LTVRise website
LVTRise has received a $30,000 grant from the Fund to Advance Racial Equity at North Texas Community Foundation under the Supporting Community Leadership category. The grant will support hiring of staff to support the Parent Engagement Initiative in the Las Vegas Trail neighborhood and provide food and clothing donations to students.
“We are grateful for the generous support and partnership we have with North Texas Community Foundation and are proud to be a recipient of this grant,” said LVTRise Executive Director Paige Charbonnet in a statement. “We work hard to stretch every grant, donation and contribution we receive and look forward to witnessing the positive impact this has in the lives of those who call LVT home.”
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.
“The Fund to Advance Racial Equity provides grants to nonprofits working to build understanding and strengthen our community across racial lines,” said Lindy Calzada, community impact programs coordinator at North Texas Community Foundation. “The Fund’s grant committee, comprised of community leaders from diverse backgrounds, recognized the importance of LVT Rise’s Parent Engagement Initiative. A child’s education and the health of the school are improved when parents are engaged, and the staff supported by this grant will help more parents’ voices be heard in their child’s education.”
In spring of 2019, 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 late fall of 2022 and is projected to take 18 months to build and finish out an eight classroom, approximately 8,600-square-foot child development facility. An estimated 100 children and their families will be served through Head Start and Early Head Start.
Since its inception, LVTRise has dedicated its work to collaborating with community partners, empowering community members through training and case management and impacting the Las Vegas Trail community addressing education, improved quality housing and reducing neighborhood crime.