Big Thanks for a Big Check!

On Wednesday, December 16th, the Friends of Bubba/Bubba Moore Memorial Group presented Scotty's House with a check for $10,000! WOW!! We are so grateful for the group's continued support of our agency. The Bubba Moore Memorial Group was formed in dedication to William Fowler "Bubba" Moore, who died in 2004. The group donates to several local agencies and individuals in need.

Mays Student Groups Make the Grade!

This semester, Scotty's House had the wonderful opportunity to work with three amazing student groups from the Mays Business School at Texas A&M. The assignment for these groups was to work with a local agency to learn what services it provided to the community and develop programs and materials to aid the agency with public awareness and education.

One group focused on Violence in Video Games, another group developed a survey for our Multiple Disciplinary Teams, while another group created a presentation on the link between animal abuse and child abuse. All three groups wowed us with their work, and we are so thankful for the time, energy and talent these students gave to Scotty's House.

The students that developed the presentation detailing the link between animal abuse and child abuse also donated their time to help clean our playroom and rake the blanket of leaves that had covered our yard. In addition, they presented Scotty's House with a check for $1,000 from Hope Technology in Conroe, Texas. Hope Technology is a pet-friendly workplace that donated $250 for each of the four dogs that accompany their owners to work. It was such a thoughtful and unexpected surprise. Thank you!

Spreading the Holiday Cheer!

On Tuesday, November 24th, several jolly student elves from the Hammond-Oliver School for the Human Sciences paid us a visit to spread some holiday cheer! They put up our Christmas Tree and hung our decorations and even decorated all of our doors! Thank you!!

Get On Your Dancin' Boots...

And join us for the Boots & Bowties 2010 Valentine's Dinner and Dance on Saturday, February 13th! We'll have a yummy Texas-style steak dinner buffet followed by a concert and dance by none other than national country recording artist, and Texas' own, Zona Jones!

All the boot-scootin' festivities will begin at 6:00 pm at the Brazos County Expo Center on Leonard Road. Tickets are $50 per person, or you can reserve a table for 10 for $450. (Just remember to purchase your tickets in advance.) Dress is Cowboy Chic or City Slicker.

For more information, or to reserve your tickets, give us a call at 979.775.4695.

See ya there!!

Earth Art is Turning 18!

Come celebrate Earth Art's 18th Anniversary this Saturday, November 14th! The downtown business will donate 10% of the day's proceeds to Scotty's House! A free drawing will be held to win opening-day tickets to Sherwood Forest Faire. So, come check out Earth Art's unique jewelry and clothing and incredible art. Earth Art is located at 209 South Main Street in Bryan. See you there!

Earth Art, Downtown Bryan

"This Ain't Yer Granny's Christmas Market!"

Come out and join us on December 4th and 5th for the Honky Tonk Holidays Roadshow by Junk Gypsy at the Dixie Chicken, benefiting Scotty's House. For more information, click here.

Bless the Beasts & the Children

Join us for the "Bless the Beasts & the Children" Donation Drive-Thru on Saturday, December 12th from 8:00am to 5:00pm. It will be at the Village Foods parking lot, located at 1716 Briarcrest Drive in Bryan.

The event will benefit the following organizations:
*Scotty's House
*Brazos Feral Cat Allies
*God's Little Creatures
*Great Pyrenees Rescue
*Impact Animal Foundation

"Bless the Beasts & the Children" is sponsored by:
*Village Foods
*Copy Stop Print & Postal
*Brazos Natural Foods
*Village Cafe
Community Partners KAMU TV/FM, KBTX TV, KEOS FM

The event is hosted by Vision Voice Veg*N'z for the Brazos Valley

For more information about this event, as well as lists of needed items, please visit the Vision Voice Veg*N'z website.

Playground Flip

Time and the elements had really taken a toll on our agency's playground. Since most of the boards on the patio were loose and there were several dangerous nails sticking high up out of the wood, our child clients couldn't play on our playground for obvious safety reasons. But lucky for us, help was on the way....

On Saturday, September 26, 2009, members of the Petroleum Science and Engineering Philanthropy Committee from Texas A&M University graciously donated their time and talents to improve our playground and spruce up our house.

They bravely tackled the juice and cookies pantry, as well as the fridge! They also cleaned all of our windows and blinds, painted our doors, repaved our walkway, planted flowers, cleaned the toys in the playroom... and the list goes on. Whew! They were busy!

The group of over 30 volunteers did an amazing job and our clients are so happy with the new playground. Thank you to all the wonderful Volunteers! We appreciate your time, thoughtfulness and hard work.

Here are some photos from our "Playground Flip"...

A Truly Wonderful Surprise

Brazos County Sheriff Chris Kirk with Mr. James Stasny

As most of you know, Scotty’s House has been making quite a few headlines recently. From dealing with budget cuts to flooded, water soaked offices… it’s been quite an interesting couple of weeks around here!

But on Tuesday, October 27th, the generosity of one local couple restored our spirits and strengthened our commitment to the children and families we serve.
James and Addie Stasny wrote a personal check to Scotty’s House for $20,000. During an interview with a local news station, Mr. Stasny said "I've been blessed with success in my business. When we saw the story, we wanted to do something because we've always had a warm spot for children."
Words cannot describe how truly grateful we are to the Stasny’s for their donation. We are so very appreciative that citizens of the Brazos Valley recognize the importance of the work we do here at Scotty’s House. Thank you, James and Addie Stasny. You will always hold a warm spot in our hearts, too.

New Volunteer Opportunities

We have exciting new Volunteer Opportunities at Scotty's House! Whether you have a few hours a week to Volunteer, or a few hours a month, we have several options available for you to help make a difference in the lives of the children in our community.

Here are a few of our Volunteer Opportunities:

Family Care Coordinator
Family Care Coordinators (FCC’s) welcome clients and their non-offending family members to Scotty’s House. FCC’s appropriately interact with families to provide comfort and support while maintaining client confidentiality. FCC’s provide supervision for clients of Scotty’s House in a fun, child friendly playroom or playground setting. In addition, FCC’s also provide supervision for clients at counseling sessions, as well as play therapy support for our counselors. Orientation and training is required. FCC’s must be available during the week, usually between the hours of 9:00a.m. to 5:00p.m., however some after hours and weekend shifts may be available on an on-call basis.

Administrative Team
Administrative Team members are responsible for general office duties such as filing, copying, answering telephones and assisting visitors. Additional duties may apply, depending upon need. Orientation and training is required. Administrative Team members must be available during the week, usually between the hours of 9:00a.m. to 5:00p.m.

Scotty’s House Ambassadors
Scotty’s House Ambassadors are responsible for representing Scotty’s House at health fairs and various related events by distributing materials and answering questions about our services. Ambassadors also deliver presentations to various civic groups on behalf of Scotty’s House in order to educate and inform the community about our services. Orientation and training is required. Opportunities for Scotty’s House Ambassadors can be either during the week or on the weekends.

Special Event Volunteers
Responsibilities for Special Event Volunteers vary, depending upon the specific project. Projects may include, but are certainly not limited to: center wish list item drive, grounds improvement, decorating for seasons/holidays, community involvement (representing Scotty’s House at charity walks, candlelight vigils, etc.), and other events involving the center. Orientation is required. Participation as a Special Event Volunteer is on an as-needed basis. Volunteers interested in this opportunity can contact Scotty’s House to learn more about upcoming events and how to register.

Scotty’s House Care Committee
Care Committee Volunteers are responsible for providing breakfast, lunch or snacks (depending upon time of day) for meetings with local agencies that work with Scotty’s House. Care Committee Volunteers are responsible for purchasing and delivering meals for meetings, such as MDT, DEC and other meetings as they are scheduled. This opportunity is available to our Volunteers in the surrounding counties as well. Orientation is required. Care Committee Volunteers must be available during the week, usually between the hours of 8:00a.m. to 5:00p.m., however some after hours shifts may be available.

Additional Volunteer Opportunities
If there is something you enjoy doing, (for example photography, scrapbooking, painting, etc.), please consider donating your talents to Scotty’s House. We appreciate the time and unique skills of all our Volunteers, and we understand that not every person who is interested in volunteering for our agency has the time or ability to commit to weekday or weekend hours.
Furthermore, as Scotty’s House continues to expand its services to the community and grows to meet the demands of our clients, additional Volunteer Opportunities will become available. In the future, once we have relocated to our new facility, there may be a need for Volunteers to assist with activities such as art therapy or animal therapy programs. We will continue to update our opportunities for Volunteers, so be sure to stay in contact with us.

For more information about our Volunteer Program, please email me at scottyshouse@ymail.com or give me a call at 979.775.4695. I look forward to hearing from you!

~Melanie

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