing what it needs to do to survive. This is why the brain communicates the basics of food, sleep, cleanliness, and love from the beginning. Ideally, loving caregivers meet these needs and take up the responsibility for a child’s survival. When this cannot or does not happen, children take up the responsibility for their own survival. It is not easy to live in survival mode all the time. It is also not easy to live with someone else who is constantly in survival mode. This feeling of constantly being in survival mode is one that is far too familiar for many families. And many of these families find themselves asking, “What is going on here?” “What are we doing wrong?” “What are we supposed to do?” These are big, daunting, real life questions. There is certainly no easy answer to any of these questions, but there is hope.
It would take a lifetime to learn even a fraction of what is going on in every person’s brain, but there is no better time to start than now. MCH Family Outreach is pleased to once again be hosting the “Empowered to Connect” conference. This unique opportunity gives parents, professionals, caregivers, and community members the chance to learn more about how children develop and grow, and what to do to support this growth and learning. This information is beneficial for all children, and is imperative for children for whom life has not always been safe or stable. Raising a family can be challenging for everyone, and too many families feel they have to do it alone. Empowered to Connect is an opportunity to learn more about yourself and your children surrounded by people willing to learn and grow together.
If you, your organization, or someone you know is interested in attending the Empowered to Connect Conference (April 7-8), click HERE for more information. Admission is FREE, so be sure to register by March 31st while there are still seats available!
Brett Greenfield is social worker in Waco, TX. He is a graduate of the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work and currently serves as a Case Manager with MCH Family Outreach. He is passionate about working with families in the community and offering community education in trauma-informed care, attachment, and family relationships.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
by Emily Mills
“What do you do?” This is always the hardest question for me to answer. When I lead with: “I work with people in the commercial sex industry,” most people get wide eyed and bolt. The safe bet is, “I run a non-profit in Texas, we share the love of Christ with women in the commercial sex industry.” IF they stick around, I can get into the meat and marrow of Jesus Said Love. “Sex” usually throws people off and “Jesus Christ” is merely another taboo in social settings. I’m often at a disadvantage straight out of the gate. Even after the words come out, a typical response in this meet-and-greet scenario, usually by my male friends, goes something like, “So you hang out with strippers? How do I get that job?” or “It’s not everyday you meet a stripper minister.” (hardy, har, har).
Well, it’s also not everyday I’m on the phone doing breathing exercises with a woman in complete dissociation and total terror because she’s in an altered state. And it’s not everyday I hear a new friend casually recount that she was sold for sex by her parents starting at the age of 5. It’s not everyday another friend becomes paralyzed by the gang rape that took place in her club when she was “off the clock.” It’s not EVERY day, but it is many days.
My everyday is loaded with the weight of calling, as each of their stories act as lead that keeps me grounded. Their stories remind me that what isn’t my EVERYday is someone else’s. When these stories are your everyday, the weight becomes crushing without the community, the Body, the fellowship of suffering and grace. What do I do? What will we do?
We will make ART. We will tell the STORY. We will carry FIRE. We will carry a blazing “Wild Torch.”
Wild Torch is an annual fundraiser for Jesus Said Love that uses the visual and performing arts to share stories of women who have been impacted by the commercial sex industry, and the hope they’ve found on the other side. It’s an experience like no other.
It’s not everyday Tony nominated, Elizabeth Davis performs on a Waco stage, delivering a heart pounding monologue bringing an ancient narrative to modern context.
It’s not everyday you get to meet one of the “top 10 emerging artists from Austin” whose heart for Waco and the arts beats strong. An artist who looks like a surfer, but paints like mad with a broom like brush; the nephew of renowned sculptor Conway “Jiggs” Pierson. Ty will offer an original piece of work for auction at Wild Torch. (For those who love art and the creative process, listen to Ty here: http://therightspaceshow.com/#/ty-clark/ )
It’s not everyday I’m getting a haircut and become moved by the hair in a painting on the wall. Salon Asylum is no art gallery, but it’s owner is the sister to oil painter, Samuel Shelton. Sam is a Clifton based classic painter producing highly detailed and life-like work who has offered a rendering of “the woman at the well” for auction at Wild Torch.
And it’s surely not everyday you meet a near famous fabric artist who grows mushrooms to create her own natural dye. A fabric artist who has clothed Antonio Banderas, Jack Black, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Anthony Hopkins. An artist who has received an Ariel nomination (Mexico’s equivalent to the Oscars!). Roccio Ramirez Landoll is an unknown Waco treasure whose heart and one particular exhibition (to be displayed at Wild Torch) reflects the stories of assaulted, abused, and even trafficked women.
You should also know, it’s not everyday I get to sing the stories, so deep inside, on a historic stage alongside my partner and beloved husband, Brett. We will perform with our overqualified band of ragamuffins and The Union Revival at Wild Torch.
It may not be everyday … but it will be a day you don’t want to miss April 10th, at the Waco Hippodrome. Tickets and sponsorships are on sale at www.wildtorch.com.
This year we are teaming up with The Art Center of Waco and offering a WILD TORCH PREVIEW AND POP UP SHOW FOR FREE!! Thursday, March 16th from 5-7 p.m , 1500 Columbus Ave. Small bites provided by Milo Provisions and mimosas by Luna Juice Bar. Come MEET these not-so-everyday artists, Ty Clark and Samuel Shelton; experience their work, see the Jesus Said Love headquarters and our storefront, Lovely Enterprises (a social enterprise that is currently creating jobs for women).
All are welcomed to come and carry fire with us!
Emily Mills received her B. A. in Communications from Baylor University. While at Baylor, Emily participated in various opportunities to serve the marginalized and lead worship. This began her passionate pursuit to “put feet” on the songs she was singing. In 2003, while leading worship at a conference for women exiting the sex industry, these two worlds collided and Jesus Said Love was born. Emily continues to lead worship around the country with her husband, Brett. They have three children: Hattie, Lucy and Gus.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
By Cameron Frymark
It’s not hard to understand why disc golf is the fastest growing sport in the United States. Getting started is fairly cheap with most discs costing anywhere from $8-$20, most courses are in public parks and free to play, and it’s a sport that anyone can have fun playing. When the weather is nice, people of all ages and backgrounds will be roaming the courses trying to get a hole-in-one, or scrambling to save par. The United States currently has more than 5,600 courses with more than 375 of those in Texas alone. Waco has both an 18 hole par 66 championship level course at Brazos Park East (the bEast), as well as a 23 hole course at Cameron Park West that is generally considered one of the most fun courses in Central Texas. Woodway and Hewitt each have an 18 hole disc golf course with unique challenges and landscapes, and there is also a 9 hole course at Lorena Middle School and at Arlington Farms Apartments.
My first time to play disc golf was with two friends who lived at Arlington Farms Apartments. It was dark, we had no lights, and we (probably just me) lost 3 discs in the first 3 holes. We called it quits after the third hole because I was feeling bad for losing our friend’s discs, but we had a great time doing it! The fun of being with friends outdoors is what initially drew me to disc golf. I had always enjoyed hiking and had lived on beaches for a good portion of my life. Tossing a Frisbee with friends and family was common, but what really got me hooked on disc golf was when I saw people that were actually good at it. When I saw people in the park that could throw 400 feet, or make the disc fly in an ‘s-curve’ around trees, or make long putts, that is when I told myself ‘I want to learn how to do that.’
After being bit by the disc golf bug, my brother and I introduced the sport to my father and younger brother who both took to the sport naturally. I’m sure my dad looks back fondly on those first 6 months of playing together when he could throw farther than his sons, but now two of us play professionally and can regularly crush 450 foot drives. My dad has settled into an age-protected amateur division that many say has the most fun. Disc golf has become a family event and it’s a guarantee that if we are in the same city together that we are meeting at the disc golf course.
Since I started playing disc golf in 2007, the sport has seen impressive growth and bold new milestones. In 2007, the world distance record was 820 feet, a record that had stood untouched since 2002. The current world record is 1108 feet, set last year when two players (one of which will be playing our annual event here in Waco) broke the 1,000 foot barrier. The sport has had numerous impressive shots show up on ESPN thanks to widespread live video coverage of disc golf events. Disc golf tournaments continue to grow in size and scope with some reaching payouts of $100,000 and hosting 1,000 disc golfers from around the country. It is now common and expected by the disc golf community for major tournaments to be covered by professional media groups. We have worked hard locally with the help of the city and countless volunteer hours to grow our profile and course quality to get to the point where we can host an event with the national circuit, dubbed The Disc Golf Pro Tour.
Starting Wednesday March 15th, the best disc golfers in the world will descend upon Waco to challenge the bEast and compete for large cash purses. Ryan Draper and the Waco Disc Golf Association have been working for years to get to this point and much planning has been done to make this an amazing event for both disc golfers and spectators. The event kicks off with a party/players meeting at the historic Hippodrome theater, and play for the professionals will begin Thursday morning at Brazos Park, and finish Saturday with the lead pro ladies card teeing off at 9:30 am and the pro men’s card teeing off at 2pm. Spectators will be able to win raffle prizes daily just by coming out. There will be a pub crawl with a $100 prize starting Wednesday night at 7pm and finishing Friday night at 7pm at our party on the Suspension Bridge. Live local music, vendors set up on the bridge, food trucks, glow-in-the-dark disc golf, and so much fun will be happening at Indian Springs Park and it’s all free and open to the public.
The best disc golfers in the world will be testing their skills on one of the most challenging courses in Texas. The bEast offers scenic views while testing golfer’s abilities and mental game. The front nine features many long, demanding holes with out of bounds flanking every fairway. Players with the right skills will have the opportunity to be aggressive and throw bomb shots, or to rack up out-of-bounds penalties that can sink a good round. The back 9 holes are the inspiration (or frustration) behind the namesake of the course, the bEast. Each hole has been carefully carved out of thick woods by master course designer Joey Harrell, a Texas legend and hall of fame member, to offer players the opportunity to play it safe and stay in the fairways, or to be aggressive and risk the rugged, unforgiving rough that every hole has awaiting players.
I would like to extend an invitation to you to come out and experience our event. If you have ever been curious, this is the time and place to see what disc golf is all about. If you decide you’d like to try it out, you can find me on Facebook and I’d be happy to show you our courses.
Cameron Frymark is a professional disc golfer, student at Tarleton University, and warehouse supervisor at Preferred Medical. Cameron and his wife Tara live downtown with their fat and happy Chihuahua, Butters.
Whether it’s playing trumpet in the “Friday Band” at MCC, or riding with the Waco Knight Riders, or an afternoon playing with the Waco Disc Golf Association, one of the wonderful things about Waco is that there are lots of ways to find community here. Where do you find community in Waco? Would you be interested in writing about it? If so, let us know. Email [email protected]. If you have an idea for a post. You could be seeing your own picture on this page!
By Louise Henderson
When I mention that I am a part of a trail riding group, most people are not sure what trail riding is really about or what a trail riding group does. For most people the first responses is “Oh, you ride horses and wear boots and a huge Texas belt buckle covered with rhinestones!” Well, some of that is true! But, being a part of the Waco Knight Riders these past two years has given me a new perspective about what trail riding is all about. It’s about being a cowboy or cowgirl; it’s about family and community.
Yes, like you might expect, you will see people who wear a large white cowboy hat and a red button down shirt with the name “Big L” on it. But what you might not know is that thanks to the Waco Knight Riders, you can find Big L and the rest of us pretty much all over Waco doing some type of community service. We have been known to do anything from raising money to prevent domestic violence, to wrapping toys to give away for Christmas, to visiting those in the hospital. If you look, you can find a Waco Knight Rider giving back to the community.
Usually we are in the East Waco area hanging out in the field in the iron steel wagon talking about club business. We might be discussing what our next community project will be. Or we might be talking about how we are going to work with and support other local trail ride groups like “Most Wanted” or “Waco Is My City Riderz.” For example, last December we worked with the Waco all Female club who had a dance just for kids. Our outreach is not limited to just here in Waco. We have traveled to other cities all over Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. It’s funny. When a Waco Knight moves, we tend to sprout up where ever they go like we have in Dallas and Louisiana.
I think that is what drew me to this group, their activism in the community. I appreciate that no one person is bound to just wait on the rest to go and do anything. Each member is encouraged to pursue something in the community to live out our motto to GIVE back.
As I was writing this I started wondering what the attraction to this club is. I mean, yeah, the button down pressed shirt with the two horses is cool, but what makes others want to be a Waco Knight Rider?
So, I asked a few of the club members what made them want to join and be a part of this group. DeeDee, who just joined the group not too long ago, mentioned the high standards and moral character required to join and continue as a member. She said, Big L, Donnell, Rita and the rest of the members came to West during the big explosion all in their red shirts passing out water, and blankets, and food. “That’s what drew me to them and how they conducted themselves no matter where they are.” Another thing I like, she said, is that she always feels comfortable talking and laughing with “the Three Wise Women,” Rita, Darlene and Donnell. “To me they are the mothers and enforcers of the group with Big L as President and Cowboy Dre planning the next big thing to do as far as community.” This community riding club is always out participating in parades, donating school supplies, participating in the MLK March every year. You see the Knight Riders all over Waco being a part of the activities in Waco. There aren’t too many things we haven’t participated in as far as civic service. We held a day for youth to learn about the first black Buffalo Cowboy and even taught the young people how to ride and to become the next Trail Boss which is a big deal for trail riders.
For me, I came from Dallas six years ago. My Children and I really didn’t know anyone here. I saw through a mutual friend how the Waco Knight Riders always had kids with them no matter where they posted pictures. I thought that is what I want to be a part of, and that’s how I want my family to be active in the community together.
And so, two years later, I have been in a group where I have traveled to Houston, Bryan, Hearne, and other places to see other trail ride families and make new friends. We all travel together. Don’t get me wrong. Like most families we have our bumps and hardships, but I have learned that you can pick your family. You can pick the ones that you call your brother or sister. I have been privileged to call these people my family these past two years! I have also learned about myself. I have learned that I have the capability to be whatever I want to be with the confidence and support of those that love me. Even my daughters have learned what it means to wear a Knight Rider shirt to school. When their friends ask about riding club they can say it is more than just about horses, it about the love of our community and being active.
Louise Henderson has four daughters — one at Texas A&M (Elizabeth), two at University High School (Rachel and Naomi) and one at Cesar Chavez Middle School (Rebecca) — and puppy named Rico. She and her family have lived in Waco for six years and are very active in our community. She is a member of the Junior League of Waco, NAACP of Waco, and Waco Knight Riders. She graduated from McLennan Community College with an Associate’s Degree in Child Development and is working towards a Bachelor’s degree in Child and Family studies at Tarleton State University. She loves Taco Tuesday at Rosas Café and volunteering in Waco. She is the founder of the Central Texas Divas, a social club for women and young girls to empower and educate about them about self-improvement and our community.
Whether it’s playing trumpet in the “Friday Band” at MCC, playing board games at King’s Landing, or riding with the Waco Knight Riders, one of the wonderful things about Waco is that there are lots of ways to find community here. Where do you find community in Waco? Would you be interested in writing about it? If so, let us know. Email [email protected]. If you have an idea for a post. You could be seeing your own picture on this page!
by Joshua Carney
Cast:
- Reverend Dr. Leslie “I AM” King of 1st Presbyterian Waco, hereafter LK
- Her trusty sidekick, associate pastor Dee Dee Porter Carson, hereafter DDPC
- Erin Conway “Twitty,” pastor of 7th and James, hereafter Twitty
- Tim Jarrell, pastor of Austin Ave. Methodist, hereafter TJ (of course)
- Sharron “Bobby” Cox, Assistant Rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal, hereafter Skipper
- Austin Nickel “Back,” SAWL at First Lutheran, hereafter Saul
- Josh Carney, amateur theologian and licensed Baptist or to quote A River Runs Through It backwards, “a Methodist who can’t read.” hereafter JC
Setting:
A rainy November day at Dichotomy, the surprisingly swanky post-post modern coffee shop located in the cultural epicenter of Texas, Waco.
DDPC has called a meeting of Waco’s finest downtown religious zealots to hash out what the ecumenical bunch will do with Waco and Lent, everyone’s favorite Christian holiday ever since they collectively read Kafka on their pastoral getaway.
_____
DDPC: Thanks for coming everyone. Did you get a drink? Do you want a drink?
Skipper: I already ordered, a 30-30 with a dash of Commonwealth, skinny, with a side of caviar.
Twitty: Wait, what did you order?
Skipper: You’ll read about it in Harper’s later this month. It’s all the rage with the Anglicans.
JC: I see they do alcohol here as well. How much do you suppose a Miller Lite is?
LK rolls her eyes visibly irritated by JC, tries to recall who invited him in the first place
DDPC: So let’s start by talking about what we liked about last year.
LK: It was great. It was all great. Carney was suspect, but other than that it was great.
Twitty: Remind me what we did last year?
TJ: Rotated pastors at churches. Small liturgy and lunch after.
Twitty: Oh yeah, the food trucks. Did people like that?
Saul: Yes, the ones that came did.
Skipper: Yes our people liked it, but we were hoping to have Diamondbacks cater this year. Dee Dee, look into that. will you?
LK: We need something big this year. Something Waco! Something the kids have never seen before!
Saul: Something like Chip and Joanna big.
LK: No, not that big, we can’t afford that.
TJ: How about Steve Martin, isn’t he from Waco?
Twitty: I’m not sure he’s religious.
LK: Twitty, good. I like what you’re thinking. More of that.
Twitty surprised at how well his contribution is received.
Twitty: Oh, well in that case, what about RG III, or Jessica Simpson she’s from Waco … or was that her Grandma? I can never remember.
LK: Too much.
Saul: What about Jennifer Love Hewitt? We could do Hewitt comes to Hewitt.
JC: What is the point of this again?
DDPC: Carney, good question. Let’s revisit that. What are we trying to do?
Skipper: I thought we were trying to connect downtown Waco people with Lent on Wednesdays during their lunch hour.
LK: Yes, we want to make Lent relevant again. Someone make that a hashtag.
DDPC: So let’s start with place. Where are we going to have this?
JC: Let’s rent McLane Stadium.
Saul: Someone already did that.
Twitty: What about Scruffy Murphs?
LK: Wrong side of town.
JC: They do Miller.
DDPC: Is that still open?
TJ: What about Barnett’s?
LK: Too small. I’m expecting millions.
DDPC: Hippodrome?
LK: Bam! That’s it. I’ll get my guys on that.
DDPC: What about speakers?
Twitty: What do we want the speakers to do?
TJ: Well, I’ve recently heard of this program called The Moth. It’s a podcast. People tell their stories.
LK: Good TJ, I like this. Tell me more.
TJ: Well they tell their stories and people love it. The kids go crazy for these stories.
Twitty: These stories. What’s so great about them? Are they about sex, drugs and rock and roll?
Pensive look crosses TJ’s face as he recalls his experience with The MOTH podcast
Slowly … TJ: hmmm… for instance … one story was about a blind guy at a rattlesnake convention in TX.
LK: I love rattlesnakes, and the text from the second week of Lent is that one about snakes biting Israelites. This is predestined.
JC: I didn’t think PCUSA was that kind of Presbyterian.
LK: Dee Dee, make a point to take Carney off the email thread next year.
Saul: So, The Moth @ the Hippodrome on Wednesdays during lunch. What time will this start?
JC: I don’t think you can use The Moth, you’ll get sued for copyright violations.
DDPC: Yes, Wednesdays at noon. Get there before noon and you get 10% off of your lunch order. The speaker will speak for 10-15 minutes and we will rotate who does the short reflection after.
Skipper: Reflection? What kind reflection?
DDPC: I’ll send you something to look at. Something on silence.
Saul: What dates?
DDPC: Ash Wednesday is March 1st, but everyone will be gone on the 8th for spring break. So let’s start the week after. The dates will be March 15, 22, 29 and April 5.
Twitty: We still don’t have any speakers.
TJ: Who can do Moth type stories?
LK: Who do the kids love over at Baylor?
JC: They all love Tran.
LK: Who?
JC: The religious/ethics guy. He’s from Duke.
LK: Good, let’s do Tran. Who else?
Skipper: What about the lady who does toddler time at the public library? She is the storytelling guild. Vivian someone?
DDPC: Miss Vivian? My kid loves her!
JC: My kids love her!
Skipper: All kids love her.
LK: Good, let’s do Vivian. Who else?
Twitty: I’ve got this guy at 7th. Listening to him tell stories is like skating on butter. Bob Darden.
Saul: Skating on butter?
LK: Tell me more.
Twitty: He mentored Garrison Keillor and he was a pioneer of narrative theology.
JC: Wait, who is this?
Twitty: Just go with it.
LK: Good, let’s do Darden. Who else?
DDPC: What about Lyndon Olson?
LK: Good Dee Dee.
Skipper: Who’s Lyndon Olson?
DDPC: Ambassador Lyndon Olson brokered the Geneva Convention, defeated Hulk Hogan in WrestleMania 7 and nailed Jell-O to a tree.
LK: And that’s just the stuff that wouldn’t fit on his C.V.
Saul: Sounds like a winner.
DDPC: We need to market this. Carney your church is full of young hipsters. Do you have anyone in the design department?
JC: Yes, Nathaniel Mosher of peopletownart.com.
LK: We need to advertise this. Where do people look to get Waco info?
Twitty: What about that Act Locally Waco blog? I think Ashley Bean Thornton does that. Does anyone know her?
JC: I know her. I’ll ask her. What should I say?
LK: Just give her the information.
JC: That’s too much noise. I need something creative. Something people will read. What about a mock up of this conversation?
LK: No one will read that.
JC: Yes they will.
LK: OK smart ass, why don’t you do the write up then.
JC: Maybe I will.
DDPC: OK, great meeting. Carney when you do the write up, make sure you include the flyer.
Lights Fade
Josh Carney is the lead pastor at UBC in Waco. Under his leadership attendance has gone down. Josh has not written any books and no one has ever asked him to speak.
By Jasmine Wise
I love the Waco area and it’s hometown feel. I love that I can shop in national chains and local stores right next to each other. I love that I can be engaged in the community at any level I choose. I love that people know each other, like really know each other. I love that people here love Waco and collectively want to see this city flourish. I love that there are individuals in their neighborhoods doing just that. They are creating spaces to improve the areas around them. I am blessed to know and be able to connect with these people. Each one of them sees a need and works to fill it to the best of their abilities.
Waco and its’ surrounding area are unique places. We have three universities yet a largely uneducated population; plenty of new businesses yet over 50% of our population is in poverty. Waco is changing rapidly in population and size. On the other hand, parts of the community are not changing and standing still. Waco, like every other city, is flourishing in many areas yet has aspects that can be improved. The individuals I mentioned above are attempting to create ways to connect their efforts to enhance Waco. They are asking some serious questions to do so effectively. How do we create policies, services, and community initiatives that positively affect different populations in our area? How do we even know what policies, services, and community initiatives are needed? In addition, how do we gain insight from within the community?
I am privileged to work at the Center for Community Research and Development (CCRD) that believes its mission is to help inform the answer to these questions and many more like them. The CCRD, established in 1979, engages Baylor faculty and graduate students in applied social research to improve the local quality of life for all residents. Over the last 38 years, the Center for Community Research and Development has helped inform local hospital/patient relationships, conducted Waco Police Department assessments, and program development for the Cooper Foundation. The CCRD is committed to making the local community an enjoyable place for all to live. You can found our more about the CCRD here.
One of our newest initiatives in this commitment is the Waco Area Connect (WAC). The Waco Area Connect is an online survey system housed at the CCRD. The WAC is unique because it will use direct answers of people within the community to communicate to the local entities that can enact change. Our anonymous surveys cover a variety of topics concerning the Waco community. In recent years, we have asked about public health, neighborhood safety, social services, local education, and transportation issues.
The Waco Area Connect asks important questions directly linked to the community. We know that the voices come directly from our community and therefore welcome and value them. The WAC is significant because we take your answers and inform your solutions. We do not use national data of projects that have worked in other cities but use data from our city to advise change. We want our community to know they have a hand in solutions are created and handled on a local level. In addition, that their policy makers can hear from them through well informed grounded research.
The CCRD has collaborated with Prosper Waco to answer some of the questions above. Because of this, some of the questions asked will directly correlate to the goals of Prosper Waco: health, education, and finances.
The WAC is attempting to expand its reach to differing members of our local community. If you want to join your friends and neighbors in Waco- McLennan County to take occasional online surveys you can click the link below and add yourself to our registry. We value your time and would prefer you use it to engage in the community because of this we attempt to limit our surveys to two (2) surveys per calendar year. If you agree with our consent form, we will follow up to ask for your e-mail address.
Click here to access the Social Research Registry Consent Form.
It you did not get this before, I love Waco and its surrounding areas. Please help others love them by letting us know your opinions. I hope you join us on our journey to enhance an already wonderful place to live.
By day, Jasmine Wise is a graduate student in the department of Sociology at Baylor University working on her Ph.D in Applied Sociology. While at Baylor, she works as a senior analyst at the Center for Community Research and Development. By night, she is a youth leader at Acts Church in Waco, TX. By weekend, she develops her passions for public speaking, growing churches, developing communities. She wrote her first book, “Confessions of a Sinner”, in the Summer 2015. If you want to get in contact with Jasmine, please email her at [email protected]
By Coleen Heaton
The sounds of baseball…the cheering crowd, the announcer, the crack of the bat. America’s pastime is a favorite for many. What happens, though, if you love the game, but the sounds just overwhelm you?
Eight-year-old Santiago Fraga is a huge sports fan, like many children his age. According to his mom, Evonne, he can spend a whole Saturday watching college football with his dad, and when there is not a game on TV, he watches videos of the Baylor Bears and the Dallas Cowboys on YouTube. They think he may someday be a sports announcer just like The Voice of the Bears John Morris.
Of all sports, baseball, it seems, was the one to capture his heart above the rest. When he was finally old enough to play baseball, his parents quickly signed him up. While that may be considered typical, this story is anything but “typical.” Santiago was born at 28 weeks. He has hydrocephalus due to grade three and grade four brain hemorrhages, and was diagnosed with quadriplegic cerebral palsy at the age of two. He uses a wheelchair to get around. None of that deterred his family from wanting to sign him up to play the game he so dearly loves and that was where Challenger League came in.
Challenger Little League, first established in Texas in 1989 (and then in Waco in 1990) as a separate division of Little League, is an adaptive baseball program for boys & girls with physical or cognitive challenges. It offers children the opportunity to enjoy the game of baseball along with millions of their peers who participate in the sport worldwide. Over 30,000 athletes participate in Challenger Division every year; over 100 of them participate right here in Waco.
Four years ago, Santiago became a Challenger League baseball player. However, those beloved sounds, the cheering crowd, the announcer, and the crack of the bat, bothered him so much that he spent much of his first season on the field crying while his mom and dad cried at the fence. Volunteers continually encouraged his parents, saying it would take some getting used to.
The league uses “Buddies” to assist and encourage players during games. Santiago’s buddy was then-China Spring High School student Mason Gist (also a huge baseball fan). The love of the game brought the two brought together and they developed a deep friendship along the way. Mason helped Santiago focus on the game and encouraged him when he became overwhelmed. Noise canceling headphones helped, too, and Santiago was able to finish his first season.
The beginning of his second season was much the same as the first: he was on the field, and his parents were crying at the fence. Santi, however, was no longer crying (he was laughing and enjoying his favorite sport with his teammates). Mom and dad were now crying tears of joy. They were so proud of how far he had come and so thankful that they stuck it out through some difficult times.
Each season has been better for him than the one before. His parents say Santiago has made many new friends, is more independent, and has so much fun out on the field. Mr. and Mrs. Fraga have also made new friends on this journey with their son, “amazing families who have been so supportive in our journey, as many of them are in similar situations,” says Evonne.
During his time with Challenger, he has played on Baylor Baseball field multiple times in the Shriner’s Classic. He has had his name called over the loud speaker while at bat, and has had his picture on the jumbo-tron. He was once invited into the press box at a Texas Rangers game to meet and speak with Tom Grieve and Steve Busby. Recently, he attended Lunch with a Legend where he met Baylor Baseball Coach Steve Rodriguez and David Murphy.
In addition to baseball, Santiago plays football, basketball, and soccer.
If you know a child who wants to join Santiago and the rest of the challenger players, registration for the 2017 season is underway. There is no registration fee and anyone ages 4-18, or up to age 22 if still enrolled in a school program, with a physical or developmental challenge may participate.
Waco’s Don Deatherage Field, a unique baseball field modified to meet the needs of all players, is located at 2021 North 44th Street, between Cobbs Drive & Trice Avenue, behind the Lake Air Softball Fields.
One of the benefits of having Challenger Division is that it encourages the use of “buddies” for the players. “Buddies” assist players whenever possible, encouraging players to bat and make plays independently. However, the buddy is always nearby to help when needed. Often buddies are peer athletes who are participating in a Little League Baseball or Softball program. As with Santiago, buddies can make all the difference!
Challenger is a uniquely rewarding program, always welcoming new sponsors and volunteers. For more information on how to become a player, sponsor, or volunteer, contact league representatives at [email protected] or look them up on facebook and like their page, Challenger Little League in Waco Texas.
Coleen Heaton has volunteered with Challenger League in Waco for over a decade. She has coached in the past and currently recruits and trains volunteers (“Buddies”). She also is part of No Limitations Athletics, a local organization offering sports to the special needs community. They currently offer flag football and cheerleading in the winter, basketball in the summer, and soccer in the fall. In addition to sports, they have a Girl Scouts Troop (Troop No Limitations), plan an annual special needs prom for the area, and began an online support group for special needs moms. They are also pushing for an inclusive park to be built in Waco.
By Anne Broaddus
Mentoring is a powerful force that often goes unnoticed and uncelebrated in our world. And yet if asked, most of us would be quick to name an individual who impacted us in a major way at some point in life.
I know I would . . .
So what exactly is a mentor?
Someone who chooses to walk alongside another person, pouring out love and encouragement, conveying intrinsic worth, tutoring, advising, affirming, offering hope and helping someone realize their inherent strengths and abilities . . . sometimes even changing the trajectory of a life.
No limits to age, socio-economic standing, ethnicity, race, or profession. At Brook Elementary School, our current Columbus Avenue Kids Hope USA, mentors range from BU students to a WWII veteran in his 90s.
Near our ministry’s beginnings, a gentleman walked into my office, plopped down and said a little gruffly, I don’t know why my wife made me come see you. What do you want me to do?
My immediate response caught him off guard, can you love a child? He stuttered a little as he managed an awkward yes, and the two of us began a special friendship as I watched him become a wonderful mentor! And what joy was mine as I saw his little guy’s eyes light up when his mentor came to see him each week.
Kids Hope USA is a national faith-based mentoring organization that partners one school with one church which selects, trains and places adults in one-on-one mentoring relationships with elementary children, one hour a week during the school day.
Seventh and James Baptist, First Baptist of Hewitt, and Central Presbyterian churches also have Kids Hope USA mentoring programs.
*There are several schools in the Waco district still wanting a Kids Hope ministry on their campus. Please contact me if your church has an interest!
The Columbus Avenue Kids Hope program is beginning its 9th school year at Brook Avenue Elementary where we have mentored close to 400 at-risk students selected by the school. Some mentors have had multiple students at Brook. Others have chosen to continue with their students who change schools. Currently, there are 19 at middle schools and high school!
So why tell you about us? Recent Prosper Waco blogs by Stephanie Kortweg, and Janessa Blythe discuss some of the negative impacts poverty has on at-risk students. And given the number of WISD students impacted by the stronghold of poverty, the potential statistics are staggering.
But there is hope and hope often comes in the form of a volunteer! Kids Hope USA was founded on research showing the dramatic positive impact that can be made on the life of a child by a caring, faithful and involved adult.
“I’ve noticed something about people who make a difference in the world: They hold the unshakable conviction that individuals are extremely important, that every life matters. They get excited over one smile . . . They aren’t determined to revolutionize the world all at once; they’re satisfied with small changes. Over time, though, the small changes add up. Sometimes they even transform cities and nations, and yes, the world.” — Kisses from Katie, a Story of Relentless Love and Redemption, Beth Clark, p. xi
Individuals linking arm in arm in the various mentoring organizations might just transform the next generation . . . and our city!
Below are comments from teachers and students giving you a glimpse into the positive impact mentors have had in the lives of children.
Both offered in hopes that some of you will decide that mentoring is not so scary!
Teachers said:
What Kids Hope mentors are doing for our students is amazing. Their presence is making a positive change in many lives. Students’ abilities in reading, math, and other areas of academics are improving . . . behaviors are getting better . . . students are interacting with people they would never have opportunity to meet otherwise. You are modeling a different way of being for our students to see and emulate . . . helping them trust and learn to build healthy relationships . . . a KH mentor is the best thing some of our kids have ever had in their lives!
Your program is not just Kids Hope. You also give us hope as teachers. You are a light on dark days, giving us reason to keep loving and teaching our kids. You let us know we are not alone. You are part of the community choosing to come to our school, not because you have to but because you want to be here. Year after year, supporting us, caring about us, standing with us. I am so grateful for Kids Hope!
Students said:
What do I like best about my mentor? That she actually comes! Every week!!
My mentor taught me to turn fractions into decimals! Math isn’t so hard now.
My mentor is a great man, helps me a lot academically and in how I act toward and care about others.
My mentor has been a miracle since the first day she came into my life in elementary school, and she is a miracle every time she comes to see me! She helps me handle my emotions, and has helped me believe I am not a bad person. She’s taught me a lot about treating others with respect and honoring other people. She still comes to see me as a teenager and is there when I need her. She is the best person I have ever been around. I am so very grateful my mentor came into my life.
A mentor is like being given someone to help with your problems, to be your friend. Every kid needs a mentor . . .
Who are you mentoring?
The possibilities are endless – contact our mentoring coalition and find your place among us as a mentor!
Anne Broaddus is a native Wacoan, attended Midway schools, and holds degrees from Baylor University and Truett Seminary. Her 2008 retirement from teaching just meant a career change! Anne currently serves on staff at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church as Director of Kids Hope USA mentoring ministry centered at WISD’s Brook Avenue Elementary School in North Waco. Beyond time with God and and her family, she is most happy in the mountains, with a good book or sharing a cup of coffee with a friend!
Contact Anne at [email protected]. You can learn more about Kids Hope U.S.A. at http://cabcwaco.sitewrench.com/kidshopeusa or http://www.kidshopeusa.org/home/
By Bill Gaventa
This last weekend saw one of the most popular service events in Waco, the Really Big Fishing Event for very Special People. The pictures in the WacoTrib were great as was the effort and support put in by so many people and organizations in the Waco area”. But there is a “catch” here (so to speak) and one that is not meant to criticize the event at all. In fact, it is a positive illustration of the very point I wish to make.
The day of fun and service drew together people who often move in very separate worlds. One of the biggest issues for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as people with other disabilities, is the fact that social, cultural, and architectural barriers often limit their opportunities to participate fully in the kinds of activities many of us take for granted. On the other hand, many people we might call “non-disabled” don’t see or interact with people with disabilities on a regular basis, sometimes because the services and supports for them can separate them from typical settings, or because they stay at home with nothing meaningful to do.
Thus, we end up in a world where people who labeled “disabled” are often seen in one conceptual box, and people labeled “normal” are in another. The problem with these kind of labels is they take on far too much power by seeing a person only by one dimension of their lives. That’s not just a problem here: think now-a-days about political labels, racial labels, cultural labels, religious labels, sexual labels…the list can go on and on. Those labels prejudice what we see, because they fill a whole backpack of assumptions and expectations that we think are true about another person even before we know them. In her famous TED Talk, Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie calls it “the danger of a single story.” Every one of us has experienced that from other people in a way that does not feel right or true to who we are.
Labels put people in boxes in the shelves of our minds. What we need, in so many ways, are bigger boxes into which two boxes labeled differently can fit. Hence the Really Big Fishing Event for Very Special People. The bigger box was fishing, an activity that people from all kinds of backgrounds enjoy. In fact, for avid fishermen and fisherwomen, the fact that some other people may love fishing but never have a chance to go fishing is the real tragedy or disability, not the other kinds of labels they may wear.
The potential power of this annual Saturday event might also lead to other opportunities for people who love fishing to find other ways to help people with disabilities who also love fishing to have more opportunities to do so. Not in big events, but rather in small boats, from the river bank, from the dock, opportunities where the fishing “box” helps tackle the stereotypes and fears we may have, and where people then build relationships and friendships that mess up our smaller boxes and more rigid labels.
There are organizations around Waco making great strides in building those bigger boxes. Sports brings people together with many levels of ability in Special Olympics and No Limitations Athletics. The Arc of McLennan County uses country music, barbecue and a raffle auction to bring together people in the community who support individuals and families. The Autism Walk on Saturday, April 8 does the same as does art in several venues and programs. Join the Pride, an event on April 23, uses the great Cameron Park Zoo to do the same, as well as to celebrate people of all abilities at a zoo with a great reputation for its work in support of animals with one form of disability or another. The Waco Mayor’s Committee on Disabilities coordinates this upcoming event with sponsors who help the day to be free for people with disabilities and their families. Volunteers are both needed and welcome.
The events are all inspiring not only because of the commitment and excitement that runs rampant but also because they find bigger boxes into which we all fit. They are doubly inspiring if we all look for ways this can happen in everyday lives. So rather than seeing people with differences as labeled boxes on a shelf, every time we see someone as “other,” or “not like me,” could we not ask ourselves: “Gee, I wonder what bigger box we could both fit into.” They are not hard to find and not hard to build.
All we must do is start the conversation, reach beyond the boxes in which might find ourselves, introduce yourself, and ask questions about who they are, what they like to do, and the dreams they have. Ronald Reagan first designated March as National Developmental Disabilities Month. If you want to do something in March, any of these organizations can help you. But perhaps you already know some individuals or families where you can start. There is no telling how many labels (and bigger boxes) you will find that you share in common with someone sitting on the shelf with you.
Bill Gaventa is an ordained Baptist minister currently serving as the Director of the Summer Institute on Theology and Disability and the national Collaborative on Faith and Disability. . Bill’s pastoral career has been in a variety of roles at the intersections of faith and disability, including community supports with people with disabilities, training for clergy, seminarians and community services staff, aging and end of life/grief issues in intellectual and developmental disabilities, cultural competence, and community building. He is currently serving as the President of American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities for 2016-2017. He and his wife Beverly moved to Waco in 2013 where she serves as Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Baylor University. In Waco, Bill serves on the Mayor’s Committee on Disabilities, the Board of the Arc of McLennan County, and the Professional Network Advisory Committee of the Heart of Texas Region MH/MR Center. You can email Bill at [email protected].
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
By Courtney Restivo Wollard
As a follow up to a previous healthy blog post, I wanted to highlight one of the partners in the Healthiest Cities and Counties Challenge (HCCC) – The CenTex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Throughout the years, the Chamber has hosted free family funfests and women’s conferences during the month of February. This year, the event will focus on empowering women’s health, heart, soul, family, and home. It’s called the Hearts & Homes Ladies’ Conference. The event will include several vendor booths to provide information on resources to the community including career building and home buying assistance, home maintenance tips, and a wellness zone plus door prizes! Lunch and snacks will also be provided. Something new this year that the Chamber will offer as a partner in the HCCC will be providing a healthy traditional Hispanic meal cooking demonstration and food sampling during the event.
If you didn’t catch the previous blog about the Healthiest Cities and Counties Challenge, I will briefly describe its importance for our community. This is a national challenge consisting of 50 other communities (Waco-McLennan County included) all working to improve the health of their residents in many different ways. Communities could choose to improve on one of five metrics including community safety, built environment, social/economic factors, environmental factors, and healthy behaviors. Some communities are focusing on improving asthma rates for children, others are working to prohibit smoking in vehicles with children, some working to improve physical activity opportunities, and some are working on improving wastewater management. Waco-McLennan County will be working on the healthy behaviors metric more specifically increasing healthier eating and consumption of fruits and vegetables. The top communities at the end of the two year challenge (which began October 2016) that show an improvement in their metrics compared to baseline data submitted could win prize money for the community between $25,000 and $250,000 for our community tier.
All of that to say, it is important that residents know how to cook meals in a healthier way and learn how to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into their daily diet. That is where our partner, the CenTex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce comes in. They will be hosting three healthy traditional Hispanic meal cooking demos and samplings throughout the two year challenge in order to educate community members on cooking their favorite comfort foods in a healthy way and in a way that tastes great. The Hearts & Homes Ladies’ Conference is where the first of the three cooking demos will occur. We are very grateful to have the Chamber join in this fun and healthy challenge and we challenge you to eat more fruits and veggies! Be sure to attend the event on February 25th 2017 at the Waco Convention Center in McLennan Hall from 10am-3pm so you can be a part of the Healthiest Cities and Counties Challenge!
Courtney Restivo Wollard is a lifelong Waco resident who works as Public Health Planner at the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District and serves as Chair for Live Well Waco, the group working to decrease obesity rates under the Prosper Waco Health Committee Initiative. She is also an alumnus of the Waco Foundation LeadershipPLENTY Institute. Courtney graduated with her Masters of Public Health from Baylor University and right away began her career as a health advocate. She is married to Kyle, with whom she has two fur babies – a Chihuahua and a Labrador. Courtney hopes to continue to create healthier environments for McLennan County residents.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.