$4,626 raised by 25 donors
31% complete
$15,000 Goal
Our vision at the Community Enrichment Center (CEC) is to break the cycle of poverty and family violence.
The mission of the Community Enrichment Center (CEC) is changing lives by restoring hope and sharing God’s love. For 35 years, the CEC has provided food and other basic necessities along with critical life change and spiritual growth through education, employment and financial coaching, a sense of community for senior adults, and affordable housing. While our services have grown to meet the changing needs of our community and the families we serve, the needs continue to increase.
The food pantry at the Community Enrichment Center serves as our gateway into CEC programs and services where participants can develop the skills required to escape poverty. We do this through CEC navigators who partner with our clients to identify their job training needs who will also engage them with county, state, and federal programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, Snap, WIC, as well as our own affordable housing program we operate for low and no-income individuals. A key component of this model is that our clients, once enrolled, can access our fresh food pantry on a weekly basis, receiving nutritious food valued more than $250 per weekly visit.
Additionally, the CEC collaborates with the Birdville ISD, Northeast Tarrant Chamber of Commerce, and more than 30 churches to focus on back-to-school and homeless student and literacy for elementary school children. Our work in this partnership is focused on breaking the cycle of generational poverty in our community by improving the reading level of all Birdville ISD elementary students and providing access to community resources and mainstream benefits. This effort is achieved by the Refresh Back-to-School event, tutoring, and involvement in World Reading Day.
Transforming lives by restoring hope.
CEC’s Food Pantry program is one of the largest food pantries in Tarrant County, providing free grocery assistance to any household with a gross income of 180% of poverty level or below. On a monthly basis we provide at least 800 households with 86 pounds of nutritious food per household. Across Tarrant County we serve 9,986 annually with approximately 1,061,916 pounds of food. Our number one goal this year is to meet the demands of our community members and have the ability to provide necessary food for all those in need while continuing to offer employment & financial coaching, GED classes and affordable housing for low-income & homeless families. With the rising cost of living, we are seeing record numbers of families coming into the food pantry. Your support will help us not only provide the basic need of food, but help them explore and take advantage of opportunities with the potential to change their lives and offer long term solutions to the barriers they face.
The CEC embraces the diversity of the communities it serves and advocates for inclusive and equitable opportunities to achieve and grow. We strive to foster a culture of belonging and empowerment among those we serve, staff, board, and supporters.
Organization name
Community Enrichment Center Inc
Causes
Economic/Financial Security/Poverty
Operating Budget
$3,000,000 - $9,999,999
Counties Served
Tarrant
BIPOC Serving
Black or African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic or Latinx, Other
Address
6250 NE LOOP 820