25:40

THE REES-JONES FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER

By Shellie Velasco, Program Officer

God’s heart for children is evident throughout Scripture. Psalm 127:3 tells us children are a gift and reward from the Lord. In Matthew 19, Mark 10 and Luke 18, we read an account of Jesus welcoming children as He placed His hands on their heads and blessed them.

We know God’s best involves children growing up in safe, healthy families. With this at the forefront of our minds and hearts, The Rees-Jones Foundation remains committed to supporting organizations that are caring for children who have experienced maltreatment and those who are working upstream to help prevent children from becoming at risk of harm. We know that some children must be removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect, but that does not have to be the end of their story. This is where child substitute care comes in.

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According to the state of Texas, “substitute care is provided from the time a child is removed from his or her home and placed in child protective services (CPS) conservatorship until the child returns home safely or is placed in another living arrangement that does not require CPS supervision.” Children who require substitute care due to abuse or neglect deserve quality, compassionate support. An ecosystem of individuals and agencies has proved to be a quality solution for children’s safety, medical, behavioral health, social, educational and spiritual needs to be met.

One such organization playing an important role for children in the child welfare system is the Rees-Jones Center for Foster Care Excellence at Children’s Health. The Rees-Jones Center brings together medical and behavioral health experts to provide integrated pediatric primary care for children, allowing a child’s caregiver to see multiple providers in one location to provide better care coordination. Alongside pediatricians and nurse practitioners, therapists, psychiatrists and psychologists are addressing mental health needs of children and teens. Through their work, children have an opportunity to find healing and receive tools to move forward in living healthy, thriving lives.

If you walked around The Rees-Jones Foundation offices at the beginning of the summer, you may have noticed a buzz of excitement in the air as certain staff were heard exclaiming “the interns are here!” The Rees-Jones Foundation Youth Internship Program commenced its 2023 summer program on June 9th as 30 interns gathered for orientation.

The theme for this year’s program is Identity In Christ, with a focus on the Bible verse in John 15:16 which states, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask in My name, He may give it to you.”

30 interns from six non-profit agencies will serve children this summer and have a chance to take part in four in-person gatherings with Foundation staff and a variety of guest speakers. The workshop-style gatherings will focus on a host of topics, including: careers, budgeting, investments, undergraduate programs, and more. 

Check back for all of the highlights once the program is completed this summer!

The Foundation awarded $21.3 million through 62 grants during Q2 (April, May, and June).

Below is a small representation of the nonprofit organizations that the Foundation humbly supported:

By Trey Hill, Program Officer

“What’s up Lil’ Ray? How’s your Pops?” Brandon Stovall, executive director of Dallas Prestige Group, asks one of boys who are beginning to file into the designated classroom at Charles Rice Elementary for the leadership development program he runs there. Brandon then leans over to tell me he played basketball with Ray’s father growing up in South Dallas.

“Hey, Hector! How’d that math test go last week?” He says to the next young man with a fist bump.

He goes on to greet every young man by name upon entering the classroom with some detail about what was going on in their world.

This is how every class starts with Dallas Prestige Group’s leadership development classes that are held at local schools and nonprofits in South Dallas, whether it is Brandon or one of his team members. He later explains, it is just a small way to let these young men know that they have worth and that they are known.

As mentioned, Brandon grew up in South Dallas and had the benefit of growing up in a two-parent home with grandparents nearby. (His parents still live in the community where both mom and dad are still deeply invested). He had plenty of love and support around him and plenty of folks to help him course-correct when he stepped out of line. Unfortunately, that was not the case for some of his friends and classmates growing up in the neighborhood.

“My mom was very insistent that I participate in every extracurricular activity offered at Charles Rice, I mean every,” Brandon told me with a laugh. (Charles Rice Elementary is one of the schools where he now serves).

That insistence led to him becoming a strong piano player that led to a chance for him to attend the only arts magnet middle school in DISD at the time, W.E. Greiner. After Greiner, Brandon went to Townview Magnet High School, a nationally-recognized DISD school. Both Greiner and Townview were not in his neighborhood. It was in attending the magnet schools that he realized there was an opportunity and resource gap between his school experience and many of his friends who continued to attend their neighborhood schools.

In 2015, the Foundation began funding scholarships for children from under-resourced communities to attend summer Christian camps and summer youth disability camps. Since then, hundreds of children have been given the opportunity to enjoy camping experiences who would not have otherwise been able to participate due to disabilities or lack of financial resources to pay camp fees.

25:40 is a quarterly newsletter from The Rees-Jones Foundation. This newsletter is specially designed for you – our wonderful grantees! We hope that you will find the information both useful and interesting. If you would like to be added to our newsletter email list, please contact Sara Meyers at smeyers@rees-jonesfoundation.org.

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'”

– Matthew 25:40

ABOUT THE NAME | We decided to name this newsletter 25:40 after the scripture from Matthew 25, which we as a foundation, draw inspiration from in our work. Through our grant making, we seek to deliver hope, resources, and support to those in our community who are in need.