United Way, A Time for Giving
United Way of Laredo Past President, Pamela Juarez gave out grants totaling $4,000 for Dimmit County and $30,000 for Maverick County at the IBC in Eagle Pass. These Community Impact grants are a result of employee donations from local businesses. These local businesses include HEB, IBC, Wal-Mart, J.C. Penney, UPS, Catepillar and Plains Capital Bank. Mrs. Juarez noted, “Thanks to their support of the United Way, several nonprofit organizations that provided services in Dimmit & Maverick County received grants totaling $34,000.”
Grants were awarded to the Boys and Girls Club of Eagle Pass ($1,000). Community Service Agency of South Texas ($1,250), Boy Scouts, Texas Southwest Council ($1,500), Wintergarden Women’s Shelter ($3,500), Catholic Social Services ($6,250), and the South Texas Food Bank for ($20,500). The grants were allocated based on services for basic human needs. Programs assisting with food and shelter received larger allocations.
In 2013, Catholic Social Services, which works with the Diocese of Laredo, helped local families during the flooding that occurred in the summer. Support came through the assistance of the local parishes in Eagle Pass.
The South Texas Food Bank, which received the largest designation supports several of the local pantries and has a Kids Café in Dimmit and Maverick Counties. The Kids Café is an after-school program that offers nutritious, well-balanced hot meals to children at risk of hunger. Initiated by Feeding America, Kids Cafe provides a safe and positive environment for children ages 17 and under to get fed after school. The Cafes provide our local children a grassroots approach to alleviating childhood hunger and to promote self-esteem and individual development.
The South Texas Food Bank’s Kids Cafe program currently supports 23 Kids Café feeding and snack sites in Laredo and surroundings areas: 5 in Dimmit County, 2 in Zapata County, 1 in Maverick County and 15 in Webb County. An average of 1,500 children and teenagers participated in the program and close to 320,377 meals were served in the fiscal year 2012-2013.
Each Kids Cafe site is operated in partnership with a respected community agency in order to provide the attention and accountability needed to ensure quality programs for children. Although the details and schedules vary by site, most sites feature tutoring, nutrition education, general enrichment activities, mentoring, and nutritious meals. is an on-site afterschool feeding program that provides nutritious, well-balanced hot meals to children in a safe-setting. The Kids Cafe in Dimmit and Maverick County are located at:
- Seco Mines Community Center – Sponsored by Shell Oil (2989 Sanchez Ave, Eagle Pass, TX)
- Carrizo Springs Elementary School Kids Café – Sponsored by Shell Oil (605 9th Street, Carrizo Springs, TX)
- Carrizo Springs ISD (Carrizo Springs, TX)
- Carrizo Springs Baptist Church (Carrizo Springs, TX)
For more information on how you can support the United Way of Laredo or apply for future grants, please visit the United Way website at www.unitedwaylaredo.org or call the United Way office at 956-723-9113.
