In this Issue
Nica is excited to begin planning its' annual Taste of Fort Worth event
.
Find out how you can help make sure every child has gifts under the tree at Christmas.
There’s never been a better time to volunteer at NICA, find out how you can help!
NICA’s Executive Director outlines the organizations goals for the holiday season.
NICA’s 50th Anniversary Celebration is just around the corner, help us plan something special
!
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Find out how your donations helped a young mother start a new life.
Unable to find a job, afford a home or feed her children Katie moved to Fort Worth in 2017 - hoping to find her way out of poverty. Katie had a simple plan, she was going to start by finding a job, and then she was going to get a car, and an apartment. After she had done those things, Katie was going to send for her children who she had left with her mother in Mississippi, and they were all going to be together, and live better lives than they had ever known.
Katie worked very hard to execute her plan, and she successfully moved out of unemployment, and into the ranks of the working poor. Katie was very proud when she was able to call her mother and make arrangements to have her children join her.
Katie’s situation is a familiar one, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in 2016, about 7.6 million people were among the “working poor”. The working poor are working people whose incomes fall below the poverty line due to lack of work hours and/or low wages. Because they are earning such low wages, the working poor face numerous obstacles that make it difficult for many of them to find and keep a job, or to save up money. NICA has a long history of helping the working poor, like Katie. From its inception in 1969, NICA has focused on meeting immediate needs, and finding and eliminating the root causes of poverty.
For Katie, her problems began with car repairs. Barely able to make her bills, Katie was derailed when her car would not start, and found herself needing the help of NICA. Unable to get back and forth to work, Katie risked losing her job, and the home she had worked so hard to build for her children.
When Katie found NICA through her church she was relieved that she had found the help she needed. Because Katie had no car, she received home delivered groceries from NICA, and because she was in danger of losing her job Katie was also provided with bus passes so she could get back and forth to work. Finally, Katie had just moved to the area so she was very grateful to receive school clothing for her children, and household goods for her new apartment.
“I'm very blessed to have found NICA when I did”, Katie said, ‘I like knowing there’s a place I can go where people care.”
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Taste of Fort Worth
On Saturday April 27
th
, 2019 NICA will host its 12
th
Annual Taste of Fort Worth. 2019 represents an exciting milestone for NICA, as the agency enjoys its 50th year of serving the Northside community. The Taste of Fort Worth will feature live music by The Hi Roller Band, the opportunity to participate in both a live and a silent auction, and tastings of local area cuisine. Taking place at River Ranch located in Fort Worth’s Historic Stockyards (500 NE 23
rd
Street), the event starts at 7PM, and is expected to wrap up by 10:30PM. Tickets cost $75 per person, or $140 per couple and free valet parking will be provided.
“The food and dancing were so much fun,” said Myrtis Ross, who previously attended the event, “and I love that just by coming and having a good time, you’re helping people.”
For the next several months, NICA will be seeking donors, attendees, sponsors, and people who wish to volunteer to help set up and break down the event. All proceeds from the event will be used to fund NICA. Sponsors can expect to receive recognition for their sponsorship.
If you are interested in sponsoring NICA's Taste of Forth Worth event, please e-mail
Tina Reese at marketing@NICAagency.org
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Christmas Distribution
The Christmas holiday season is a time of great joy for most, but it can be a difficult time for the children of the working poor. Some families may be forced to skip buying presents for their children. On October 2nd, NICA began sign ups for eligible families to receive Christmas toys and clothing for its annual Christmas Distribution Program. Each year NICA hopes to serve as many families as resources permit during the holiday season, and we want this year to be a year to remember!
We are hoping you can donate toys and clothes to NICA to help us bring Christmas Joy to as many needy families as possible throughout the holiday season.
If you are interested in donating toys, please e-mail Adam at SocialServices@NICAagency.com
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It’s a great time to volunteer with NICA!
NICA is seeking volunteers who are willing to commit 3 hours of their time once a week to help NICA serve the community. Because they commit to a regular shift, and because the need in the community is great – regular volunteers receive a high level of training and responsibility in the organization. For regular volunteers, NICA offers the following shifts:
Tuesday-Friday
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9AM to 12PM
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12PM to 3PM
During regular volunteer shifts, NICA offers the following roles:
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Food Pantry Assistant
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Office/Administrative Assistant
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Thrift Store Assistant
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Client Intake Assistant
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Driver
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Senior Handyman
NICA’s regular volunteers are viewed as a valued member of a team that excels at serving, and appreciates and cultivates leadership, therefore, the experience is challenging, enjoyable, and to some degree divine. If you have the availability to offer 3 hours of your time once a week, NICA needs you.
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Help NICA Celebrate its 50th year!
2019 will mark NICA’s 50th year
serving the Northside community, and we want to celebrate with our neighbors.
We are in the process of planning event(s) related to our anniversary. If you are interested in participating in our
50th Anniversary
event(s), we would love to have you! We are looking for folks to help plan event(s), and to help set up and break down, it’s a great opportunity to get involved in a project with your church or civic group!
We are also seeking sponsors to help us fund our 50th Anniversary Celebration.
If you or anyone you know would like to volunteer to help, or sponsor please call;
Tina Reese
817-626-1102
-or-email
Marketing@NICAagency.org
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A Letter From Our Director...
Dear Friend of NICA,
I wanted to take this opportunity to personally thank everyone who came through for the community by providing school supplies and funds to purchase shoes and clothing to distribute to the children of Northside. We featured Katie in our cover story, and I am proud to tell you that she was a client whose children received school clothes and supplies. I know Katie’s children are having a wonderful school year thanks to NICA’s donors.
Each season brings with it new challenges for the residents of Northside, especially those residents who struggle to meet their basic needs. Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner, the holiday season is meant to be a time of joy with family and friends, but for homebound seniors it can be a time of great loneliness, it is easy for the children of the poor to feel forgotten if there are no presents under the tree, and the homeless face the persistent threat of the bitter cold.
For these reasons, winter is a time when NICA needs the support of its donors the most. By standing with NICA in the fight against poverty, you are feeding hungry and home-bound seniors, you are providing presents at Christmas time, and a gift as simple as a gently used coat can stave off the deadly winter cold. Please join NICA in its fight against poverty once again this holiday season with your donations.
With Warm Holiday Wishes,
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Executive Director
Northside Inter-Community Agency
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Do you have a
heart to help?
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Give a Cash Gift
NICA can make your cash donation go a long way! Because NICA is a charity, we can often purchase goods and services at a generous discount, and as a non-profit, NICA never pays sales tax! This means that a cash donation to NICA can do more for the community than a donation of goods!
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Donate Food
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Donate Hygiene Items
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Donate Household Cleaners
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Donate Household Goods
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Donate Clothing
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Donate to Seasonal Programs
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NICA wishes to recognize the following donors who generously gave to the Back to School program:
- Children's Charities
- Colleyville United Methodist Church
- H.O.P.E
- River Oaks Christian Church
- Our Lady of Guadalupe Church
And finally... a special thanks to all the individual donors, and churches who regularly give to NICA. We couldn’t accomplish our mission in the community without you!
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— Would you like to help NICA this holiday season? —
Click Below to Donate...
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