Newsletter

Volume 7, Issue 9

September 2025

Message from Mark Denzin

Texas Ramp Project Executive Director

Expansion and Momentum Through Teamwork 

As we move into the final quarter of the year, we are excited to share news of service expansion into Zavala County as well as the Beaumont and Lubbock areas. These new opportunities reflect both the growing need across Texas and the remarkable capacity of our organization to respond with unity and strength. 

A key part of this success is the collaboration and willingness of our regional coordinators, IT team, community engagement team and board members who have stepped up to help with on-boarding in these new areas. Their commitment ensures that our processes are consistent and that new regions are supported from day one. This spirit of teamwork not only strengthens our expansion efforts but also reinforces the unity that defines our mission. 

We are also seeing a groundswell of community support, fueled by the celebration of our 40th anniversary. This milestone has sparked renewed energy among partners, volunteers, and supporters across the state. It is encouraging to see how our shared history is inspiring fresh momentum as we look ahead. 

Together, we are building on four decades of service, expanding our reach, and creating lasting impact for more Texans in need. The positive momentum we are experiencing today is setting the stage for an even stronger future.

 Looking Ahead: A Roadmap to 2026

 As we chart the course toward 2026, our growth will be intentional and guided by three core priorities that will ensure both impact and sustainability:

1.     Strengthening the Volunteer Pipeline – Volunteers remain the heartbeat of our mission. Over the next two years, we will invest in training, recognition, and recruitment efforts to build a steady pipeline of new volunteers while supporting and retaining the dedicated crews who have carried us for decades.

2.     Expanding and Diversifying Funding – Sustained impact requires sustained resources. We will broaden our fundraising base by cultivating major gifts, strengthening relationships with foundations and corporate partners, and exploring innovative revenue opportunities that allow us to serve more people without overextending our capacity.

3.   Leveraging Technology for Service Delivery – Our referral and reporting systems are essential to ensuring timely, accurate, and efficient service. By enhancing our technology infrastructure, we can reduce administrative burdens, improve communication with regional coordinators, and provide real-time insights that help us plan smarter and respond faster.

 This calculated, focused approach will allow us to meet rising demand while preserving the quality and consistency that define our work. By 2026, we envision not only serving more Texans but also standing on an even stronger organizational foundation—one capable of carrying our mission well into the next 40 years.

With gratitude,

Mark

 New Collaboration in the Beaumont Area

Nehemiah’s Vision has agreed to serve as TRP’s builder of record in Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Newton, and Orange counties. Leveraging their existing infrastructure alongside TRP’s proven referral system will enable TRP to serve more clients efficiently and effectively in Southeast Texas. A formal memorandum of understanding has been executed to ensure all elements of this collaboration are clearly defined and TRP is fully protected. The Beaumont region has been on pause for TRP for the past two years.

Nehemiah’s Vision is a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring the physical and spiritual damage resulting from natural and unnatural disasters. Link to the website: nehemiahsvision.com

To read the full article about Katie Simpson, click here.

https://www.pointsoflight.org/awards/building-ramps-lifts-homebound-residents-to-freedom

Click here: Governor's Citation Official Recognition of our 40th Anniversary

She had just completed a ramp when the call came. San Antonio Central coordinator George Swarner had just sent out a second alert, looking for help at what had become an overwhelming job.

At that time Mary Jo Bolster was volunteering once a month on her church's build team. But they had just finished a ramp that she couldn't get out of her head. The grateful homeowner told her his wife had missed her last two chemo appointments because they couldn't get her out of the house.

“Instead of feeling happy about her ramp,” says Mary Jo, “I was just appalled. We're a big, wealthy country. No one should be so trapped in their house that they can't get to treatments.” So when George's second email came, she couldn't ignore it anymore.

That was in 2022, and Mary Jo basically retired (two years early) so she could go to work for the Texas Ramp Project. George trained her to survey, and she has been working essentially full-time ever since. In some months, the vast majority of ramps built are from her surveys.

Mary Jo’s first experience with TRP was in 2017, when she participated in a “God’s Work, Our Hands” ramp build with her church, Abiding Presence Lutheran. She was immediately hooked and began building monthly. Building was fun!

“We all have choices,” says Mary Jo. “I think one is to let your time ‘pass by,’ and another is to consciously spend it. I choose to spend mine on things I think make the world a better place. We who are able have to remember that the only fairness in this world is the fairness we create.”

Mary Jo holds degrees from UT-Austin and the University of Colorado. She spent 30 years teaching in public high schools and another eight in research and teaching at the university level, mainly physics. She and Dave have been married 30 years and have two grown sons. They have lived in San Antonio since 1998.

Mary Jo’s other activities include church executive council, Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas, Animal Defense League and Audubon surveyor. She formerly built with Habitat for Humanity.

Transitioning to the Ground When Decking with Planks

By Roy Harrington

As more teams across the state convert to plank decking instead of plywood, the most common questions have been about the very last module, i.e., the one that touches the ground, which has many names including inverted, starter, end, tail, landing…. In typical TRP fashion, there are multiple approaches to making the final transition to the ground.

While the focus of this article will be on using planks all the way to the ground, it is important to note that a traditional plywood inverted module can be installed on a ramp that is otherwise decked with planks, as shown in the pictures below. However, when using a plywood inverted module on a plank ramp, be sure to shift its header board up ¼” to keep the decking surface height the same as the deck boards. Note that one of the pictures shows the plywood painted with anti-skid paint, which is still important. The planked parts of the ramp do not require anti-skid paint.

Key Difference Between Plywood and Plank Decking

The 16” max, on-center spacing of the structure for 5/4” deck board planks applies to the inverted module just as it does for the rest of the ramp modules. This need for structure gets challenging close to the ground and requires either digging and burying it or cutting the structure down to a point when landing on a hard surface.

With the structure all the way to the ground, there is 1” remaining due to the deck board thickness. When landing on dirt, a little more digging is one way to smooth this final transition. When landing on a hard surface, this  can be managed using a table saw, band saw, a handheld power planer or a metal plate as shown in the pictures below.

Collaboration across regions helps all of us, so please feel free to contact your peers and/or send any corrections and suggestions or share the tools and processes used by your teams building ramps to texasramps.roy@gmail.com

Church Donations Soar

Churches are one of the main sources of financial support for the Texas Ramp Project. In the following list, 13 of the 29 grants and donations reported this month are from churches. Six of those were for Austin West and two each for San Antonio Northeast and Texarkana East. Several donate on a monthly basis, so over the year the amounts add up to substantial donations. Last year churches gave over $168,000 in support of our work. Through August 31 they had contributed another $140,400. Many of them give because their members are volunteers who love to build ramps for their neighbors.

Recent Grants and Donations

Grants and donations (excluding individuals and government reimbursements) received in the past month include the following:

• $30,000 for Houston from The Guild Shop of the Church of St. John the Divine.
• $25,000 for McAllen from Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation.
• $19,896 for Statewide from Lowe’s.
• $15,000 for Dallas from W.P. & Bulah Luse Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee.
• $8,800 for Austin Central from Chapelwood United Methodist Church.
• $5,000 for Harris, Montgomery, Smith and two East Texas counties from Austin Bank.
• $3,500 for Austin Central from Topfer Family Foundation.
• $2,776 for Texoma Cooke County from Pentex Energy Charitable Foundation.
• $2,076 for Waco South from Waco Habitat for Humanity.
• $1,550 for Dallas from Texas Instruments Foundation.
• $1,520 for Dallas from Community Council of Greater Dallas.
• $1,294 for Texarkana East from Ozark Mission Project Inc.
• $1,000 for Texarkana East from Linden First Baptist Church.
• $1,000 for Texarkana East from Proslab LLC.
• $1,000 for San Antonio Northeast from First United Methodist Church Seguin.
• $600 for San Antonio Northeast from St. Andrews Episcopal Church Seguin.
• $525 for Austin Central from Redeemer LWML Women in Mission.
• $500 for Austin West from Hostyn Parish, Holy Rosary Church La Grange.
• $500 for East Texas Marshall Panola County from New Destinations, Inc.
• $500 for Statewide from DAFgiving360, Anonymous Donor.
• $450 for Austin West from Hill Country Fellowship Burnet.
• $400 for Austin East from Hochheim Prairie Farm Mutual Insurance Association.
• $417 for Austin West from The Church at Horseshoe Bay.
• $300 for Waco South from Greater Horizons.
• $250 for Austin West from St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church La Grange.
• $250 for Austin West from Sts. Peter & Paul Parish Plum.
• $250 for Austin West from St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church La Grange.
• $100 for East Texas Tyler from Langen/Wink Bible Church.
• $25 for East Texas Jacksonville from St. Matthew United Methodist Church.

Note to Donors!

The Texas Ramp Project is eternally grateful for the many donations we receive every week from so many different sources. We could not build ramps without your support. Please note that if you would like your donation to be used for a specific geographic region, be sure to note it on your check or alternative form of payment. Donations that are received without a specific designation may be considered unrestricted and may be directed to the area of greatest need.

Ramp of the Month, Wood County

East Texas Emory Region

It started out to be a great day to build a ramp. Then the rain hit. The 10 volunteers at a home in Hawkins had to take cover under the canopies. They persevered, however, and when they finished there was a 22-foot ramp for Mr. Jason P., a 46-year-old client with multiple disabilities. When the rain finally stopped, the volunteers gathered for a group photo. Mr. P. was unable to join them because he was at therapy. His delight would be when he returned home and found how easy it is now to get to his door. The referral for this ramp came from CenterWell.

You are encouraged to use the TRP Media Consent, Waiver and Release form for your builds. To access the form, click here.

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.

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