Welcome to the Kleinert Foundation Weekly Reader! Each Monday, we deliver a variety of resources to help keep our community informed and engaged.
Articles, Blogs, & Reports
Dallas city, county and philanthropic leaders must come together to expand COVID-19 testing By: The Dallas Morning News, Nicole Small, Tom Luce and John Stephens
“We are at an important and pivotal moment in our fight against COVID-19. Despite the truly heroic efforts of public officials and health care workers, the disease continues to ravage our neighborhoods, throttle the economy, disrupt schools and overload hospitals. Cruelly, the impact has fallen disproportionately on our Hispanic and Black communities.What can be done? About a month ago, a broad coalition of civic, philanthropic and business leaders came together to try to find an answer. We believed the problem was bigger than any single sector could handle on its own, so we joined forces to look for ways to maximize the incredible resources Dallas has to offer in order to supplement the existing efforts of our public leaders.
Our shared mission was to ensure that citizens and leaders have the information that they need to set a path toward a new normal, one that allows businesses and schools to reopen safely, lets people get on with their lives with the appropriate precautions, and eases the strain on our overburdened hospitals.” Read more here.
Tech-Focused On the Road Garage Gets $3M Seed Funding From Perot Foundation to Rebuild More Than Cars By: Dallas Innovates Quincy Preston
“Michelle Corson is a car buff with a mission to help working families build prosperity. Her latest endeavor, On the Road Garage, which has received $3 million in seed funding from The Perot Foundation, fires on all the cylinders.
The tech-focused collision and repair center, which opened its first location in Irving, builds on the founder’s On the Road Companies, a family of nonprofits and social enterprises started by Corson that revolve around solving societal and transportation challenges.
On the Road Garage employs experienced master collision technicians, estimators, and painters. And it aims for fast, competitively priced collision repair services and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) repair for both individuals and insurance companies. But it’s much more than that.” Read more here.
Coffee shop La La Land, which employs former foster kids, is opening a second location in Dallas By: Dallas Morning News, Sarah Blaskovich
“So far, the company has worked with 10 former foster-care kids. The experience wasn’t successful for all of them, Reihani admits: “Three I absolutely failed,” he says. “I tried very different ways and we couldn’t do anything for them. I was very hopeful for helping every single youth. That was a huge shock for me.”
He says there’s no one-size-fits-all model for helping people who have changed schools and been traded among foster families for years.
“Nine out of 10 times, they say they need someone stable in their life,” Reihani says. “They say, ‘I need someone to care about me, to love me, to be there when I need them.‘” Reihani has some plans in place to offer mentoring and therapy but says he’s still working on a bigger “handbook” to expand the program. He plans to hire another five to 10 former foster-care workers in the coming months.” Read more here.
On Wayfair and Viral Conspiracy Theories About Sex Trafficking By: The National Center on Sexual Exploitation
“We know it’s difficult to completely alleviate the worry that many well-intentioned theorists are feeling regarding the claims about Wayfair’s alleged involvement with child sex trafficking because 1) there is not yet definitive evidence proving the allegations to be false beyond a shadow of a doubt and 2) there are places where children are sex trafficked online.
However—based on data, experience, and a review of the evidence available prior to the publishing of this piece—we believe that the accusations being leveled against Wayfair regarding sex trafficking are lacking credibility in significant ways and, in many places, demonstrably false.” Read more here.
The Road to Innovation Recent Episodes
“The Founder and Executive Director of Shepherd Inn, Victoria Shepherd, is our guest on this episode of The Road to Innovation. Shepherd Inn is a South Dallas based non-profit transforming the lives of at-risk youth through shelter, education, and stability.
Victoria shares her journey on how and why she had to take a leap of faith to open Shepherd Inn. She also shared the reality of what many young adults are experiencing in Dallas who need their services. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic rates of domestic violence, sexual abuse, neglect and homelessness amongst our Dallas youth are increasing at an alarming rate. Their goal in addressing these problems is to purchase 10-20 acres of land just south of Dallas County to provide job and life skills training, along with shelter and stability to young men, women their babies.” Listen here.
Upcoming Events
Expert Panel Discussion On Homelessness Hosted By Guudwear
July 28, 2020 | 6:00 pm
“We are looking forward to an engaging and informative discussion on the current state of homelessness from three of the foremost experts and leaders in the community. They will also discuss the challenges that are occurring due to COVID-19 and what might be the best solutions to overcome them.
Panelists include:
Cara Mendelsohn, Dallas City Councilwoman
Daniel Roby, CEO of Austin Street Center
Brenda Snitzer, Executive Director of The Stewpot, FPC Dallas
Hosted by Guudwear's Leon Jacobson” Learn more here.Aug 30, 9:00AM - Sep 03, 5:00PM
“The The DEC Network produces the sixth annual Dallas Startup Week, powered by Capital One. This 5-day event impacts and mobilizes over 10,000 North Texas entrepreneurs, startups, founders, corporate and social innovators, academia, and community change-makers.
The week includes over 100 sessions across 16 tracks, the Women of Innovation Summit, the Corporate Startup Innovation Summit, Disrupt Dallas, and the annual State of Entrepreneurship gathering.” Learn more here.Wed, Oct 28, 2020, 11:00 AM -Sat, Oct 31, 2020, 12:00 PM
“Building systems that are equitable for women and people of color expands prosperity for everyone. The opportunities for human-centered design, innovation and impact that will take us there are unprecedented. But even as there are growing reasons to hope, we must commit to reform through principles, policies, and practices that level the playing field and create opportunity. bigBANG! 2020 will lift up rightful disruption and its methods to dismantle injustice and intentionally rework and rebuild systems that provide equal opportunity for all people to participate with dignity in the economic life of our society.” Learn more here.
From Dallas Doing good
Q&A with Katie Edwards: Taking Care with the Mavs Foundation, By: Jan Osborn
“The Mavs Foundation is dedicated to building a stronger community by empowering youth, women, and families who need it most through financial support, advocacy and service. Each year the Mavs Foundation provides thousands of dollars in grants, basketball courts, reading and learning centers, and special projects to organizations throughout North Texas. We recently had the opportunity to visit with Katie Edwards, SVP External Affairs & President Mavs Foundation at Dallas Mavs, and she shares about the value she places on community, as well as the future of philanthropy in North Texas.” Read more here.
From The Liberty Line Newsletter
What does human trafficking look like? — Rhonelle Bruder, on her experience as a survivor of trafficking and rising to resilience By: Women in Our Town
“Rhonelle Bruder is a speaker, human rights advocate, and founder of Project iRISE (formerly the RISE initiative), a non-profit organization committed to educating and empowering at-risk youth and survivors of human trafficking. She is also a survivor of sex trafficking herself. Many years on from her harrowing experience, she has two post-secondary degrees and a successful career in Toronto’s healthcare system. She is raising a beautiful daughter and using her voice and experience to advocate for some of the most vulnerable people in our society. We connected over a socially-distanced coffee, so she could tell me her story. ” Read more here.
July Book of the Month
Be the Bridge,By: Latasha Morrison
“A leading advocate for racial reconciliation offers a clarion call for Christians to move toward relationship and deeper understanding in the midst of a divisive culture.
With racial tensions as high within the church as outside the church, it is time for Christians to become the leaders in the conversation on racial reconciliation.
This power-packed guide helps readers deepen their understanding of historical factors and present realities, equipping them to participate in the ongoing dialogue and to serve as catalysts for righteousness, justice, healing, transformation, and reconciliation.” Learn more here.
July Product of the Month
The Desk Refresh Kit (Limited Edition)
Everything in our gift sets are ethically produced, and each gift provides for an hour of business training around the world. This gift set was curated with Marie Mae and The Kleinert Foundation and includes:
a graphic tote by Tribe Alive made in a sustainable 100% up-cycled denim textile handmade in Guatemala;
an 8-oz. soy candle from Calyan Wax Co in Oakmoss and Amber;
a pair of stud earrings in blush from Worthy Co;
a jar of honey butter from Bonton Farms; and
an essential oil roll-on from Savhera to help you relax and refocus.
Click here to read the full impact report of the Desk Refresh Kit. To order, visit https://mariemae.com/shop/desk-refresh-kit
COVID-19 Resources
Please visit https://www.kleinertfdn.org/covid19. Our list is as complete to the best of our knowledge and we apologize in advance to those we missed. Please email Hannah Rabalais at hannah@kleinertfdn.org to let us know if you have any additional opportunities!