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Join us February 4^th for our first event of 2022 starting off during Black History Month - An Evening of Raised Awareness with entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author, Mel Jackson! This event is brought to you by the Denton County Friends of the Family Our Community Matters Program, an outreach program to the African American community of Denton County to increase awareness of services and access to resources. This is our fifth year to host this engaging event!

Help us kick-off Black History Month with raised awareness of the barriers faced by African-American victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Hear music performed by members of Lorrie’s Joy as well as a special message from our Keynote Speaker, Mel Jackson. All proceeds from this event go right into the Our Community Matters Program to support the African American community in Denton County with access to DCFOF resources.

Meet the Keynote Speaker!

Mel Jackson is a serial entrepreneur and philanthropist. She is the Founder of The M.E.L. Inc Foundation, Executive Director of The Josh Howard Foundation, and Co-Owner of Prime Time Hair. She holds a degree in Business Management with a minor in Accounting from Dallas Christian University. With a love for the youth and a desire to advance the communities around her, she began her philanthropic work in 2009. Large parts of her community involvement are the daily task of managing a successful after school/at-risk and summer feeding program, domestic violence advocacy, organizing community events, speaking engagements, and partnerships.

Mel will be speaking about her book, Blessings in Broken Places, which is an inspirational self-help workbook where author, Mel Jackson uses her real-life stories and experiences to share her testimony. In an effort to heal, inspire and transform, Mel openly exposes her life in order to overcome every setback and be a living display of God’s Grace and Mercy. Her hope is to give the world a first-hand experience of “my beauty for ashes”, letting every little girl/boy with a dream know that it’s possible to rise above it all. She wants every woman and man to know that there is nothing too hard for God, confirming for every believer that God is intentional in everything he does.

Limited seating available so get your tickets today for this FREE event or become a Sponsor and join us for the special VIP reception where you can meet Mel and get a signed copy of her book, Blessings in Broken Places.

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Event information:

Friday February 4^th 2022

Denton Campus Theatre

214 W. Hickory St

Denton, TX 76201

VIP 6:00 PM – 6:40 PM

6:50 Doors Open

7:00 PM Event begins

Become a Sponsor 

COVID PRE-CAUTIONS

DCFOF is requiring ALL guests to wear a mask while at the event.

DCFOF is also requiring proof of vaccination and a temperature check upon entry.

In the event that we must pivot to a virtual event, we will update all attendees via email and on Facebook.

Thanksgiving leftovers are picked over, Fall decorations are on their final discount sale, your favorite holiday movies and episodes are cued up and streaming. There’s no denying it. It is officially, undeniably, FINALLY, the Christmas season.

And what’s the best part of the holidays? Feeling like a kid again! The candy and sweets, the decorations and the carols, special time with family, and of course, presents!

As we get older, it sometimes feels like the magic of the season has slipped away from us. Only then do we realize it wasn’t really “magic” at all. It was the love and hard work of the adults in our lives that made our treasured memories of Christmas time.

Families impacted by domestic violence do not always get to enjoy the fruits of their love and hard-work at the holidays. Physical and emotional healing, legal and financial battles, as well as concerns for immediate safety can over shadow the magic of the season. That’s why each year at Denton County Friends of the Family we host our Adopt-a-Family Holiday Gift Drive. This annual event ensures that more than 650 children receive presents and a holiday feast to enjoy with their family.

The final countdown has begun and we still have 62 kids that need someone to help complete their wish lists!

There are several ways to get involved. If you would like to receive a wish list from a child, you can register to shop for up to 7 children by registering here. You can also sign up to host a toy drive or meal kit drive (note: all donations must be dropped off by Dec. 10^th).

Not much of a shopper? No problem! You can also donate to our Adopt-a-Family fund to ensure every child receives the items on their wish list.

If you have any questions or would like more information on how to make your donation, visit us at dcfof.org/adoptafamily or contact our Community Resource Coordinator at volunteer@dcfof.org

Friends of the Family asking for donations to feed 350 families for Thanksgiving

By Tony Howerton For the Denton Record-Chronicle

Denton County Friends of the Family again will be hosting its annual Thanksgiving Drive for the area, with plans to put together and donate meal kits for 350 families this year.

The nonprofit organization, which provides support and services to families and people impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault and rape, has been active for over 40 years. Friends of the Family started in 1980 with a single 900-square-foot shelter, two employees and a team of 32 volunteers and has grown to a team of 70 employees and over 600 yearly volunteers, with a 4,400-square-foot shelter. The organization has been running the annual Thanksgiving Drive for over 20 years.

Stephanie Honeycutt, the community resource director* for DCFTOF, notes that this is a particularly difficult time for clients.

“Maybe they rely on their significant others for financial support,” Honeycutt said. “Maybe the abuser took financial power over their spouse. We want to help them alleviate the financial burden of having to purchase groceries for Thanksgiving, and make sure the families are fed.”

The organization also encourages donors to bring items that can last past Thanksgiving.

“Our clients are normally already financially impacted, but they’re even more severely impacted now because of the pandemic,” Honeycutt said. “We’re relying on our amazing community to donate these items, and our biggest needs are the nonperishable food items and the gift cards.“

Friends of the Family asks volunteers to donate reusable grocery bags and assemble meal kits for the drive with nonperishable items. These items include boxed mashed potatoes, gravy packets, stuffing, cornbread mix, canned veggies, pie filling, pie crusts, rice, beans, mac and cheese, and peanut butter and jelly. Additionally, the organization asks volunteers and donors to donate $20 gift cards for local grocery stores to supply families with a turkey or a ham for Thanksgiving, as the organization does not have storage capacity for them.

The deadline to drop off items for the drive is Friday, Nov. 12, at 5 p.m. The address to deliver the items and finished kits is 4845 S. Interstate-35 E. in Corinth. Additional information and contact info can be found at the organization’s website at dcfof.org/thanksgiving.

To read the entire article visit Denton Record Chronicle

*Correction - Community Resource Coordinator

Our annual Thanksgiving drive is here and it is the perfect way to get into the giving spirit. You and your family, organization, or business can donate non-perishable food items for our Thanksgiving Meal Drive to a family in need. We are working to put together meals for 350+ families this year! 

The holidays can be a very difficult time for our clients, especially this year, as many families may be still feeling the effects of the pandemic, while simultaneously experiencing the impacts of domestic violence and sexual assault. It is important for us to not only be able to empower our clients so that they may have a memorable holiday with their family, but also to make sure that they have full bellies.

We’ve already begun collecting canned goods and non-perishable food items for Thanksgiving drive, as well as $20 gift cards and reusable shopping bags, but we need your help! Meal kits are assembled with the help of our amazing volunteers and include non-perishable food items such as:

• boxed mashed potatoes,
• gravy packets, stuffing,
• cornbread mix,
• canned veggies,
• pie filling,
• pie crusts, rice,
• beans,
• mac and cheese,
• and peanut butter and jelly.

Since we are unable to provide perishable items such as fresh veggies or a main-course protein, we collect $20 gift cards to allow the families a choice in the type of protein they provide for their families on Thanksgiving.

Join us as we make sure every family has food on their table this Thanksgiving by registering to donate at dcfof.org/thanksgiving or shop online and ship items to us directly through our Amazon Wishlist here.

Interested in volunteering? Visit us at dcfof.org/volunteer  

Back to School Drive

Summer may have just started for your kids, which means the next school year is far from your mind. But here at Denton County Friends of the Family we are half way through our annual Back to School Drive thanks to our community partners like you!  

Join us, as we work to fill over 300 backpacks with necessary school supplies so that our clients' kiddos have the tools they need for a successful 2021-2022 school year!  

Following last years’ success, we are again asking donors to pre-fill backpacks with supplies before drop-off on July 30th. This allows our staff and volunteers to dedicate more time to clients as they prepare for the new school year.  

Help us support children impacted by sexual and domestic violence by bringing donated items to our Outreach Office in Corinth or by dropping off at one of our community partners, Denton County Brewing Company off of McKinney in Denton. 

If you do not have time to shop in person, but would like to support the drive, you can donate monetarily and we will do the shopping for you! You can also order items from home online at Amazon and have them shipped directly to our office. We kindly request all donations to be made by Friday, July 30th to have ample amount of time to organize and pack the supplies for our clients.      

Thank you to all of our past and current donors for your dedication to education and our clients. We could not do this work without the amazing support of community members like you.  

For more information on donating or if you would like to volunteer, visit us at dcfof.org/backtoschool. 

  

Where can I sign up to donate?  

Fill A Backpack

Where can I shop on Amazon?  

AMAZON 

How can I give monetarily?   

DONATE

Where to I drop Off?  

Outreach Office  

4845 S. I-35 East | Corinth, TX 76210  

  

Denton County Brewing Company  

200 E. McKinney St. | Denton, TX 76201  

  

Donation Drop Off Deadline:  

Friday, July 30th by 5:00 PM (supplies will be handed out to clients the following week) 

Dads Who Give A D.A.M.N.

Like most identities, fatherhood is rich with complexity. There are SO many ways to be a father and SO many different types of people who are fathers, but there remains a core action that’s consistent across the multitudes: fostering safety.

However, in 2020 alone, 185 people (mostly women) were murdered by their intimate partners (KERA News, 2020). One in three women, and one in four men, have lived through either rape, physical violence, or stalking from an intimate partner. How do you create a sense of safety when these numbers are so high?
 

You show up.

Whether your child is a teenager navigating young love, or your child is an adult juggling school, work, and family, it’s imperative to be there. To listen and to ask questions. To build healthy relationships around you, that your child can use as a reference. And to spread awareness of intimate partner violence in your community.

This month at DCFOF, we’ve created a campaign that asks you to give a D.A.M.N. It’s the perfect way to show up for your loved one by Donating, Advocating, Mentoring, and Nurturing. You can contribute by donating individually or fundraising as a team with your local community. Your donation goes to ensuring that we can continue the fight to eradicate intimate partner violence, so you can go back to making dad jokes.

Thank you for giving a D.A.M.N.!

I Give A D.A.M.N.