(Seguin ) — Non-profits and local charities were front and center last Wednesday during the first ever Non-Profit Expo in the Seguin Coliseum.
Big crowds turned out for the event, started by the Guadalupe County Fair Association.
The expo was all about making the community more aware of the services offered by charities here in Seguin and Guadalupe County.
KWED was there broadcasting live during the 5:00 hour, and we caught up with a couple of the non-profit groups that set up inside the coliseum.
David Ricker, of Communities in Schools of South-Central Texas was also among our guests on the radio. Ricker says Communities in Schools in doing work in dozens of schools across the area, including some campuses in Seguin and Marion.
“We are a support system for students in local schools. We want to help students be successful so they can be in the classroom learning. So, we all know that there are a lot of challenges in being a student these days. If it’s friendships or mental health or whatever it might so we are here to help support them. So, we can help them with the barriers and get them into the classroom to learn,” said Ricker.
Ricker says Communities in Schools provides all kinds of student support services. He says they are there to help meet the needs of kids at the campuses that they serve.
“Our motto is we do whatever it takes. It can could be a snack. It could be clothes, school supplies. It could be counseling — many different things. We do whatever it takes to help the student with whatever we can,” said Ricker.
The expo was not just an opportunity to spotlight the work of the charities, but it also highlighted how the community can support them. Ricker says Communities in Schools has a number of ways for individuals and organizations to show their support.
“There are several different ways. You can go to our website cis-sct.org to donate on our website or you can go to our thrift store in New Braunfels. It’s located on Business 35 close to the Marketplace. You can shop there. You can donate there. That’s another way to support it but we also need volunteers. We need mentors — volunteer mentors can volunteer for 30 minutes a week during the school year and be matched with a student either elementary, middle or high school and you go and have fun with the student. You get to know them and have a relationship with them,” said Ricker.
The Community Council of South-Central Texas has been doing work in Guadalupe and several other counties for decades. That’s according to Daniela Flores, who also spoke to us during last night’s broadcast.
“We are part of the National Community Action Parntership — a thousand agencies across the US and of course, we serve 31 counties in South Central Texas including Guadalupe and I want to share that our local address has changed. So, we are now located at 953 E. Kingsbury in Seguin and our coordinator is Ms. Teresa Pardo and we are open 8 to 5 p.m.,” said Flores.
Flores says CCSCT offers several programs that support local families.
“Utility assistance is our biggest program. We also have a veteran financiail assistance program. We have rental assistance locally. We also have Head Start which is just down the road and we are here to serve our community and right now, we have applicatinos available for our utility assistance programs. We are facing a lot of budget cuts this year so we want to thank the community for being patient with us. We are trying to get around to as many people as we can this year,” said Flores.
Flores says they are also making plans for next year’s 60th anniversary of the federal Community Action program that they operate under. She says they also want the community to be aware of a couple things that are going on now. Signup is currently underway for pre-registration for their Head Start program. She says they are also encouraging the community to put May 29 on their calendar. That will be the date of this year’s Poverty Simulation event. It will give the community a better understanding of the challenges facing those who are living in poverty.
The Non-Profit Expo, by most measures, would be considered a success. More than 50 charities were represented there, including CASA, which provides advocates for children in the court system; NAMI, which helps to shine a light on mental health services and support in this community; and many, many others.
Organizers say they expect this to become an annual event, and they hope even more non-profit groups will join them next year.