Podcast Ep 8: Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children

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Dale Smith and Randy lane sit down with Executive Director Barbara Wright to talk about how The Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children helps victims transition to survivors.

About the Advocacy Center:

Many people are hurting because of an act of violence committed against them.  Anyone – men, women, and children may be affected by violence. Our children are subjected to neglect, physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Research shows as many as 1 in 4 girls will be victims of sexual abuse by the time they are 18-years-old. For boys, the number is 1 in 6. Often the abuse is a “family secret” passed from one generation to another.

There is hope and restoration at the Advocacy Center.The Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children began in 1976 as the Waco Rape Crisis Center. It has grown into an umbrella agency with three programs, the Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) The Victims Center, and Prevention and Education – offering many services to the hurting in our community.

Over the past year the Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children has conducted 569 developmentally sensitive and legally sound forensic interviews for children ages 2-17.

Podcast Episode 7: Tanna’s Story – Care Net

tanna's story podcast

Randy sits down with Care Net CEO Deborah McGregor and and Client Tanna Thomas to talk about her amazing story. At one point, Tanna didn’t have reliable housing and had her two older children were taken away. Now, with the help of Care Net, she has given birth to a healthy daughter. She has a place to live, a job, and all children in her custody.

More About Care Net

Since opening in 2004, Care Net Pregnancy Center of Central Texas serves over 2,600 clients each year for pregnancy testing. They promise that they will listen to their client’s concerns, provide accurate and factual information about all pregnancy choices, and provide compassionate care. Learn more at pregancycare.org.

About the Charity Champions Podcast

This podcast is produced by 360 Solutions and Randy Lane.

Charity Champions are nonprofit organizations working to make a positive impact in the Central Texas community. Each fall, TFNB Your Bank For Life employees choose six nonprofits from nominations that are made on the website. Anyone can submit a nomination, and nominations are carried forward each year.

The benefits of selection as a Charity Champion are leadership development training and increased awareness, both of which are usually cost-prohibitive for these organizations. It’s TFNB Your Bank For Life’s way of giving back to the community that has treated them so well for more than 125 years.

Podcast EP 6: Care Net Pregnancy Center of Central Texas

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Dale and Chip sit down with Deborah McGregor, CEO of Care Net Pregnancy Center of Central Texas. Care Net provides services for women like pregnancy testing, ultrasound, STD referrals, and advice on pregnancy options. Deborah tells us how her organization has helped pregnant women since its founding, including the incredible story about one client who gave birth in her car!

About Care Net

Since 2004, the Care Net Pregnancy Center of Central Texas has served over 2,600 clients each year for pregnancy testing. They promise they will listen to the concerns of pregnant women, provide accurate and factual information about pregnancy choices, and provide compassionate care. Find out more at pregnancycare.org

About the podcast

This podcast is produced by 360 Solutions and Randy Lane. To learn more about Charity Champions, please visit charitychampionsforlife.com.

Charity Champions are nonprofit organizations working to make a positive impact in the Central Texas community. Each fall, TFNB Your Bank For Life employees chose six nonprofits from nominations that are made on our this website. Anyone can submit a nomination, and nominations are carried forward each year.

The benefits of selection as a Charity Champions are leadership development training and increased awareness, both of which are usually cost-prohibitive for these organizations. It’s TFNB Your Bank For Life’s way of giving back to the community that has treated them so well for more than 125 years.

Podcast EP 5: Christian Women’s Job Corps

Dale and Randy sit down with Executive Director Suzanne Hack from Christian Women’s Job Corps of McLennan County. CWJC helps women get the education and training they need to find quality jobs and realize their dreams.

Find them online at: cwjcwaco.org/

More about CWJC:

Since its formation in September of 2003, Christian Women’s Job Corps of McLennan County has helped equip women in Waco and surrounding areas with both job training and life skills. Through a six month long mentorship and an education program, we have encouraged women to be self-confident, self-sufficient, and productive while developing meaningful relationships.

Women who are alumni of the CWJC program are making a difference in McLennan County. Graduates are working in various fields such as office assistants, retail sales, medical, legal, mortuary, food service, call centers, apartment leasing, dog grooming, home health care, highway construction, warehouse, cleaning services, etc. Some examples of where CWJC alumni are employed are Veteran’s Administration, Waco Mortuary, MCC Adult Education, TSTC, Walgreen’s, Woofgang Bakery, EMSI, Baylor University, Cenikor, PCA, Baked Bliss, Cougar Paws, Aramark, Meadow Park Townhomes, Stoney Brook, and What-a-Burger. After completing the CWJC program, some women choose to continue their education at MCC or TSTC and have earned both associate degrees and bachelor degrees through the MCC/Tarleton program.

The ministry of CWJC makes a significant difference in the lives of women and McLennan County families. We have seen God work in many ways:

  • Women are developing self-esteem and self-confidence.
  • Women are becoming devoted mothers, loving wives, and dependable employees.
  • Families and future generations are changing, and the community is improving.
  • On a yearly basis volunteers contribute over 5,000 hours as teachers, mentors, lunch providers, prayer warriors, encouragers, community resources, and mock interviewers.
  • People from more than 150 churches, businesses, and organizations throughout the community have participated in the success of our program.

Podcast EP 4: Jesus Said Love

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Dale and Randy sit down with Brett and Emily Mills of Jesus Said Love to talk about their work with commercial sex workers in several Texas cities. Their mission is to share the revolutionary love of Christ with people in the commercial sex industry by awakening hope and empowering change. Jesus Said Love became a Charity Champion in 2017.

Jesus Said Love’s annual fundraiser, Wild Torch, is April 23rd. Wild Torch is more than a fundraiser. The event brings together food, art, music, and dance in the historic Hippodrome Theater in Downtown Waco. More info about the event here.

Jesus Said Love's Story

Founded in 2003 by worship leaders Brett & Emily Mills, the Mills led worship for a conference focused on ministry to sex workers. Overwhelmed by stories from former exotic entertainers, Emily became burdened for the marginalized in Waco, the Mills’ hometown. Within two weeks, the first Easter outreach extended the love of Jesus to women in the Waco sex industry. A small group of women ventured into two strip clubs, armed with gift bags filled with practical, high-quality gifts. The outreach was a success! In fact, each club manager extended an open invitation for JSL to return at any time. For the next few years, volunteers would return to the clubs bi-annually: at Christmas and Easter.

In 2007, the Mills made the decision to bring this new ministry under the administration of their already-established worship ministry and nonprofit organization: Bartimaeus Ministries, Inc. The name Jesus Said Love was then adopted for this specific outreach program to women in the commercial sex industry. The burden was for the marginalized: those whom the church was not reaching because of ignorance or negligence. What began as a bi-annual outreach in Waco has now grown into a full time ministry of monthly club outreaches, social work assistance, education, awareness, medical education, childcare and nutritional advocacy in Waco, Dallas, Bryan/College Station, San Antonio, Temple/Killeen, Houston, and (launching soon) Tyler.

This podcast is produced by 360 Solutions and Randy Lane.

Podcast EP 3: The Heart of Texas Veterans One Stop

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Chip Wilson, Dale Smith, and Randy Lane sit down with Heart of Texas Veterans One Stop Director DeLisa Russell to talk about how the Veterans One Stop started, services they provide, and alarming statistics on veterans in Central Texas.

The mission of the Heart of Texas Veterans One Stop is to provide veterans and their families a facility where a variety of fundamental services can be accessed at one location. The purpose of the Veterans One Stop Center is to provide assistance, camaraderie, education and information to our veterans as well as their dependents.

Find them online at:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/HOTVeteransOneStopWacoMVPNChapter

Contact DeLisa Russell at: delisa.russell@hotrmhmr.org

Podcast EP 2: Building Trust

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We recently kicked off our first Charity Champions Leadership Development Session of the new year. Chip Wilson, CEO of 360 Solutions, talks about Building Trust.

Podcast EP 1 : Boys & Girls Clubs of Waco

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Chip, Dale, and Randy sit down with Boys & Girls Clubs of Waco Executive Director James Jarmon and Board President Brad Sharp. They talk about the how the nonprofit started, and how it’s having a positive affect on Waco-area kids.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Waco provide services at two branches in the Waco area. The Club was established in 1909, and it is the oldest Club in the state of Texas. We offer our programs and services to all young men and women, ages 6-18, at our two branches. Our Clubs provide a van route in order to facilitate transporting members from their schools to the Clubs throughout the school year, giving our members a safe place to grow, learn, and play.

Learn more about the Boys and Girls Clubs of Waco at bgcwaco.org