School Resource Officers Tip Phones
Abilene Crime Stoppers encourages all members of the community to assist local law enforcement agencies in the fight against crime through rewards for anonymous tips. School Resource Officers in Taylor County schools are supplied with FirstNet cell phones to receive and share timely tips to protect campus safety. Having the phones provided by the nonprofit Crime Stoppers program allows the phones to avoid subpoena thereby protecting the information and the tipster.

Support for Youth Orchestra Programs
Since its founding, the Abilene Youth Orchestra has provided high school musicians in Abilene the opportunity to perform advanced repertoire in a full symphony orchestra setting. Youth programming also includes two preparatory string programs for elementary and middle school students which have doubled in enrollment numbers in the past two years. Grant funds will support instructors for their youth programs and underwrite educational costs for students from underserved communities.

Parenting Awareness and Drug Risk Education Services (PADRES)
PADRES is an intervention and prevention program that offers free nurturing parenting education and life skills groups, screenings, assessments, referrals, and case management. It also provides baby and childcare items and household items necessary for healthy homes. The program serves parents and caregivers who have children under 6 or expecting parents who have a risk factor of a substance use disorder. Grant funds will purchase household items used as participation incentives and childcare items.

Food Pantry
All for One is a mission-based organization in the Alameda neighborhood. They provide assistance including feeding and clothing those in need and support for at-risk youth, as well as church services. They operate a food pantry utilized by neighborhood residents and open to all income-qualifying Abilene citizens. All for One partners with the Food Bank of West Central Texas to feed more than 100 people per week. Grant funds will be used to stock the food pantry for up to one year.

Capacity Building
All Kind is a non-profit organization that aims to improve animal welfare in Abilene. This mission is accomplished through a new animal shelter facility, addressing pet overpopulation and retention rates, and offering greater education and resources through community outreach. As community outreach programs continue to grow, All Kind must hire a Marketing and Communications Director. This position will further their mission to provide the community with high-quality animal care and services.

Home Fire Program
The local ARC is a vital component of disaster response and relief. Their Home Fire Relief program helps stabilize fire survivors in crisis, prevent temporary homelessness and financial insolvency, reduce family stress, and begin the recovery process. They also deliver critical fire safety prevention tools and information to the Abilene community and install free smoke alarms, helping to avert needless losses. Funds will support programs and provide financial assistance to local residents who suffer a house fire.

High School Bigs Program Support
The BBBS High School Bigs program in Taylor County empowers high school juniors and seniors to mentor elementary students, fostering meaningful connections and mutual growth. HS Bigs meet regularly with their littles to engage in structured supervised activities guided by BBBS staff. Teens develop leadership skills while enriching the lives of younger students, creating a positive impact on both mentors and mentees. Program support increases capacity to support more young people.

Advocate Training Support
Big Country CASA recruits, trains, and supports volunteers advocating for children in the foster care system. Once children or youth enter care, they lose their families, homes, friends, schools, and possessions. CASA strives to help children pick up the pieces, reconnect with family and supportive life-long adults who can help them heal from the trauma and change the trajectory of their lives. This grant request addresses the need to continue training new volunteers to advocate for children and youth.

Youth Program Support
The Boys & Girls Club has served Abilene since 1958 and currently provides care for 750 children and youth, with four locations serving Abilene. Their goal is to support youth to reach their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens by offering guidance and supervision through after-school care, summer camps, and teen nights. Funding will support operations, security upgrades, and multiple facets of youth programming.

Program Support
The mission of Camp Able is to cultivate healthy, independent living for people with special needs through skills-based training and equine therapy, with a special focus on using horses that have been given sanctuary from difficult circumstances. Camp Able currently cares for 29 horses, 18 of which are capable of being used for therapy. They are seeking funds for shelter and care costs for these horses, as well as equipment to expand equine therapy offerings to meet more challenging special needs.

ArtWalk Program Support
The CCA is a downtown anchor that promotes local artists, generates tourism, and brings community together through ArtWalk, a free mini arts festival started in 1993. They coordinate music and art performances, hands-on activities, exhibits and vendors in partnership with downtown neighbors. Funding will support the program, which attracts a diverse audience to the Downtown Cultural District. In 2025 ArtWalk will become quarterly large-scale day-long festivals that will be held on Saturdays.

Work Corps for Women
Christian Job Corps provides a unique opportunity for women to gain the personal and professional development needed to be gainfully employed. Their faith-based programs provide multiple training options to fit varying needs for women seeking employment. Funding will support their Jobs for Life program and Computer Skills courses, purchase of classroom furniture and new computers, and strategic planning opportunities for organization leaders.

Rental Assistance & Your Financial Freedom Class
The CSC helps to meet the basic needs of our most vulnerable citizens by providing food, clothing, transportation assistance, and direct financial support. They are one of few organizations offering rental assistance to neighbors struggling to fulfill their monthly household needs, and their program requires this assistance be accompanied by a financial literacy course. Funds will support students with rental assistance and provide salary support for the Your Financial Freedom program instructor.

Food Pantry Support
Cisco College's food pantry, Food for Thought, provides non-perishable food items and toiletries to students facing food insecurity. Free sack lunches are available to students daily Monday through Friday. In the 2023-2024 academic year, the pantry provided over 1,100 sack lunches and provided essential food and hygiene items to approximately 800 Cisco students and family members. Funding will provide for pantry needs and the purchase of these items, which support about 30% of campus attendees.

Client Housing Support
Dignity Health Management Center provides medical care, prescription, housing and nutrition assistance to approximately 250 people living with HIV in Taylor County and surrounding area through state and federal grants. If a client becomes homeless while in services then placed in permanent housing, federal funds cannot be expended for basic needs such as a bedding, kitchen utensils and cleaning supplies. Funding will be used to help purchase these basic necessities to set up client homes.

Operation Warm Heart – Emergency Support for Dyess Airmen
Operation Warm Heart, carried out by Dyess First Sergeants Council, is dedicated to promoting the health and welfare of personnel on Dyess AFB by offering immediate emergency aid to military members and their families. Recognizing that life events can often place our service members in unexpected financial distress, this program provides timely support when other agencies cannot. This ensures that our military community receives assistance during crisis and reinforces the strength and resilience of service members and their families.

Case Management and Counseling
FaithWorks provides career development classes for chronically unemployed Abilene adults. Their curriculum follows a whole-person model, including intellectual, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual development. The 13-week course includes finding, securing, and keeping a job, counseling, conflict resolution, recovery education, and bible study. Funding provides counseling services and supports basic needs for students in the program.

Food for Abilene and Taylor County Residents
The Presbyterian Food Pantry strives to improve the health and well-being of neighbors by providing reliable access to nutritious food for those experiencing food insecurity. Many who rely on their assistance are struggling with difficult circumstances intensified by rising inflation and food costs. The number of individuals and families relying on the pantry is expected to continue to increase. Grant funds will help them provide groceries and hygiene items to vulnerable populations.

Royal Family KIDS Camp
For The Children Abilene will host Royal Family KIDS Camp in the summer of 2025. The five-day summer camp will serve children ages 7 to 11 who are in the foster care system. Campers will have the opportunity to learn about the love of God and the value they hold in the world while experiencing safe, positive relationships. This will be the first camp locally, following a model with a 39-year history of successful camps across the country. Grant funds will support camp fees and meals.

Operational Support
Friends for Life provides services for seniors and adults with disabilities through five programs in Taylor County. Programs are designed to help the most vulnerable live the fullest life possible. They provide money management assistance, life skills training, and guardianship services, as well as a volunteer program focused on assisting disabled individuals through routine check-ins and support services to enhance their ability to stay independent and maintain quality of life.

Service Support Center Capital Project
Houses for Healing cares for the sick by providing no cost, temporary housing to patients and family members who are in a medical crisis and receiving long-term medical treatment away from home. They have 16 homes serving those in need, and request funding to facilitate the completion of their support center, which will provide a kitchenette, laundry facilities, other necessary resources, and a gathering place for those they serve and their loved ones.

Abilene Civics Education Program
The local IRC requests funding to address the needs of the significant population of Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) in the Abilene area, and the barriers they face in obtaining citizenship, such as language barriers and financial constraints. The IRC will provide citizenship education and legal assistance, including curriculum development, course delivery, and legal representation. The program aims to foster social cohesion, economic growth, and community participation for integration into American society.

SudsBuds Program
JLA is an organization of women committed to enhancing the lives of children in the community. SudsBuds is a program operated by the Junior League that provides basic hygiene items for children in low-income families throughout Abilene ISD, Wylie ISD and surrounding areas within Taylor County who otherwise couldn't afford such items during the school year. Grant funds will be used to offset the cost of the program and expand the program as requested by their community partners.

Program Support for Mentoring At-Risk Students
Mentors Care provides one-on-one mentoring through community volunteers at Wylie High School to students who are at risk of not graduating. Mentors address academic and life skills and work on emotional wellbeing in weekly structured meetings, on-site at the school. Site Coordinators connect students with community resources related to housing, food and clothing, medical care, and behavioral health care. Grant funds are requested to cover program costs through the coordinator's salary.

Support for Foster Children at Audrey Grace House
New Horizons offers mental health treatment and residential care for children, foster care and adoption services, and youth and family counseling to over 1,200 children and families each year. Audrey Grace House provides a home and therapeutic services to children who suffer from emotional, behavioral, and attachment trauma due to physical and sexual abuse. Funding will support counseling services, meals, and recreational activities for the foster children residing there.

Transitional Employment Program
Phoenix Clubhouse is designed to assist members with mental illness build community and productive lives. Based on a proven international model with identified standards, the organization is member-driven, with participants sharing ownership and responsibility for the success of the Clubhouse alongside a small staff. Funding will support a Transitional Employment Program to assist members in finding gainful employment and fulfill requirements for the Clubhouse to achieve national accreditation.

Clinic Support
The PMCM provides affordable access to primary medical care and prescription medication for low income and uninsured adults. Without affordable access to a healthcare facility, many uninsured patients will either postpone or delay care until an emergency situation develops, or inappropriately utilize the emergency room for primary care and prescription refills. Grant funding will support medical care through the clinic, offering an alternative to the emergency room for the uninsured patient.

Crime Victim Counseling and Comprehensive Care
RVCC provides free care and counseling services to primary and secondary victims of sexual assault, violent crimes, and other traumatic events. Victims receive confidential, specialized counseling, individualized case management, and comprehensive victim services to meet their financial, physical, and psychological needs, through their road to recovery and justice. Grant funds will help cover the cost of these services to a growing number of victims in Taylor County.

Meal Support
Rural Taylor County Aging Services provides hot, nourishing meals to the elderly and disabled in rural Taylor County. They deliver approximately 130 meals a day, Monday through Friday to the citizens in Buffalo Gap, Caps, Elm Valley, Coronado Camp, Merkel, Tye, Trent, and View. Their service area covers 800 miles per week, delivering to locations not served by any other meal delivery services. Funding will purchase food for the program.

Computer Purchases
Serenity House is committed to providing quality substance use prevention, treatment, and support services to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. Last year Serenity House provided treatment services to more than 1000 people across Texas, with over 300 of those coming from Taylor County. Access to reliable computer systems is a necessary part of providing medical, mental health, and substance use specific services for clients. Funds will be used for new computers for the Abilene campus.

General Operating Support
For 55 years, Special Olympics Texas has provided direct services to children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Their programs emphasize healthy living and promote community social engagement through inclusive participation. Programs provide opportunities for participants to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and share their gifts and friendship with their families, other athletes, and the community. Funds support sports and social support programs for Abilene area athletes.

Samaritan Fund Support
TFI is a counseling and therapy provider assisting families and individuals with the goal of helping them cope with problems and challenges in a healthy way. The Samaritan Fund provides an avenue for clients who are uninsured or otherwise unable to afford this life-changing counseling or therapy. Clients are encouraged to pay what they can toward a session, with the Samaritan Fund picking up the remainder of reimbursement to the therapist, up to $40 per session.

Educational Arts Outreach Support
The Grace Museum brings art instruction to 1st through 5th-grade students in local school districts through Educational Outreach in classrooms and innovative art experiences through tours, distance learning, and Youth Art Month. The Grace also brings Texas History to life in local classrooms with free "Traveling Trunks" that provide lesson plans, artifacts, and mounted images to help teachers engage students in hands-on history lessons. Funding helps support these educational outreach programs.

Food Pantry Support
Established in 1954, the organization's mission is to provide for the food insecure residents of Taylor County. They provide a week's worth of healthy, fresh food to income-qualified residents once per month. Food insecure clients include people who have incurred unexpected medical expenses, elderly clients living on a fixed income who are tasked with raising their grandchildren, and people with temporary losses of income. Funds will be used to purchase fresh food.

Arts After School Program Support
Young Audiences brings quality arts learning experiences to 4th and 5th grade students in AISD elementary schools. Most of these schools have high percentages of economically disadvantaged students and YAA provides inclusive, interactive, and entertaining arts education that may not otherwise be available to these students. Grant funding will support hiring local teaching artists including musicians, dancers, singers, and actors to provide 8 weeks of interactive workshops concluding with a student showcase.