Helping students achieve success in and out of the classroom is the continued emphasis behind the Texas Trust Gives Foundation. The credit union foundation issued $50,000 to seven school districts supporting various initiatives to support students beyond the classroom.

Most of the community impact grants were issued for district-wide programs supporting economically disadvantaged students and their families.

First year recipient Cedar Hill ISD will use its grant to expand its Longhorn Care Closet, which it opened last school year to provide students in need with school uniforms, socks, backpacks, and general school supplies. The Texas Trust grant will allow the district to support a larger number of students unable to afford routine school expenses, giving them the necessary tools to succeed.

For Grand Prairie ISD, the Texas Trust community impact grant will help support its social work HUB, a community resource that offers a food pantry, clothes closet, hygiene products, as well as mental health resources and housing assistance for families of students.

A grant awarded to Athens ISD in Henderson County will help reduce the weekend hunger gap that hundreds of its students face. Every Friday throughout the school year eligible students will receive a backpack filled with nutritious, kid-friendly food to help ensure they have something healthy to eat until Monday when school meal programs resume.

Lewisville ISD’s grant will allow the district to provide low-income families with what they need to start the school year off successfully, including required vaccinations. With a significant percentage of students classified as low income, the Texas Trust grant allowed the district to help families with their initial back to school expenses; this enables them to use their limited income to cover other expenses.

Arlington ISD used its grant funding to provide backpacks and required grade-level school supplies for its economically disadvantaged students across all of its campuses. Because of the grant the district was able to equip students with the essential tools they needed to start the school year with confidence and help foster academic success.is year, the foundation awarded $75,000 in grants to seven school districts, including Athens Independent School District. 

Mansfield ISD used its funding to provide a new pair of school shoes to approximately 500 students in the district. By providing shoes to students the district demonstrated to the students that the community cares about their well-being. It also freed parents to budget their money for other family necessities.

This is the third year Lewisville ISD, Arlington ISD, and Mansfield ISD received Texas Trust community impact grants.

HEB ISD, another first-year community impact grant recipient, will use its funds to help cover uniform costs for the district’s new Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC). The NNDCC is a leadership development program that is shown to increase academic achievements among participants and lead to greater success and brighter futures following high school graduation.

“We are committed to helping support the students’ entire well-being,” said Washima Huq, Executive Director of the Texas Trust Gives Foundation. “Each of these districts serves a large percentage of students from economically challenged homes, and that creates hardship when it comes to the students’ ability to learn.”

“The programs our community impact grants fund will assist the students in building a brighter financial future.”

The Texas Trust Gives Foundation issues various grants three-times each year, along with annual scholarships for students pursuing technical, associates, undergraduate and graduate degrees.