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The Ark Assessment Center and Emergency Shelter for Youth
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Give online that day, and
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Thanks to the generosity of South Texas foundations, 40 local organizations will be eligible to receive matching funds for financial gifts of at least $10 that are donated online via major credit/debit cards (VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover) or echecks at www.coastalbenddayofgiving.org during the seventh Coastal Bend Day of Giving. Contributions will only be accepted at that website on Tuesday, Nov. 10 from midnight to midnight. Financial gifts to the Ark Assessment Center and Emergency Shelter for Youth or one of the other nonprofits providing basic needs will be matched dollar for dollar up to $16,250 per agency. All gifts made through the website are processed by a nonprofit service that facilitates online donations. Contributions can be prescheduled Nov. 1 through Nov. 9 for payment Nov. 10. The processing fee is 4.83 percent for credit/debit cards or 3.55 percent for echecks. Each donor will receive an email receipt for tax purposes. On Tuesday, Nov. 10, your help will mean so much more. Every dollar benefiting abused, neglected and displaced children at the Ark makes a difference. Ten dollars provides a full day’s diaper rash ointment/skin protectant to treat and prevent diaper rash, as well as to soothe and help heal the irritated skin of three children at the shelter (changed hourly). New arrivals usually bleed due to severe diaper rash. To donate that day, log on to www.coastalbenddayofgiving.org − a dedicated website that will make giving a quick, easy and secure process. If you don’t have a computer, one will be available at the shelter to accept your donation. Please visit www.coastalbenddayofgiving.org for more information. |
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Calallen Middle School 4602 Cornett Drive Corpus Christi, TX 78410 361-242-5672 Fax to 361-242-5982 |
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Dear CATCH ME IF YOU CAN CMS 5K RUN/WALK Supporter, We would appreciate your help with our CMS Catch me if you Can 5K Run/Walk benefitting The Ark. Our 3rd annual race will be held on Saturday, April 11, 2015. The purpose of the run is to promote the CATCH program. CATCH is a coordinated school health program which builds an alliance of parents, teachers, child nutrition personnel, school staff, and community partners to teach children and their families how to be healthy for a lifetime. All proceeds from the race will go to The ARK, Assessment Center and Emergency Shelter for Youth, located in Calallen. We hope you will join us by sponsoring at one of our new sponsorship levels. The benefits of being a sponsor are: your company’s name advertised on the radio, on several running websites, social media, and a digital banner that will be displayed at the finish line. Also, you have the opportunity to advertise by putting your company’s name on products in the runner’s goodie bag. Sponsors are encouraged to set up a tent on the Calallen Middle School football field from the hours of 7:00am-10:00am and hand out company giveaways for our runners/walkers. The sponsor money will be used to pay for race expenses and any money left over will be donated to The Ark. Sponsorship Levels: Platinum - $1000 or more – Prominent placement on shirt with logo & 10 free entries Gold - $500 – Logo on shirt & 5 free entries Silver - $200 – Logo on shirt Bronze - In Kind (Services or bag stuffers) – Listed on shirt The SPONSOR DEADLINE is APRIL 1ST. Make checks payable to Calallen Middle School and mail to the attention of Cortney Valdez. Please email your company logo in JPEG format to Ann Huddelston at ahuddelston@calallen.org RACE WEBSITE: http://catchmeifyoucan.itsyourrace.com/event.aspx?id=4816 Sponsors will be listed on the new APP. Make sure to download the free race app - "It's Your Race". In order to install it on either an iPhone or Android phone, you just need to search iTunes or the Android Market for "ITS YOUR RACE". Thank you for your continued support, 5K COMMITTEE MEMBERS Ann Huddelston – ahuddelston@calallen.org Ashley Jimenez – ajimenez@calallen.org Amanda Kirchoff – Amandak1120@yahoo.com Danielle Maldonado – dmaldonado@calallen.org Kate Sailor – ksailor@calallen.org Cortney Valdez – cvaldez@calallen.org Katie Yaklin – kyaklin@calallen.org |
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS Sister Milagros Tormo, M.J.M.J., President Freddie Martinez Sr., Vice President Rene Esquivel, Chairperson Sandra V. Allison, Secretary Josephine W. Miller, Treasurer Daniel Carlisle Luis A. Elizondo Sandra S. Hartensteiner-Worst Arthur S. Ramirez Jay Sanchez Margaret S. Villarreal THE ARK GALA 2014 Edelia Treviño, Chairperson |
Dear Friend: December 29, 2014 will mark 15 years since The Ark Assessment Center and Emergency Shelter for Youth received a license from the state to care for children and youth who are removed from their homes by Child Protective Services (CPS) due to abuse or neglect by a parent or guardian. That anniversary will be celebrated at The Ark Gala, which begins at 6 p.m. Thursday, September 18, 2014 at the Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds, 1213 Terry Shamsie Blvd., in Robstown. KIII TV-3 News Anchor Joe Gazin will be the master of ceremonies for the nonprofit 501(c)(3) agency’s 15th annual gala that consists of silent and live auctions, a dinner and a program featuring panelists sharing how their services impact the shelter’s residents. This year’s event will be dedicated to the Most Rev. Rene Henry Gracida, D.D., Bishop Emeritus of Corpus Christi − the only remaining member of the clergy that was instrumental in the organization’s formation. He was among the speakers at a press conference held to announce plans to create The Ark on Nov. 3, 1994 – nearly 20 years ago. < Could you be a table sponsor? Sponsorships are available at the following levels: The Ark ($15,000), Stork ($10,000), Dove ($5,000), Giraffe ($2,500) and Leopard ($1,000). All of them offer a table seating 10 with signage and recognition during the gala. In order to assure recognition of your generous contribution in our printed program at the event, we need your commitment or payment by July 18. After the gala, the sponsors will be thanked in our newsletter and on our website. Please contact us as soon as possible so we can reserve your table. (Individual seats cost $60 per person.) If you can’t attend the gala, you can mail a tax-deductible monetary gift to The Ark. Any amount you send will be appreciated. Tax-deductible donations for the auction are needed by Aug. 1. Auction donors will receive signage at the auction. The gala’s proceeds will be applied toward offering quality services that make a difference in the children’s lives at The Ark. It is the only licensed facility within an 80-mile radius that’s contracted by the Texas State Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to provide assessment services and emergency shelter for 37 minors, ages 0 through 17. We look forward to hearing from you. God bless you and your family. Sincerely, Delma Trejo Executive Director/Administrator Sister Milagros Tormo, M.J.M.J. Board President |
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Grandmother mainstay at Ark Assessment Center | |
by Juan Cardenas April 9, 2014 |
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If anyone knows about how rewarding volunteering can be, it’s Elenora O’Bryant. The grandmother of eight has served in that capacity at The Ark Assessment Center and Emergency Shelter for Youth for nearly 11 years. While generously giving of her time at The Ark, she comes in contact with a number of items that are there because of the community’s generosity. Four hours each Wednesday you can find her engaged in such tasks as folding clothes and storing them, packing a suitcase for a child who’s going to be discharged, feeding babies, changing diapers, watching children play in the gym and helping them with their baths or their homework. Sometimes, however, the focus is to “try to help them get along and manners,” said O’Bryant. Other times she needs to lift children to comfort them or to keep them from getting hurt. The shelter cares for children from newborn through 17-years-old who have been abused or neglected by a parent or guardian. “I really enjoy helping children with their homework,” she said. “More times than not, they’re receptive to me. Sometimes when they’re troubled, they don’t want to have anything to do with strangers. After I get acquainted with them a few times, they yell ‘hello,’ and they’ve got their arms wide open. It’s a blessing to me. I feel blessed each time I come out here.” A homemaker and mother for most of her life, she has four adult children and enjoys interacting with her eight grandsons. When her children began attending high school, she started substitute teaching. “I had a mother’s day out in my home two days a week,” said O’Bryant. That led to looking for an opportunity to further offer her services. “I just knew it was here,” she said of the shelter. “I asked the Lord to show me where I could be of help. A friend of mine and I were thinking, ‘Why don’t we go to The Ark and see what we could do here?’ We interviewed with Sister Milagros (Tormo), and I went through with the things I had to do to be a volunteer. I went ahead and started right away. I just feel like I’m helping these children.” O’Bryant became the shelter’s first volunteer on July 23, 2003. “She’s No. 1, and she’s still with us,” Sister Tormo said. O’Bryant said that when she began relating to the children, it was first a case of “sharing, then love. That’s so often it seems like they’re starving for.” One of her fondest memories as a volunteer for The Ark involved a high school student who was trying to make basketball shots. He asked her if she wanted to try to make a basket. “We took turns,” she said. “That was special to me that he interacted like that. He was at least 16-years-old. I’m not a sportsman. I’ve always enjoyed children. I’ve always enjoyed being around all ages and still do. I’m just thankful I can be out here.” O’Bryant, who turns 80 on Dec. 20, said she plans to continue volunteering, “as long as I’m healthy and able.” O’Bryant helps the children to brush their teeth using toothpaste and toothbrushes purchased with the $47,339 the agency received through the fifth Coastal Bend Day of Giving, a project managed by the Coastal Bend Community Foundation. In addition to other hygiene supplies like shampoo and soap, the giving campaign also paid for transportation expenses, the clothes and shoes the children wear, the food she feeds the babies, and the diaper rash ointment/skin protectant she frequently applies to the little ones, followed by a diaper change. “She’s been a very reliable volunteer,” Delma Trejo, the shelter’s executive director/administrator, said. “She’s been awesome in helping the kids. She’s very patient with the kids. She keeps up with everything.” Keeping up was not a problem for O'Bryant at last year’s inaugural “Catch Me If You Can” Calallen Middle School 5K Run/Walk, which benefited The Ark. She completed it in 41 minutes and 10 seconds–good enough to earn a medal for “Top Female Masters” in the 5K running category. O'Bryant plans to compete in the school’s upcoming 5K Run/Walk at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 12, 2014. |
The Ark Assessment Center and Emergency Shelter for Youth is pleased to be one of the nonprofit agencies that were selected to benefit from the Coastal Bend Day of Giving on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013.
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Give online that day, and your donation will double! |
Thanks to the generosity of South Texas foundations, 30 local organizations will be eligible to receive matching funds for financial gifts of at least $10 that are donated online via major credit/debit cards (VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover) at www.coastalbenddayofgiving.org during the fifth Coastal Bend Day of Giving.
Contributions will only be accepted at that website for 24 hours starting at midnight on Tuesday, Nov. 12 and ending at 11:59:59 p.m. the same day. Financial gifts to the Ark Assessment Center and Emergency Shelter for Youth or one of the other nonprofits that provide basic needs will be matched dollar for dollar up to $13,335 per agency.
All gifts made through the website are processed by a nonprofit service that facilitates online donations. A 3.95 percent credit card processing fee will be charged. Each donor will receive an email receipt for tax purposes.
On Tuesday, Nov. 12, your help will mean so much more. Every dollar benefiting abused and neglected children makes a difference. Ten dollars will provide a full day’s supply of diaper rash ointment/skin protectant to treat and prevent diaper rash, as well as to soothe the irritated skin of two newborn infants at the shelter (changed hourly). New arrivals usually bleed due to severe diaper rash.
To make your contribution on that day, log on to www.coastalbenddayofgiving.org − a dedicated website that will make giving a quick, easy and secure process. If you don’t have a computer, one will be available at the shelter to facilitate your donation. Please visit www.coastalbenddayofgiving.org for more information.
The Ark: (361) 241-6566
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1st ANNUAL "CATCH ME IF YOU CAN" _________________ Calallen Middle School will be holding its first annual 5k Run/Walk. All proceeds will benefit The Ark. |
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Date: Saturday, April 13th, 2013 Time:7:30 a.m. |
Location:Calallen Middle School Distance:5k Run/Walk |
Calallen Middle School
4602 Cornett Drive Corpus Christi, TX 78410
361-242-5672
Fax to 361-242-5680
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![]() | Give online that day, and your donation will double! |
The Ark Assessment Center and Emergency Shelter for Youth is pleased to be one of the nonprofit agencies that once again were selected to benefit from the Coastal Bend Day of Giving on Tuesday, November 15, 2011. |
![]() Give online Tuesday, November 15, and your donation will double! |
Thanks to the generosity of 13 local foundations, 22 organizations will be eligible to receive matching grants for financial gifts of at least $10 that are donated online via credit or debit cards (VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover) during the third Coastal Bend Day of Giving at www.coastalbenddayofgiving.org. |
Donations to The Ark or one of the other nonprofits that provide basic/core needs will be matched dollar for dollar up to $11,800 per organization. |
All gifts made through the Web site will be processed by JustGive.org, a service that accepts online donations. (A $2 tax-deductible charity fee that goes to JustGive.org will be charged per transaction.) Each donor will receive an e-mail receipt for tax purposes. |
Every dollar makes a difference. To make your contribution on Tuesday, November 15 at the dedicated Web site that will make giving a quick, easy and secure process, log on to: www.coastalbenddayofgiving.org. |
DEDICATED TO THE
MEMORY OF REV. MSGR.
ROBERT E. FREEMAN, P.A.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Sister Milagros Tormo, M.J.M.J.,
President
Freddie Martinez Sr.,
Vice President
Rene Esquivel,
Chairperson
Sandra V. Allison,
Secretary
Josephine W. Miller,
Treasurer
Luis A. Elizondo
Sandra S. Hartensteiner-Worst
Arthur S. Ramirez
Jay Sanchez
Margaret S. Villarreal
THE ARK GALA 2011
Jay Sanchez,
Chairperson
![]() for The Ark Gala 2011: Thursday, September 15 ![]() Joe Gazin: Master of Ceremonies ![]() Dave Pelzer: The Ark Gala 2011 keynote speaker |
June 2011
Dear Friend:
Although these are tough economic times, the community continues to show its generosity to The Ark Assessment Center and Emergency Shelter for Youth. We are grateful for your support because it helps us to do all that we can to make a difference in the lives of the children we serve.
The nonprofit 501(c)(3) agency cares for children and youth who are removed from their homes by Child Protective Services (CPS) due to abuse or neglect by a parent or guardian. It's the only licensed facility within an 80-mile radius that is contracted by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to provide assessment services and emergency shelter for 37 of these victims, ages 0 through 17.
The Ark Gala, consisting of silent and live auctions, a dinner and a program, is held annually to continue offering quality services to our children throughout the year. KIII TV-3 News Anchor Joe Gazin will be the master of ceremonies for the 12th annual gala that begins at 6 p.m. Thursday, September 15, 2011 at the Ortiz Center, 402 Harbor Drive, in Corpus Christi. The keynote speaker will be Dave Pelzer, the victim of one of the most extreme cases of child abuse in California's history and the author of seven inspirational books. His first book, "A Child Called 'It,'" has been on The New York Times Best Sellers List for more than six years. As an author, Pelzer is the first to have four No. 1 International Best Sellers and to have four books simultaneously on The New York Times Best Sellers List. Some have likened his wit to Robin Williams.
Could you be a table sponsor? Sponsorships are available at the following levels: The Ark ($15,000), Stork ($10,000), Dove ($5,000), Giraffe ($2,500) and Leopard ($1,000). All of them offer a table seating 10 with signage, as well as recognition during the gala. In order to assure recognition of your generous contribution in our printed program at the event, we need your commitment by September 6. After the fund raiser, the sponsors will be thanked in a write-up on our Web site. Please write to us as soon as possible so that we can reserve your table. (Individual tickets are $50 each.) If you can't attend the gala, you can mail a tax-deductible gift to The Ark. Any amount you send will be appreciated. Tax-deductible donations to the silent and live auctions are needed. Silent and live auction donors will receive signage at the auction.
For more information, please call (361) 241-6566. We look forward to hearing from you. God bless you and your family.
Sincerely,
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The Ark would like to thank everyone who made an online contribution to the agency during the Coastal Bend Day of Giving held November 16, 2010.