Houston’s Helping Hands -- Nonprofits Pitch in Where They’re Needed
Helping each other is a well-established tradition in Houston, home to a wide array of hardworking, life-giving organizations. Whether it’s an arts community, a sprawling nature preserve or a program to feed the hungry or house those lacking shelter, numerous local charitable entities are well worth supporting financially or through volunteer work. Here are quick introductions to a variety of them:
Just like his famous great-grandmother Lucille B. Smith, Chris Williams, co-founder and executive chef of Lucille’s restaurant, always rises to the challenge of helping the community around him. That’s why when COVID- 19 cut off many senior-living communities in poor neighborhoods from their families, Williams saw an opportunity to step in.
“Lucille’s 1913 was born out of the pandemic, and our whole initiative is to help our elders who lived in these impoverished neighborhoods,” Williams said. “A lot of these places don’t even have kitchens.”
And while the newly founded charitable organization has received several donations since its inception in August 2020, much of the funding for the 71,000 meals the organization has prepared thus far has come directly from the restaurant’s own funds.
Williams and his team started feeding elders in the Sunnyside neighborhood and have since expanded to Acres Homes, preparing and delivering freshly cooked meals five days a week. The organization is also employing individuals from the neighborhoods they serve—many of whom have no restaurant experience—and is working on building community gardens in the neighborhoods, with help from the team at Lettuce Live.
“I’m a big believer in not only giving a man a fish, but also teaching him how to fish,” Williams said. “I want to see these areas thrive long after our work is done.”
Founded in 1974 in honor of ecologist and environmentalist Armand Yramategui, the Armand Bayou Nature Center (ABNC) includes 2,500 acres of preserved land near NASA. The sprawling land is home to over 370 species of wildlife, including the brown pelican, American alligator, bald eagle and North American river otter.
According to Executive Director Tim Pylate, the center is a confluence of three rapidly disappearing ecosystems representative of the Upper Gulf Coast: the bayou and its accompanying marshes, the riparian forest lines and Texas coastal tallgrass prairie. “You can learn about the polar ice caps and the rainforest in a textbook, but you have a living museum and ecosystem right here you can see firsthand,” he said.
In addition to hosting activities like kayak tours, pontoon boat rides and night hikes, the center also features ongoing eco programs for children of all ages, which highlight topics like bats, coyotes, trees, flowers, mud, bison and camouflage.
“If you start teaching a child early about their local ecology they’ll grow up understanding the importance of keeping this land protected,” he said. “That’s why we have so much education to offer for children.”
Though COVID-19 forced the organization to cancel its life-sustaining annual fundraiser, Party for the Planet, Pylate said ABNC managed to raise $78,000 through a virtual fundraiser—more than it nets at the in-person event. “We had some big donations, but we noticed a lot of people came together around us with small gifts like $25, $50 and $100.”
When COVID-19 forced Houston schools to pause in-person learning in 2020, Brighter Bites knew it had to change its distribution model. Instead of handing out eight weeks’ worth of 20-pound produce boxes to families of 48 local low-income schools, the organization decided to change to 16 bi-weekly boxes. The program is free of charge to those who participate.
“We used to do 24 schools in September and October and the other 24 schools in November and December,” said Mike Pomeroy, senior program director. “With COVID, we had to get these families all the help they need so they can have something sustainable and lasting during these tough times.”
Started by Lisa Helfman in 2012, Brighter Bites’ mission is to introduce fruits and vegetables into the lives of families in need, helping to prevent chronic illnesses that plague many low-income communities.
The organization also provides the families with easy-to-prepare recipes for the produce boxes, which include staples like apples, oranges, potatoes and carrots as well as less-familiar items like kohlrabi.
At the end of the program, Brighter Bites hopes the families can use the tools they’ve acquired to continue incorporating healthful meals into their lives.
“We want to empower them to use their limited funds beyond the program to make healthier choices,” he said. “We give them a risk-free trial to try something new that will promote lifelong health.”
Founded in 1993 by seven African-American artists and visionaries, Project Row Houses is a community-based, arts-forward organization in the Third Ward committed to preserving and celebrating African-American culture and heritage. While the nonprofit is often identified by its sheer footprint alone—five square blocks with 39 houses—it’s what goes on behind closed doors that makes the organization so influential.
Six of the homes are devoted to the Young Mothers Residential Program, a two-year program that aids young mothers by providing housing, counseling in a host of subjects, creative artistic outlets and emotional support while they get an education.
“A lot of the support we do is built around helping people get to the next phase of wherever they are in their process,” said Andrea Greer, interim development director. “’School’ is a very broad definition in our program, because it could be [college], trade school or a certification program for a profession. So if they’re in school, we want to help them get to graduation, or if they need a certificate for a particular career, we want to get them through that program.”
Among the more than 100 mothers who have participated in the program, there have been tremendous success stories. Some have gone on to earn doctorates and law degrees. Some have even become recognizable community leaders, such as Assata Richards, who ran for Houston City Council and now runs the Sankofa Research Institute.
“We believe in giving people the leg up they need to set about their own paths,” Greer said. “We feel that can make all the difference in the world.”
Each year, over the last four years, our readers and followers selected their nonprofit HEROES. Nominated and voted on by Houstonians, this a truly a community honor. Check out all the good work they are doing by visiting their websites.
2019 + 2017 Winner - PLANT IT FORWARD FARMS
2018 Winner - HOUSTON FOOD BANK
2016 Winner - URBAN HARVEST
