CIS Winter Newsletter

Communities In Schools of Houston is so grateful for our partners and friends who help extend our reach and the services we are able to provide to students in the schools.

Christ Church Cathedral provides Emergency Support to CIS Students

Christ Church Cathedral’s At-Risk Youth Fund provides emergency assistance to our students’ families, helping with everything from rent and utilities to paying for senior fees so CIS students can participate in senior proms, breakfasts, trips and pay for senior dues. A committed group of seven volunteers, who genuinely care about the students and how they are doing after they receive assistance, run the emergency fund. Their efforts and Christ Church Cathedral’s assistance make it a little bit easier on our CIS students when they are in need with nowhere else to turn. CIS provides students with what they need to be successful in school!

Last year CIS students received support from Christ Church Cathedral’s At-Risk Youth Fund in the amount of $87,984.81. We are so grateful for all of their support and so are our CIS students:

“Dear Christ Church Cathedral, Thank you for keeping the lights on in our apartment. My mom has had some health issues that kept her from work. Thanks to you, we don’t have to move and I get to stay at the same school.” - CIS Middle School Student

Houston Heights Women’s Club Hosts Halloween Celebration for CIS Students at Heights High School

studnets for web.jpg

CIS at Heights HS is beyond grateful for our partnership with the Houston Heights Woman's Club. Our fall kick-off event couldn’t have been more special. Everything was perfect and it was all due to the compassionate individuals that made it possible. The women from HHWC have hearts of gold! Our students were beyond excited and appreciative of the fall treats they received. One student said this made her day since she had to catch the metro in the morning and battle rain. Another student who is often truant due to home issues said that he only came to school because he knew the celebration was happening and he didn’t want to miss out. It was a very special moment to witness all the students’ faces gleaming with joy as I often see them distraught and in tears in my office. Thank you for being committed to our students and showering them with love and affection.

By Meghan Loera, L.M.S.W., CIS Student Support Specialist

Houston Food Bank

45563387_10156721986456465_4627885587095879680_o.jpg

The Houston Food Bank partners with CIS in multiple ways across multiple campuses to serve our students!

  • Mobile Pantry – the Food Bank brings its mobile unit onto school campuses, stocked with large bins of fresh produce, so student and families can shop for fruits and vegetables for free. We’ve already held 11 events on different school campuses this year!

  • Backpack Buddies - Nutritious, kid-friendly food is provided for the weekend for our at-risk CIS students in grades K-12 and summer meal program sites.

  • School Market - Alleviating child and teen hunger by providing food to students and their families at middle and high schools. Students’ families who qualify can shop for food at the school.

  • Nutrition Education - Classes in nutrition, food safety, meal preparation and budgeting taught in collaboration with CIS.

  • Alief Jump Start – Food program tailored specifically to CIS Alief ISD Schools.

  • Kids Café - Healthy meals served year-round along with nutrition and health education, to kids in after school and summer meal programs in several CIS schools.

Houston Furniture Bank Provides Students with Beds and Furniture

Houston Furniture Bank provides our students’ families with beds and furniture. Sometimes one of the barriers for a student doing well in school is not being able to get a good night’s sleep.

CIS identifies the families to receive furniture from among affected students in Houston-area school districts. The Houston Furniture Bank is providing furniture to 200 Houston-area families.

Thanks to the Furniture Bank’s support, CIS students will ensure that no child has to eat or sleep on the floor.

CIS Houston