When their crockpot broke, single dad Brandon lost one of the most important appliances in a single-parent’s kitchen. The crockpot was the best way for Brandon to provide nutritious meals for his family with their busy schedule. Our Workforce Manager Debbie heard about Brandon’s need for a way to prepare meals and nominated Brandon for our 50 Acts of Kindness Project, giving Brandon and his kids a brand new Crock Pot just in time to enjoy their favorite fall dinners.

Caryn, a single mother, shares a 2-bedroom apartment with her two children. Caryn, having health difficulties, needed to have one bedroom for herself and one for her older daughter. Her younger son Billy would have to sleep on the sofa. Our Financial Empowerment Manager, Victoria, nominated Caryn for the 50 Acts of Kindness project, surprising her and Billy with a sleeper sofa so that he could enjoy a better night’s rest.

Chris, the teen son of a single mother, has faced his share of hardship. Our Financial Empowerment Manager, Victoria, helped Chris to find Steven, a male mentor to be a positive influence on Chris’ life. To help them bond and just give Chris a fun night, Victoria nominated him for the 50 Acts of Kindness project. Chris and his mentor Steven enjoyed snacks and baseball at a Texas Rangers game.

Lidia, a single mom of 3 children, lost all of her small kitchen appliances when her kitchen sink flooded her apartment. Lidia didn’t have the funds to replace the tools she needed to feed her 3 children. Our Financial Empowerment Manager, Victoria, nominated Lidia for the 50 Acts of Kindness project. Metrocrest Services replaced those appliances, allowing Lidia and her family to enjoy home-cooked meals.

One of the most uniquely Texan experiences is enjoying all that Buc-ee’s has to offer. Eder shared that his family of 4 had never been to Buc-ee’s, and his 2nd grade son wanted to know what it was like, but Eder didn’t have room in his budget to allow his son to enjoy his first trip. Our Financial Empowerment Manager, Victoria, nominated Eder and his family for the 50 Acts of Kindness project, treating Eder’s family to Buc-ee’s for gas, t-shirts, snacks, and a car wash.

Lisa, a single mother, is supporting her adult son, Luis, as he faces kidney problems. Luis needed a kidney transplant but was struggling to gain 20 pounds to be eligible for a transplant. The doctor recommended specific milkshakes to help him do that safely, but they were out of Lisa’s budget. With Lisa under strict quarantine to protect her son, and with Luis unable to work, there was not a lot of room in their budget to make the purchase. Our Caseworker Coach Jay Villasana nominated Lisa and Luis for the 50 Acts of Kindness project, helping Luis to have the nourishment to be considered for this live-saving procedure.

After losing her spouse, Eleanor became a single mother of 5 children. With no job and no local support system, Eleanor turned to Metrocrest Services. In addition to helping Eleanor find the support she needed, Caseworker Coach, Veronica, nominated Eleanor for the 50 Acts of Kindness project, getting her a $100 Visa Gift Card to spend on herself and her family.

After her difficult bout with COVID-19, Melissa lost her ability to talk, walk, or leave her bed for long periods of time. Her husband Carlos is unable to work because he has to stay home as her caretaker, and her delicate condition requires ambulance transportation to go to certain doctor’s appointments. Our Caseworker Coach, Jay Villasana, nominated Melissa and Carlos for the 50 Acts of Kindness project. Metrocrest Services was able to fund both of the trips so she could get the treatment she needed.

Karen, a GED Student, had great attendance and was excelling in school. Her attendance started to suffer after her computer started shutting down at random intervals. Worried that she might be discouraged from completing her education, our Caseworker Coach Edwin nominated Karen for the 50 Acts of Kindness project. Karen was provided with a laptop that allowed her to log into her classes and continue toward earning her diploma.

Aaron had just received a job offer, when his engine light came on. Our Workforce Manager Debbie nominated Aaron for our 50 Acts of Kindness project, helping him to get the repairs he needed just in time to start his new job.

When Alma discovered she had a painful tooth infection, she used all her savings to cover her treatment, but she was only able to cover 90% of the cost. Carmen and Victoria here at Metrocrest Services nominated Alma for the 50 Acts of Kindness project, helping Alma to cover the last 10% of her bill, allowing her to focus on paying for other necessities.

Financial Coaching Client. Client has secured financing and saved a down payment to purchase a used car! Client says this is terrifying since it is her first big purchase since her divorce. She is proud that she is able to do this on her own. She credits Metrocrest Services (Karen, Iris, and Victoria) for coaching her for multiple years, helping her work on her credit, and building the confidence to take this next step.

After fleeing domestic violence, Nancy found herself homeless. She thought she would land on her feet, but COVID-19 hit and she suddenly found herself without a job. She came to Metrocrest and worked hard to get back on her feet. She managed to get not one, but two jobs. In a conversation with our Caseworker Coach Jay, Nancy talked about wanting to make some décor for her new apartment at one point in time and mentioned looking for some fence panels on her walk home from work so she could paint them. Jay knew that Nancy was struggling for essentials and nominated her for our 50 Acts of Kindness project. Nancy received an acrylic paint set and faux wood planks to enjoy decorating and earning a second income from her craft sales.

When Donna’s adult son was in a car accident that left him disabled, she didn’t hesitate to take care of him. With costs adding up, Donna took on a series of jobs through a gig website, but some of those gigs started or finished outside of regular public transportation hours. While working to help Donna find a more stable job situation, our Caseworker Coach Jay nominated Donna for our 50 Acts of Kindness project. Donna received a $150 Uber gift card to help her get to work on time and get home safely.

After Mihelle became so ill she couldn’t work anymore, her husband Carlos lost hours at work helping to care for her. When the A/C and heating stopped functioning in their car, Carlos didn’t have room in the budget to repair it. Our Caseworker Coach Jay nominated Carlos and Michelle for our 50 Acts of Kindness Project, allowing Carlos to drive comfortably in both the North Texas heat and cold.

“With the help of his Financial Empowerment Coach Victoria, Rafael learned that sometimes providing a great life for your family means reducing spending on entertainment in order to have money saved for emergencies. Rafael mentioned to our Financial Empowerment Manager Victoria that the family hadn’t been out to eat at a restaurant in over two years. Victoria nominated the Contreras family for the 50 Acts of Kindness project and surprised them with gift cards to Olive Garden. In addition, Reliant Energy gifted the family with tickets to the Dallas Zoo.”

“Ms. Jeffery, a Special Education teacher, put out a request for snacks and tissues for her classroom. Metrocrest Services Development Manager, Candace, saw her request and nominated her for the 50 Acts of Kindness project. A few days after sharing her request with the community, we surprised her with boxes of tissues and individually wrapped snack packs for her students.”

With 2 young children and a baby in the NICU, Meghan did not have much time to prepare the nursery for her new arrival. Our Caseworker Coach Gaby nominated Meghan for our 50 Acts of Kindness Project, providing Meghan with diapers and toys for her new baby helping to make the new baby’s homecoming for enjoyable for the entire family.

Clifton was having difficulty finding work, so he came to Metrocrest Services for help. Within a week of working with our Workforce Manager Debbie, Clifton found work but had no way to get there. Debbie nominated Clifton for our 50 Acts of Kindness, getting him a 30-day bus pass allowing him to arrive reliably at his new job.

Fiona is 74 years old and has difficulty getting around. She found herself unable to see her physical therapist for several months. Shalawn, our Case Manager for Senior Adults, nominated Fiona for our 50 Acts of Kindness project, giving Fiona funding to pay for transportation to her much needed physical therapy appointments for the next 6 months.

As a result of a hip injury, Dora was left in extreme pain that left her nearly immobile. Despite all this, Dora enrolled in ESL and GED classes, working hard to achieve her goals. Our Caseworker Coach Jay nominated Dora for our 50 Acts of Kindness project, giving Dora a walker to keep her mobile and helping her focus on getting her diploma.

Brenda is passionate about her small catering business. When a missed step during a food delivery resulted in a broken leg, she was not just unable to support herself, she was also not able to do something that brought her joy. Our Caseworker Coach Jay nominated Brenda for our 50 Acts of Kindness project, buying her a new set of cookware that she can look forward to using when she gets back to work.

Violeta, a single mother of 2 kids, is working hard to keep everything in balance, but things didn’t go as planned. Major engine trouble made her car undriveable, and she struggled to continue her studies because some of her college credits were not transferring from her former school in Honduras. Our Caseworker Coach Jay nominated Violeta for our 50 Acts of Kindness Project, giving her a $100 Visa gift card to help her through this difficult time.

Douglas has ALS and used to spend most of his time in a barely functional wheelchair. Knowing the difference a new wheelchair would make in Douglas’ life, his caseworker coach, Shalawn, asked if we could help through the 50 Acts of Kindness project. Thanks to Little Wishes (a WFAA program sponsored by Sam Pack Auto Group) and Metrocrest Services, Douglas received the funds he needed to purchase a fully functional whee chair helping him regain mobility and independence.

Lisa is supporting her adult son, Luis, while he is on the waitlist for a necessary surgery. Luis’ insurance previously covered his care, but his illness made him unable to work, and Lisa was running out of funds to cover the premiums. Our Caseworker Coach Jay nominated Lisa and Luis for the 50 Acts of Kindness project, helping Marie to cover a few more months of care as he awaits his procedure.