Stronger Together: Building Community in Fort Worth
No matter where we go, community will always be one of Rocketship’s strongest values. As we continue on with Rocketship Texas’s charter application process, we’ve been eager to get to connect and strengthen relationships with those in the Fort Worth community. In April, we held our first in-person community event, a Fort Worth Community Resource Event. We hosted this event to not only get to know our school community, but also inform Fort Worth residents of local resources that can support them with job networking, personal development, healthcare, and more. The Fort Worth community has historically been an area impacted by income inequality, which was only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of this, we wanted to make sure that low-income families know where they can go for help.
“We are looking to partner with the community more because we believe that we are stronger together than we are apart. We want our community to know that they have our support and that we are all in this together,” says MarQuesha Brooks, Manager of Family Recruitment, one of the key organizers of the event.
At our resource fair, we had over 20 local organizations show up to inform families of their services, provide resources, and more. Among them were ACH Child and Family Services, which has been providing Northern Texan families with skills and resources for over a hundred years. Also present was Proyecto Imigrante, who has been providing the community with legal advice and services for over 15 years. Below is a list of other organizations that came out to support the community:
-Vote Fort Worth
-Workforce Tarrant County
-Create + Collaborate
-ACH Child & Family Services
-Goodwill Industries
-United Way
-Renaissance Dental
-Hallmark Youth Association
-PowerTeen Ministry
-Children and Family Institute
-Tarrant County Public Health
-Proyecto Inmigrante ICS, Inc.
-Time to Heal America
-Tarrant County College
-The Women’s Center of Tarrant County
-Center for Transforming Lives Head Start/ Early Head Start
-Fort Worth Black Law Enforcement Officers Association
-Thomas Place Community Center
-Emana Corporation
-AB Christian Learning Center
-National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum
-Fort Worth Housing Solutions
-Generation Uplift
-Child Care Associates
-UNT Health & Science Center/Mobile Eye Clinic
-Highland Hills Community Center
Families who attended the event had access to free onsite vision tests for children, and soaked up live music and local entertainment. As folks enjoyed free food and games, they walked away with resources, such as free diapers, information on colleges and how to apply, and how to get assistance paying rent, mortgage, and utilities.
We’re so glad that we were able to put together this event for our community, and can’t wait to get together again soon. On May 26, join us for a Community Information Session to learn more about Rocketship and exactly what we offer. Check out our Facebook event page here for more information and the Zoom link. Then on June 5, join us for our End of School Year Bash to celebrate all students and families in the community – register here.
If you’d like to personally reach out to an Education Organizer with questions or concerns, you can do so by filling out this form.
Published on May 25, 2021
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