Recent state budget cuts and a corresponding reduction in Medicaid reimbursement rates threaten to rob some disabled Texans of their very independence.
A grant from The Meadows Foundation will help Arlington-based Helping Restore Ability ensure that as few residents as possible have to go live in a nursing home.The Dallas charitable organization has awarded a $100,000 grant to the statewide agency, which provides personal attendant care to allow disabled people to live as self-sufficiently as possible.Most of the agency's income comes from program service revenue, according to its IRS Form 990 filings. Donations typically comprise less than 3 percent of the budget.In the 2011 fiscal year, which ended Aug. 31, the agency received $361,201 in gifts and grants out of $15,316,264 in revenue. The year before, it was $244,203 out of $14,820,945."With this grant, Helping Restore Ability can continue to help disabled individuals by helping them remain self-sufficient so they can continue to live in their homes, go to school and/or work and, most of all, maintain their independence and dignity," said CEO Vicki Niedermayer, borrowing heavily from the agency's vision statement.Last year, the agency said, its caregivers gave more than 1 million hours of assistance to clients.Helping Restore Ability was founded in 1977 as the Arlington Handicapped Association by Sam Provence, who had polio, and his friends. They believed that disabilities should not keep people from living independent, active lives.In 1999, the name was changed to Helping Restore Ability.The agency is not the only one in Arlington to receive recent grants.Arlington Life ShelterU.S. Rep. Joe Barton's foundation pledged $36,000 toward renovations at Arlington Life Shelter.The Joe Barton Family Foundation reviewed requests from organizations from across Texas. Its board chose the project because the Arlington shelter is the only one in Dallas-Fort Worth that requires clients to work.The $70,600 renovation project includes updating the check-in and food service areas as well as a family lounge, commercial-grade appliances and round dining room tables, the foundation said. It hoped to have raised the money by the end of the summer."With this partnership, we will encourage the homeless today that there is hope for a better life tomorrow," said Barton, honorary chairman of the foundation. The Ennis Republican's district includes parts of Arlington.Arlington Life Shelter Executive Director Becky Orander said the renovation will be beneficial with the influx of new families this year."With the increasing temperatures this summer, we have had 11 families, including 17 children come to the shelter from their cars and apartments," Orander said.A Wish with WingsA Wish with Wings recently received a $15,000 grant from The UPS Foundation, the charitable arm of UPS. The grant will be used to put 30 years of files into searchable electronic format.A Wish with Wings grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. The agency has served more than 1,170 Texas youths since its founding in 1982."After 30 years of wish-granting and maintaining paper files on every child we have ever served, the conversion to digital files will not only enhance our ability to track individual children and families but will alleviate file space needed for other applications," Executive Director Judy Youngs said.The Atlanta-based UPS Foundation said it distributed more than $45.3 million in grants worldwide in fiscal 2011.Patrick M. Walker,817-983-8080Twitter: @patrickmwalker1Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
