Leaving Swiss Avenue
We’re moving! Thanks to the
generosity of several key supporters, we’re leaving our beloved Swiss Avenue
home—where we’ve been for the last decade, thanks to a lavish Meadows Foundation grant—and moving to our new administrative
headquarters in West Dallas. Our new address as of August 8, 2011, is 2060
Singleton Blvd., Ste. 103, Dallas, TX 75212.
For the last ten and a half
years, the Meadows Foundation has allowed us to house our administrative office
on the historic Swiss Avenue strip rent-free. This substantial investment has
seen our agency grow over five times its size, from six sites in 2000 to
thirty-three sites in 2011. We have loved our time on Swiss Avenue, and as
we’ve now outgrown our space there, we’re deeply grateful for all that the
Meadows Foundation has done to advance Avance-Dallas
so we can advance children.
Our new location is just on
the other side of the Trinity River from downtown Dallas, across the new
Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, designed by world-renowned designer Santiago
Calatrava. A team of incredible partners have made our
relocation possible, and we’ll have more details about them in the next
e-newsletter. For now the paint is still wet, and we’re getting ready to move
boxes this weekend!
On behalf of our board,
staff, and families, a hearty thank you to the Meadows Foundation for their
many years of support as we grow into our new home.
Nahum,
a Parent Radically Changed by Avance-Dallas
Nahum
was first referred to Avance-Dallas
because he was caught driving with alcohol while his children were in the car.
Today, Nahum is adored by his children because he’s a changed man.
Nahum,
a divorced father of four children (ranging in age from 4–19), came to Avance-Dallas in March 2009 through Avance-Dallas’s relationship with the Texas
Department of Family and Protective Services. He has continued on for a
second year in our Pleasant Grove program. He is always eager and
ready to come to Avance-Dallas
classes, and he participates in all the activities with enthusiasm.
Frequently, when Mr. Nahum
is talking about how he was before Avance-Dallas,
his face looks downcast. But when he talks in front to his class about how the
program has taught him to be a better father, to guide his children in
education and character, and to be a better and happy person, his face brightens
up with joy.
Nahum puts it this way:
“Before
these classes, I didn’t know how important it was to spend time with my
children. The reason why I never spent
time with them is because I spent my time after work drinking beers with my
friends. Now, I am spending more time with my children, talking with them,
helping them with homework, eating ice cream, going to the park together, “camping”
in a tent in my backyard, and more!
During
my time in Avance I have learned
that a father can give his children remarkable moments that can never be
replaced. I feel so happy, thanks to all I am learning in Avance, because I am now a different
person and better father. I understand that to have a better relationship with
my children, I need to share quality time with each one of them. Now my
children want to spend more time with me than ever before.
Nahum says that he loves Avance-Dallas and is so grateful for all
the time, dedication, and effort he has received. We’re proud of Naham for
making all the changes in his life and family that give his children a better
vision for the future.
Partner Profile: March of
Dimes
The
Texas Chapter – March of Dimes recently awarded Avance-Dallas an $8,000 grant to deliver
their Becoming a Mom/Comenzando bien® curriculum to the mothers in our program.
Becoming a Mom/Comenzando bien® is a culturally sensitive curriculum that
promotes healthy prenatal habits in pregnant moms.
March
of Dimes’ mission is to improve
the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant
mortality. They partner with Avance-Dallas
through their education wing to deliver the Becoming a Mom/Comenzando bien® curriculum,
which is specifically geared toward Hispanic women to support healthy
pregnancies, nurture healthy maternal behaviors, and empower participants to
become assertive, informed consumers of prenatal care services.
On
behalf of our moms and all the babies on the way in the coming year, a big
thank you to March of Dimes for investing in the lives of our children at Avance-Dallas.