TRP September 2023 Newsletter: Our most valuable resource is you and your dedication to serving.

Newsletter

Volume 5, Issue 9

September 2023

Our Best Resource: Our Volunteers

The Texas Ramp Project’s volunteers are the absolute best. They have been recruited by fellow volunteers who are passionate about our work, and they form the bedrock of our mission. They show their commitment every week, or every month, or even once a year, because they cannot live without the joy of knowing that a single morning of their time will change a person’s life.

Can we ask for more? Well, we can try. As volunteers, you can recruit others to share your love of this work. You can ask others to donate to our work. You can work through your church, your civic group, your business, your friends. Maybe your company will reimburse TRP for your hours at the site. Maybe they will pay for a ramp you have built. Maybe they will offer a larger donation in support of our work.

Finally, many of us budget for giving, especially toward the end of the year. Why not consider giving to an organization that you know and trust will make the best possible use of your gift and even keep it in your neighborhood? In addition, many companies will match donations for both employees and retirees. Check to see if your company is among them.

After all, where would TRP be without you, our precious volunteers? We, and those clients you serve by providing them with safe access, thank you.

Not a Ramp Builder. . .

But Love the Texas Ramp Project?

There are many ways to give of your time. We have many, many administrative needs at both the regional and statewide levels. Here are just some of them:

Receive referrals and assign surveys
Enter report data in the database
Assist with other data entry
Manage purchasing
Manage warehouse/storage area
Prebuild modules
Take photos during ramp builds
Post photos and stories to social media
Contact TV and print media for local coverage
Write press releases
Staff booths for TRP at local/statewide conferences or events
Recruit volunteers
Write letters, grants and grant reports
Fundraise!

There are so many ways you can put your talents, skills and experience to work for the Texas Ramp Project. Any ways that you can serve help us bring ramps to people. And that’s what we are all about.

Link to the Valued Roles for a Healthy Region

Partnering with Zachry Construction Coporation in Houston

Many Thousand Thanks to Zachry Construction Corporation and our TRP volunteers.

Saturday, September 16, was a special day in Houston when Zachry Construction Corporation partnered with teams from Christ Memorial Lutheran Church to build four ramps in a single day. There were 10 Zachry volunteers and several TRP team members on each build. This event was so successful that there are plans to nurture this relationship and make it grow.

Time for a group shot after a a job well done

TRP team leaders Steve Volkers (left) and Chris Waller (right) are rejoicing over some of the tools donated by Zachry and their suppliers.

Volunteer of the Month:

Scott Badger

San Antonio Central

Some people you can just bank on. One of them would be Scott Badger, a former banker turned fundraiser for the San Antonio region.

Scott grew up in a career Air Force family, moving nearly every other year before landing in San Antonio. After earning a mathematics degree from the University of Houston, he spent 45 years in the banking industry in Houston and San Antonio. He retired in 2015 from Wells Fargo Bank’s Wealth Management Group. He has come full circle as he is now asking foundations to fund our work in the San Antonio area.

Scott became acquainted with the Texas Ramp Project through Lou Wilson, a longtime builder and TRP advocate in San Antonio. Lou was actively involved in TRP and would occasionally recruit Scott for a weekend ramp build. Eventually Scott was driving Lou to and from work sites and participating in builds himself.

After about 10 years of volunteering, Scott was approached by area coordinator George Swarner, who needed a hand with some of his responsibilities. Scott offered to help fundraise, as that was a natural fit with his work experience “of chasing folks with the wherewithal to help others.” He recently obtained a promise of $25,000 over each of the next three years from the San Antonio Ara Foundation. He also turned around a $10,000 grant from H-E-B in just a week.

“There are many foundations and companies out there that are willing to help those in need,” Scott says. “The learning curve for me has been to find the right match with TRP’s vision. I’m getting the hang of fundraising in our region and beginning to build a base of folks whom we can rely upon.”

The challenge for the San Antonio region, as Scott sees it, is that the demand for ramps far exceeds capacity. Today the region is only able to address one out of three requests. It will take more build team leaders, volunteers and grant funds to meet the need. “So hopefully,” Scott says, “my efforts will lead to part of the solution.”

Scott loves to work with other volunteers and especially likes to meet the clients. “I go out of my way to introduce myself and learn a bit of their story,” he says. “Most have had a tough go of it or are just going through a rough patch. If we can make life a bit easier for them, it seems to me to be time and effort well spent.”

Scott and his wife, Donna, met in college and this year celebrated their 50^th anniversary. They travel annually with their daughter and son-in-law “to venues we would never pick on our own” and recently spent a couple weeks trekking about the Azores with them. He is also learning to be a junior landsman in order to help manage his stepmother's mineral interests, which have been passed down four generations. Otherwise it’s the Texas Ramp Project, and San Antonio is banking on Scott to keep the funding coming.

A little welcomed rain didn't slow down the TRP team in Limestone County in Waco South

The rain had stopped and the client was able to try out his new ramp.

Revised Forms

TRP has revised some of the basic forms you are currently using.

They are:

Ramp Completion Form

The Ramp Completion Report form has been updated to include where to send the completed form.

Combined Invoice and Donation Form

TRP has developed an Invoice form which can be used to receive personal reimbursement for approved expenses or to capture in-kind donations such as the cost of a ramp, a donation of lumber or other materials or mileage. For example, if a church pays for a ramp, those funds do not show up on the region’s costs or receipts. In an effort to capture the real costs of the program, we’ve asked that this form be used to list the real costs. A section has been added at the bottom of the form stating the requested reimbursement be considered a donation. An invoice for in-kind materials should be included with the form.

Media Release Form

We encourage use of this form to obtain the client’s permission to use their pictures in our publicity, whether that be to post on Facebook or provide to media. Should the client be a child, or if a child is in the picture, be sure to get a release signed by the parent or person responsible for the child.

To access fillable Word versions, click on the images below.

Ramp Completion Report

Combined Invoice & Donation Form

Media Release Form

Recent Grants and Donations

The McKenna Foundation of New Braunfels has awarded the Texas Ramp Project another $10,000 grant. The first $6,000 of that grant was received September 6. McKenna grants manager Morgan Migl called with the news of the grant’s approval on the very day she received our August newsletter announcing our 25,000^th ramp. Her first words were to congratulate us on this milestone!

Other grants and donations include the following:

$20,000 for Victoria North from M.G. & Lillie A. Johnson Foundation.
$10,000 for Statewide from Texas State Affordable Housing Corp.
$10,000 for Tarrant County from James & Dorothy Doss Foundation.
$10,000 for San Antonio Central from H-E-B.
$6,000 for San Antonio Northeast Comal County from McKenna Foundation.
$5,213 for East Texas Marshall from New Destinations Inc.
$5,000 for Abilene from Hendrick Health System.
$5,000 for Abilene Brown County from E.P. Woodruff Trust.
$5,000 for East Texas Marshall from First UMC Marshall.
$5,000 for Victoria North from Don Kaspar Foundation.
$5,000 for San Antonio Northwest from Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country.
$3,056 for Waco South from Waco Habitat for Humanity.
$2,400 for Dallas from Texas Instruments Inc.
$2,000 for Statewide from Toyota Insurance Management Solutions USA.
$1,700 for East Texas Longview from First UMC Hallsville.
$1,500 for San Antonio Central from Oak Hills Church.
$1,500 for Austin East from Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1127 in memory of Pappy Jackson.
$1,025 for Dallas and Statewide from King of Glory Lutheran Church.
$992 for San Antonio from San Antonio Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse.
$800 for East Texas Jacksonville from Lakeside Baptist Church.
$800 for East Texas Longview from ABC Auto Parts, Ltd.
$750 for Austin East from Colorado Valley Telephone Cooperative.
$500 for Austin Central from Redeemer LWML Women in Mission.
$500 for Austin East from Hostyn Parish.
$500 for East Texas Longview from Arc Motor Company.
$378 for Austin West from The Church at Horseshoe Bay.
$350 for San Antonio Northeast from Canyon Lake United Methodist Men.
$300 for East Texas Tyler from The Journey Class.
$250 for East Texas Longview from Kirby Midco, Inc.
$100 for East Texas Tyler from Langen/Wink Bible Class.
$100 for Austin East from Sts. Peter & Paul Parish, Plum.
$50 for East Texas Tyler from Green Acres Baptist Church.

Austin Ramp Project Receives $10,000 Grant

Randy Kerkman (center), Austin Central coordinator, receives a check for $10,000 from Eric Erickson at a presentation August 27 at St. David’s Episcopal Church. Also present are Rex Hunt (left) and Ray Trono (right), leaders of the St. David’s ramp build team. The three women are part of the Community Grants Committee.

The award was one of four $10,000 grants St. David’s awarded in 2023. Funding is provided by sales at The Next-to-New Shop, a consignment shop and outreach ministry of St. David’s.

Steven Ulrich, Wichita Falls

Interviewed during "Texoma Gives"

Link to the Full Interview

RAMP OF THE MONTH: Guadalupe County

San Antonio Northeast

Ms. L., 73, was still in the hospital when the nine-member team from First United Methodist Church Seguin came to build her ramp. Ms. L.’s son was so appreciative to have a ramp for his mother, he had provided a case of water for the volunteers. As seen in the photos, there was quite a bit of prep work needed to make ready for the ramp. The volunteers did it, and Ms. L. now has a 38-foot ramp, which was built with 30 hours of donated labor. A social worker from Conviva Care Solutions made the referral for this ramp.

We hope you enjoy having the newsletter sent to you directly, as it is filled with useful information, building hints and tips, data collection updates and processes, client stories, special announcements and recognitions.

The newsletter only does its job when it is dispersed and shared with all who might be interested. We encourage you to liberally pass it on to others in your region.

Also, do send email addresses of people in your region who should be receiving it, along with their name and TRP region, to Sandy Knutson at sjknutson@texasramps.org.

If you prefer to NOT receive the newsletter, you can unsubscribe by emailing sjknutson@texasramps.org and asking for your name to be removed or use the "Unsubscribe" link below.

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