Dallas Nonprofits and Charities

DJF is a wonderful organization because not only did it help me find ways to serve local people with immediate needs but it has been a pleasure building friendships with other like minded women.

As a former staff member and current volunteer with the Central Dallas Ministries education department, I have been consistently challenged and inspired over the past 6 by the commitment, innovative thinking, and quality programming provided by the leaders of this organization. I am most familiar with the work of the education department led by Dr. Janet Morrison. Dr. Morrison ensures that members of the community play the most important role in the goals and work of the programs under her leadership. The education department maintains a focus on the capacity of the parents and students in the community to find solutions and to improve neighborhoods themselves. Therefore parents and students are engaged and connected in meaningful ways. There is a serious focus on innovative ways of supporting and supplementing quality education, through creative uses of technology and project-based learning within the after school and summer environment. The education department seeks to build rapport and relationships with the neighborhood school and advocates for students by raising awareness about various public policy issues and concerns. The education department emphasizes college-readiness and consistently guides students toward those goals through college-visits and tours in all programs and other college-readiness efforts in the MTU and Teen U programs. Dr. Morrison ensures that the education department is committed to excellence in every aspect, from the staff chosen to lead the programs, to the professional development of the staff, to the evaluation of staff as well as program outcomes, to the implementation of research-based practices and innovative technology, to valuing and engaging the parents, students, and community in every way. All programs are based on an unwavering belief that all children have the capacity to learn and that all children deserve opportunities to receive a quality education and go prepared to college, regardless of income level or background. From the After School Academy, summer program, to Teen U, to Mid-Teen U, to Digital Connectors and Connect U, to the Roseland Library/Bookstore, the CDM education department is doing wonderful things in the Roseland community and making good use of all resources designated to these programs. I highly recommend this organization and its goals and work.

Legacy is one of the most well known nonprofits in Dallas. The work they do to the lgbtq community is phenomenal and speaks for itself.

I have personally worked with the ALD for many years and they are absolutely AMAZING!! They are such a hard working group of women whose passion for children shows in everything they do. They provide hundreds of hours to ensure that underserved children are given every opportunity to flourish. <br> <br>Every month they create beautiful taggies and blankets for our patients. The huge smiles on our kid's faces when they receive one is priceless!! They support every organization they serve by attending events and advocating for them. They work beautifully together and are such a blessing to work with. <br> <br>These ladies do so much for our community and if you have not had a chance to get to know them, you should!! <br> <br>Shari Markey <br>PediPlace Director of Donor and Volunteer Engagement <br>

Over 50 years ago, someone contacted The Providence Journal about our family. Our family was large but there was not a lot of disposable income. We were not poor. My mom back then was a stay-at-home mom and my dad brought home the paycheck. It was not a large amount of money, we did not have many new things, we did have a lot of things given to us (second hand) which is why I believe someone who knew our family sent our family name in to the Providence Journal. <br> <br>I remember the boxes being delivered to our apartment--red boxes with white snowflakes as part of the "wrapping." At that age, it seemed as though my sisters and I were receiving a treasure trove of gifts from some mysterious Santa's elf. The toys were the inexpensive novelty toys: cardboard base with the face of a "man" printed on it, covered in plastic and laying between the two were metal shavings that we could build the beard with a magnetic wand. There was a "Barrel of Monkeys," a set of jacks with a small ball, a cardboard based "arcade" game where one moved the board around to make the tiny silver balls fall into the indentations. There were several items like these in the boxes. <br> <br>Sadly, I believe that if children received these items today, the games may sit in a corner, end up in the trash, or pawned off to some other child. Here I am at 61 and I share the magic of those few Christmases with my high school students. I want them to know that something so small by today's "standards" meant the world to my sisters and I back then. I hope they learn that they can appreciate any form of a gift no matter how large or small it appears to be and that they can appreciate not having to have all of the latest electronics. <br> <br>You see, I work in a high school where every Thanksgiving and Christmas our students bring in items for the food baskets. Also all of us purchase gifts for the families we have been blessed with to make their Christmas (and Thanksgiving) a bit happier. In a sense, I look at it as "paying it forward."