LTVRise
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Tarrant County expanded its offerings with the completion of the newly built facility at Rise Community Center.
The Board of Directors of LVTRise said on Tuesday that interim Executive Director Paige Charbonnet has been appointed to the role permanently.
The organization also welcomed three new board members and marked the occasion of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Tarrant County operating out of the newly built facility at Rise Community Center.
Charbonnet had also served the agency as a board member and board secretary.
“We are so fortunate to have Paige as our newly appointed executive director,” says LVTRise board President Ty Stimpson in a statement. “Thanks to her professionalism, dedication and leadership, the transition has been seamless. I have no doubt she is the right person at the right time to lead this organization into a new phase of hope and continued evolution for those we serve in this community.”
New board arrivals include Fort Worth Police Assistant Chief Julie Ann Swearingin, a 26-year veteran of the department; Tori White, vice president and associate market manager for Veritex Community Bank; and Felipe Gutierrez, vice president of development and engagement for One Safe Place.
As a member of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, White built a relationship with LVTRise as a volunteer at the Food Pantry and coordinated opportunities for other Fort Worth Veritex Bank employees to get involved at LVTRise.
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Felipe Gutierrez
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Tori White
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Julie Swearingin
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Paige Charbonnet
Previously, Gutierrez was with AT&T for almost 17 years where he served as a labor relations leader with the Communication Workers of America. Gutierrez serves on the city of Fort Worth Human Relations Commission and volunteers as a member of the FWPD Advisory Board.
“Our tide is slowly rising,” says Charbonnet. “We have a growing board, active programming, and new opportunities ahead, but there is still much to do for those who call LVT home. I want to thank those who came before me for their hard work and dedication, as well as those who continue to walk hand-in-hand with us to make a better way of life for the folks in this community.”
LVT began as a mobile community center providing social services and access to resources for area residents after a series of town hall meetings uncovered significant deficiencies and a lack of resources in this part of the community. In 2018, the Las Vegas Trail Revitalization Project became the registered nonprofit currently known as LVTRise, Inc.
In October 2020, Rise Community Center opened to the public providing a permanent home for the organization. In January 2021, the city of Fort Worth opened a branch of the public library system in the community center furthering the resources available.
In May 2022, the Fort Worth City Council approved a land lease agreement that paved the way for a Las Vegas Trail Child Development Campus to become a reality for the high need community. Child Care Associates will build and operate the new facility that will be built adjacent to the existing Rise Community Center. Construction is estimated to start in fall of 2022 and is projected to take 18 months to build and finish out an eight classroom, approximately 8,600 SF child development facility. An estimated 100 children and their families will be served through Head Start and Early Head Start.
The long-awaited opening and programming of the new Boys and Girls Clubs facility on-site at the Rise Community Center was an event worth celebrating.
The Boys and Girls Clubs began operating out of the newly built facility at Rise Community Center on June 13. It serves between 50-60 children per day, with programming focused on education, arts and crafts, and health and wellness.
This new space gives the Boys and Girls Clubs the capacity to serve four to five times more than it could just a month ago when it occupied a smaller location across the street.
"We are very excited to have this beautiful new club where youth can come and feel safe, encouraged, and where they can form new friendships,” says Daphne Barlow Stigliano, the CEO and president of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Tarrant County. “We know by elevating our space that we are also elevating the experiences of area children, which in turn elevates the entire community."