November 23, 2023
The New Braunfels Youth Collaborative will be using the Mill Street building to house its programs, returning the building to its original purpose of serving students. They have finished the schematic design phase of the building renovations and are looking toward construction.
Read more here.
Visit the NBYC website at thenbyc.com.
Verna Lee, executive advisor of People Against Violent Crime, initiated the Tree of Angels in Austin in 1991 to recognize that the holiday season can be a difficult time for victims and their families.
Since its inception, the Tree of Angels has become a tradition observed in many Texas communities.
The New Braunfels Police Department and the local criminal justice community invite families and friends of a victim of crime, along with the public, to participate in the inaugural Tree of Angels ceremony next month.
The ceremony will occur on Dec. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the McKenna Events Center, 801 W. San Antonio St. in New Braunfels.
Families and friends of a victim of crime are invited to bring an Angel ornament to place on a special tree and take part in the ceremony remembering lives touched by crime. A candle-lighting ceremony will also take place during the service.
Organizers for the ceremony, New Braunfels Police Department victim liaisons Priscilla Drozd and Lisa Sargent, said they plan to set up a table for those who wish to bring and display a photo of their loved one.
“Priscilla and I would like to invite members of the community whose lives have been impacted by the loss of a loved one, due to a violent crime, to come honor and celebrate their friends and family at the first Tree of Angels Ceremony in Comal County,” Sargent said.
Speakers and participants for the ceremony include Reghan Thibodeaux from the Guadalupe Valley Family Violence Shelter, Comal County Sheriff’s Office victim liaison Vanessa Paulini, Bishop Michael Franklin, New Braunfels Police Chief Keith Lane, District Attorney Jennifer Tharp and Comal County Sheriff Mark Reynolds.
No RSVP is required.
For more information about the service, contact the NBPD’s crime victim liaisons: Priscilla Drozd at 830-221-4576, email pdrozd@newbraunfels.gov or Lisa Sargent at 830-221-4574, email lsargent@newbraunfels.gov.
Our McKenna history began in 1953 with the opening of this community’s first hospital. The next 50 years brought change, expansion, and ultimately financial success and stability to the organization. In 2008, at the time of the sale of the hospital to the Christus San Rosa Health System, the board and staff of our newly formed foundation had little experience as a grant maker and knew there was much to learn. This realization shaped our early roles in the community as ones of convener, listener and partner.
From the beginning, we started asking a lot of questions and we maintain the same level of curiosity today. Which community needs are being met? Where are the gaps in resources? Do we have nonprofits operating with the capacity to meet those needs? Who needs to be part of our conversations? We engage community stakeholders- including nonprofit staff and board members, public leadership, school representatives, and faith-based providers- on a regular basis. While the education provided and ideas shared are successes in themselves, the planning and goal setting that come from these conversations provide an invaluable path to positive outcomes.
Our first formal community convening was around mental and behavioral health with the goals of identifying needs, gaps in services, and ultimately a list of funding priorities to improve the system of care. Beginning in October 2014 and culminating in February 2015, about 30 nonprofit agencies as well as city, county, and school officials created a community vision and goals:
We envision unfettered access to quality, community-based mental health services throughout Comal County for families, children, and adults. We expect that services will reflect evidence-based practices whenever possible. In order to accomplish this vision, we intend to work together in multiple ways to:
— Promote community education and prevention.
— Develop a comprehensive continuum of locally available services that address the needs of the community.
— Expand and improve access to services for the outlying communities.
Over the past decade, local mental and behavioral wellness opportunities have grown extensively due to dedicated and passionate service providers and their collaborative partnerships alongside investments by McKenna and other funders. The McKenna Foundation board has committed $6.5 million in mental and behavioral health funding over the past 10 years to help meet the needs of our neighbors. Highlights of that investment toward new mental health infrastructure in our community include:
— Creation of a Mobile Crisis Outreach Team that responds to mental crisis anywhere 24/7.
— Creation of Mental Advocacy Partners: mapcomal.org.
— The first nonprofit mental health clinic in Canyon Lake operated by Hill Country MHDD.
— Major building improvements for the New Braunfels 24 Club.
— Therapeutic counseling for students through Communities in Schools.
— Seeding the operation and new facility for RecoveryWerks! for teens and young adults with substance use disorder and their families.
— A new facility for River City Advocacy and Counseling Center.
We are proud to have been part of the good work of so many, whose enthusiasm set us on a journey toward mental wellness in the community.
Alice Jewell is the Chief Executive Officer for the McKenna Foundation whose mission is to advance the well-being of the New Braunfels community. She has been with the Foundation since its inception in 2008, and with the McKenna organization since 2006. Prior to this role, Alice served as the Foundation’s Executive Director, Director of McKenna Children’s Museum and Director of McKenna Events Center. She oversees all aspects of the grant development process, as well as the Foundation’s strategic planning and community collaborations. Alice received a BA in Communication from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Public Service and Administration from the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University.
The New Braunfels Food Bank, in collaboration with the McKenna Foundation, the Rotary Club of New Braunfels and St. John’s Episcopal Church, invite the public to celebrate Thanksgiving and partake in a holiday meal event.
The Food Bank and its partners will welcome families and individuals for the inaugural New Braunfels Family Gathering on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 1620 S. Seguin Ave., in New Braunfels.
The event features a delectable chef-prepared holiday meal to share this special occasion with the community, especially those who may be experiencing social isolation during a time when many reflect on gratitude.
“We are delighted to host this event and we hope to provide an excellent meal and experience to the entire community,” said Monica Borrego, the Food Bank’s executive director. “Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude and sharing and that is what we hope to bring to each person who joins us for our new tradition. We extend a big thank you to all the partners who are making this possible. We could not do this without their support.”
To secure a place at the table, take a moment to register at https://nbfoodbank.org/nbfamilygathering. Donors can also make monetary contributions to the event on the website.
In addition, Arlan’s Market, located at 559 W. San Antonio St. in New Braunfels, will offer customers an opportunity to donate $10 to the event to cover the cost of pies. Customers should let their cashier know they would like to add the donation to their total when checking out.
The Food Bank is also offering sponsorships for the event. For more information, visit https://lnkd.in/dVV9-WVP.
Nov. 6, 2023
People across the world may find they struggle with their mental health during times of global conflict. This does not affect only those in active combat — these are humanitarian crises, impacting an entire community or region and beyond. Read more here.
Oct. 26, 2023: The McKenna Foundation awarded $200,000 in grant funding to eight nonprofit organizations in Comal County in this year’s third and final round of grantmaking.
The Foundation awarded family relationship program grants to first-time recipients 1HOPE for Kids and Project 10:27 Inc.
1HOPE for Kids, a licensing foster and adoption agency, received funding for its Providing Hope and a Home for Kids in Crisis program, which offers a multifaceted approach to foster family assistance, recruiting, training and verifying families, as well as working alongside biological families to make necessary changes toward restoration. The agency also provides adoption services and partners with churches to establish and foster adoption ministries while developing support for foster families within their home churches.
Assisting Project 10:27 Inc. in its commitment to alleviating loneliness and social isolation experienced by senior adults, the Foundation granted funds for the agency’s planned expansion of engagement and outreach efforts with Comal County seniors, which includes its Caring Connections Card program and support of home and nursing home visits.
The Foundation also awarded grants to Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas, Bulverde Spring Branch Activity Center, CASA of Central Texas, Chosen Care Inc., Hope Hospice Foundation and New Braunfels Angels for its family relationship programs.
“The McKenna Foundation values families and funds programs that support all generations – kids, adults, and seniors,” said CEO Alice Jewell. “Ultimately, children thrive when their parents do. People’s needs change over time based on internal and external conditions, and Comal County is fortunate to have nonprofits with strong programs that meet needs for a lifetime.”
Foundation board members approved the grant requests during their October meeting.
McKenna’s family relationships portfolio is designed to fund nonprofit organizations providing skills and support to strengthen the family bond.
Funding areas for family relationship grants include youth development, parenting support, abuse/neglect prevention and recovery and senior services.
This year, the Foundation gifted nearly $2.1 million in grants to 42 nonprofit organizations in Comal County.
The Foundation accepts applications from verified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations serving New Braunfels and Comal County residents. In addition, the Foundation maintains a geographic limitation that requires grant funds to be used for residents in Comal County.
McKenna began making grants to community nonprofits in 2009 and has since awarded nearly $30 million in grants to nonprofit organizations serving New Braunfels and Comal County residents.
Contact McKenna’s grant team at 830-606-9500 or email grants@mckenna.org for more information. Visit the Foundation’s website at www.mckenna.org.
Oct 26, 2023
Over the past several weeks, New Braunfels has hosted groundbreaking ceremonies for numerous organizations, including Connections Individual and Family Services and the Spirit of Sharing (SOS) Food Bank.
Read more here.
The city of New Braunfels will soon begin a new program — the mobile integrated health (MIH) program to accommodate super-utilizers of the 911 system — those who call two or more times per month. During this year alone, over 1,300 calls were made by super-utilizers to 911.
Read more here.
Oct. 24, 2023:
This year marks 70 years of McKenna in the community; a milestone our namesake most likely never thought would include not only a hospital operation, but also supplementary medical support businesses, a grantmaking foundation, a children’s museum and an events center. The constant amongst each of these efforts, however, was the catalytic energy Howard McKenna first embodied that powered the creation of these service lines by, for, and alongside community partners.
The McKenna Foundation was established from the sale of McKenna Memorial Hospital to the CHRISTUS Santa Rosa System and since that time, the foundation has been inspired to act and invest by many other catalytic individuals and nonprofits. One of the first intentional investments began in 2009 when a local group of civic-minded individuals envisioned the New Braunfels Community Foundation (NBCF) and approached the McKenna Foundation for operational seed funding.
A community foundation offers individuals and families a professional and efficient way to leverage their charitable giving and maximize their impact on community need through donor-advised funds, field of interest funds, legacy giving, giving circles and scholarship funds. Donations to a community foundation are invested together which allows for a larger asset amount and, hopefully, higher returns on those investments.
The McKenna Foundation board of trustees saw great value in launching the NBCF for many reasons, the most compelling being that the growing community of New Braunfels needed another philanthropic institution that could cultivate more funds and donors to meet neighbors’ needs then, now and in the future.
The two foundations complement each other. McKenna as the perpetual, static asset invested in the stock market that would slowly grow over time, and the NBCF as a dynamic fund that constantly grows and will develop into a large endowment representing a broad cross-section of charitable donors’ interests and passions. These two organizations, alongside the United Way of Comal County, form a three-legged stool from which community nonprofits find resources and respite to support their work and the populations they serve.
Between 2012 and 2019, the McKenna Foundation invested $850,000 in seed and operational funding for NBCF. McKenna also assisted with grants to seven local nonprofit organizations to start their own endowment funds and seeded the creation of two field of interest funds: the Community Endowment for the Arts and the Comal Emergency Relief Fund. McKenna donates office space to the NBCF, and co-location of the two entities allows for constant communication and invaluable collaboration to benefit the nonprofit sector.
Almost 15 years after conversations about the NBCF began, the McKenna Foundation board and staff could not be prouder of their partner’s accomplishments and satisfied with almost a $1.5 million investment realized. To date, the NBCF endowment has grown to almost $14 million through 140 different funds, and their donors and board have provided another $14 million in grants to area nonprofit organizations as a result.
This community tool is available to all — including you. Whether you have a little or a lot to share, there is a vehicle the NBCF can provide to help you give back to the community that has given so much to us all. For more information about those opportunities, visit nbcommunityfoundation.org.
Alice Jewell is the Chief Executive Officer for the McKenna Foundation whose mission is to advance the well-being of the New Braunfels community. She has been with the Foundation since its inception in 2008, and with the McKenna organization since 2006. Prior to this role, Alice served as the Foundation’s Executive Director, Director of McKenna Children’s Museum and Director of McKenna Events Center. She oversees all aspects of the grant development process, as well as the Foundation’s strategic planning and community collaborations. Alice received a BA in Communication from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Public Service and Administration from the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University.
Oct. 18, 2023: The public is invited to attend the next New Braunfels IDEA Forum general meeting to hear about area mental health response efforts.
Good mental health is an integral part of a person’s overall well-being. It allows people to cope with challenges, connect with others and thrive. However, stigma and fear can prevent those in need from reaching out for help.
Recognizing the importance of community mental health services and supports, the October IDEA Forum general membership will explore the community’s mental health response efforts.
The meeting takes place on Oct. 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the New Braunfels Police Department headquarters at 3030 W. San Antonio St.
Speakers will include New Braunfels Police Chief Keith Lane, Officers Krifka and Cruz of NBPD’s Mental Health Unit, Maria Hoenigman with the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Greater San Antonio and Jennifer Nieto of Hill Country Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Centers.
Additionally, River City Advocacy, Connections and Mental Advocacy Partners – Comal County representatives will be on hand to answer any questions about their services.
Additional information on the IDEA Forum and future events can be found at www.nbideaforum.com.
About the IDEA Forum: The IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Awareness) Forum examines racial, economic, and social inequities in New Braunfels, while promoting citizen dialogue and cooperation, to develop solutions for a lasting understanding of all groups within the community. While the IDEA Forum was created in 2020, the group has already raised awareness within the New Braunfels Police Department. The group has made strong connections with the New Braunfels MLK Association, the local LULAC chapter and several religious organizations in the area. The IDEA Forum was initially convened through City of New Braunfels leadership and staff, but administration of the initiative was assumed by the McKenna Foundation to ensure the sustainability of the effort.
