Trusted World Awards Time 

  It’s just eight weeks until the second annual Trusted World Awards breakfast presented by Atmos Energy. It celebrates network partners making a real and significant difference in North Texas. We’ll highlight one award winner each week from now until the event in Garland on May 4th. 

   This year’s Excellence in Collaboration Award goes to the Stewpot in Downtown Dallas. Established in 1975 by the First Presbyterian Church, The Stewpot offers a safe haven for homeless and at-risk individuals, providing resources for basic survival and opportunities to start a new life. 

   The Stewpot’s recognized for its collaboration with The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center. It operates the “Second Chance Cafe” and provides three meals daily to the Bridge clients, and does it every day of the year. Since the Stewpot provides the meals, Bridge case managers don’t have to worry about food; they can see more clients helping more people. It’s collaborative outreach efforts like this that make partners within the Trusted World Network more efficient, effective, and impactful. For these reasons, the Stewpot is the recipient of the Excellence in Collaboration Award.

   Seven awards will be presented at the 2nd annual Trusted World Awards breakfast, ranging from community service to innovation, collaboration, and corporate social responsibility. 

Spring Foreward and Make an Impact 

   The Trusted World Volunteer Challenge is off to a strong start this year. It’s a challenge to North Texas corporations to get their employees involved in making a difference by volunteering to sort clothing donations. The defending champion Texas Instruments is again at the top of the leaderboard but in second place, trailing State Farm by only ten volunteer hours. 

  Without volunteers, Trusted World could not provide quality resources on demand to its nearly 800 North Texas network partners. It’s not just corporations making a difference; individuals are too. Here’s a look at how one North Texas family’s paying it forward to help others less fortunate. 

    The Hudson Family says volunteering to sort shoes at Trusted World is an uplifting experience. And ensuring only the best quality items go into the distribution pipeline is gratifying and empowering. 

   Sarah Hudson says, “we’re thinking of like kids on their first day of school, like people who are going for a job interview who need that to make their first impression. We don’t want the shoes that we chose to make a bad impression on the person who’s using them.”

  Her brother Simon agrees, “I think my favorite part is that I get to help people in need. I like helping organizing. It’s a really good feeling.

  Sara says making it a family affair makes them feel like they’re part of something bigger. “volunteering as a family really helps keep you motivated during the time because, well, I love helping people, and I love serving in my community and all that, but then having other people doing it with you, it shows that more people want to help your community as well. Knowing that more people are involved, and more people are helping you, we’re all like working for a common goal to help those who may not have all the things that we have.”

   As for their mother, Sherrie, it’s a life lesson. One where you don’t have to walk in someone else’s shoes to realize you can make a difference in the world. “We make it fun, and I enjoy it as a parent to see them give back to the community.

Make a Difference

    If you’d like to help make a difference, you can go to   TrustedWorld.org and click on volunteer experiences and sign up. If you’d like to help make a difference another way, you can go to the same website, and under the ways to give link, you can click on the Amazon Wish List to find food and clothing items the Network needs. 

    For clothing donations, one of our key sponsors, the Credit Union of Texas, has donation dropoff bins in every one of their North Texas branches. Next to the bin is a banner with a QR code if you want to donate money.

    You’ll find a complete list of dropoff bin locations on the Trusted World website. 

   Stay tuned for more headlines from around the Trusted World Network, where you can join us in helping people help people.