Storieshttp://www.6stones.org/stories/en-US2012-02-11T10:27:12ZSquarespace Site Server v5.11.81 (http://www.squarespace.com/)Educate our Community - What is the score?http://www.6stones.org/stories/2012/2/7/educate-our-community-what-is-the-score.html6stones2012-02-07T19:39:21Z

As a sophomore in high school, I had the distinct privilege of playing in a varsity tournament early in the school year. The good news was I got to play….at a level I really wasn’t ready for. The bad news…I got to play…at a level I wasn’t ready for.

I remember running into my coach after the match and him asking me what the score was. We both knew I had lost. And, we may have both known the score, but I really didn’t want to discuss that, so I said, “I don’t know…I lost.” He quickly replied, “Sheppard, if you don’t know the score, you can’t win the match!”

That phrase was burned into my brain for eternity! Not because of the embarrassment or the insult of getting beaten so badly, but because it is a reality in life, and it’s the reality for our community!

The second direction for 6 Stones is to Educate our Community.

Now that is not to say that this organization, its staff or board know it all. Far from it! We have been on a huge learning curve for three years. We learned from the city of Euless that once we get off the main thoroughfares, there are challenges in some of our neighborhoods. Some of these neighborhoods have been changing for years, especially those that were built when the Mid-Cities began to incorporate and bustle with folks like Bell Helicopter and others moving industry and jobs into our community. With the downturn in our economy in recent years, the inability to maintain some of these homes has accelerated. Now, through our partnership with all three cities in HEB, the score is becoming a little clearer.

The most enlightening, and probably the most telling score, is what we have learned from our school district. Three weeks after 6 Stones was founded, we met with Mrs. Ellen Lobue and the team at the Family Support Services. In 2007-2008 approximately 47% of the kiddos enrolled in HEB ISD were enrolled in the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Today, that number is on the north end of 50% and rising at a projected rate that could be at 5-8% annually.   

This was shocking news. These are the younger families in our community. We are told they make up about one third of our community. So the score right now looks challenging at best! It doesn’t paint a very bright picture of our future as a community.

But, that is the beauty of that life lesson, if we know the score now…and we’ll admit it honestly and openly, there is time to change the score. To change the future for our community, for our neighborhoods, our schools, our families and our kids.  

We would like for you to see what the score is right now in some of areas of our community. The bad things or challenges we face, but also some of the good things that are going on.



We asked over 200 civic, school district, corporate and faith based leaders, "What is the score?” At our luncheon on January 20, they responded with what they saw as the 3-5 biggest issues facing our community. You will want to see their responses! I have had some of those same leaders already asking for the data.

You see, this community understands that if they know the score, they can make the adjustments to win the match! If we try to ignore it, the reality is the same, and it’s not going away. But, we’ve learned a secret that a few have known for a long time: if you will tell this community what the score really is, they will respond!  

The capacity of this community to work together, find solutions and bring resources is amazing and it’s probably never really been challenged to its full potential. (If the economy doesn’t turn…we may get the opportunity to see just how far it can go!) But, there is something special in HEB and Northeast Tarrant County. People seem to rise to the occasion, especially to meeting the needs of others and in the community.  

Our job - yours and mine - is to educate the community where we are. What is the score? Because the game is not over…and we’re here to win!  

We will talk about winning next!

 

Scott Sheppard

]]>Transform our Communityhttp://www.6stones.org/stories/2012/1/30/transform-our-community.html6stones2012-01-30T16:55:35ZThe Lunch & Learn on 1.20.12 was an assignment from a Strategic Planning Session. In late October and early November, the 6 Stones Board spent eighteen hours working together, then many more hours, refining and reviewing.
 
The work put into this not only helped the Board implement the new vision statement, but also helped to refine the mission statement and values statement. The core of the mission statement is still to build a coalition across this community to meet needs. Hence, the luncheon, to share with our partner and friends what we’ve learned and to dialogue about what our future might look like?
 
After Strategic Planning and reviewing our short but explosive history, the Board decided to focus on four Strategic Directions. Each Direction has many components and action items. The Lunch and Learn was to share those and to begin moving in those directions.
 
The first direction, Transform our Community.
 
Now this is not to say that things are bad, or negative, although there is plenty of negative or distressing news all around us, across our nation and around the world. But, the sense is that the transformation is more about dealing with where we are, not how bad it may or may not be. We all hear the phrase, the “new norm.” What is the new norm? We’re not sure if anyone knows what the new norm is, or will be? But, for our community, we are getting a glimpse of what that looks like. We’ll talk more about that in our next post, but who would have thought that our School District would now have the majority of its students on free or reduced lunch? Or, that we would even have to mention the words “homeless and student” in the same breath.
 
We also realize that when you do read the news, the “new norm” is all across the Globe.  Governments all over the world, Washington, and for us Austin, are trying to figure out what that is and how to address it. We pray for them and their leadership, it is a massive situation. But, we also believe, that we should be doing our part! Even in tough times, there has been so many good things happening in our community over the last three years… Maybe, just maybe, we can all work together in this collaboration and create a grass roots movement that not only helps our community, but those around us, or across the state, or maybe, across the nation. If we attack this thing from both ends top down, and bottom up, maybe we can not accept the new norm, but create what we want the new norm to be?
 
Maybe…we can be a catalyst of hope.
 
Please take a look at this letter that we received from your efforts with the Community Powered Revitalization Fall Blitz in October. I know it will bless you, as it has blessed us.
 
Before we move on to the next Direction, we would love to hear your thoughts, comments, or encouragement about what the “new norm” might be...if we together Transform our Community.

]]>6 Stones - a catalyst of hopehttp://www.6stones.org/stories/2012/1/23/6-stones-a-catalyst-of-hope.html6stones2012-01-23T22:26:05Z

6 Stones began with one statement, "What if?" It began a journey that has taken us a long way in only three short years. We pray that last Friday, 1-20-2012 was another watershed moment in the life of our community.
Three years ago, almost to the day, 6 Stones held its first Lunch & Learn. About 20 people met for lunch to explore the needs in our community. We discussed what we should try to tackle first and how to do it in the days ahead.
 
Friday, 1-20-2012, over 200 people met for lunch as 6 Stones asked, "What's next?"
 
Scott Sheppard, Executive Director of 6 Stones, took time to recognize leaders from our county, cities, school district, corporate partners and faith-based organizations for their work and collaboration in 2011.
 
Scott had the opportunity to share an overview from the 6 Stones Board's strategic plan for 2012/2013 as well as, begin a dialogue about the most pressing issues we face and need to address in the days ahead. The response was phenomenal! We will share more in the coming days about this event, the direction of 6 Stones and the information collected from our community leaders on that day. 
 
A key element of the day was a presentation of the new vision of 6 Stones that came out of the strategic planning session.
 
The vision of 6 Stones is to be the catalyst of hope that transforms lives, home and communities.
 
A vision statement is a picture of what the future will be like if the mission is executed properly. When your mission is to serve an ever evolving community, there may not be a perfect picture of the future. But, maybe there could be a picture of what the model, or in this case, the role model in the community might look like. 
 
We would like for you to take a look at this presentation from Friday, because there are a lot of examples, but none more fitting than the first recipient of the "6 Stones, Gary McKamie Catalyst of Hope Award." 
 

Thank you Gary for your immeasurable impact and dedication to this community.
 
Stay tuned! We will be sharing more about the luncheon over the next several days and what it truly means to be a catalyst of hope.
]]>the 6 Stones Christmas listhttp://www.6stones.org/stories/2011/12/23/the-6-stones-christmas-list.html6stones2011-12-24T02:36:00ZThank you to everyone who helped bring hope to others in our community.

In 2011, you fed 14,678 people through New Hope, gave 3,868 children school supplies, restored 58 homes, and gave the joy of Christmas to 3,029 children.

This Christmas season 6 Stones has identified a couple things that will allow us to help more people. Our wish list includes an industrial freezer/refrigertor unit in the warehouse and a pavilion for the community garden.

You can be a part of growing 6 Stones and helping our community by donating and spreading the word.

Stay tuned for updates on these exciting projects.

]]>Classic Chevrolet says, "It is finished."http://www.6stones.org/stories/2011/12/14/classic-chevrolet-says-it-is-finished.html6stones2011-12-14T18:58:53Z 

As the Night of Wonder parties approached, children were being adopted. With a couple hundred kiddos left, Santa arrived to deliver a special gift from Classic Chevrolet.

The Classic Continuous Improvement Committee voted to give $15,000 to 6 Stones.

The Classic "Continuous Improvement" Committee voted to donate $15,000 to 6 Stones. With this and other generous donors combined with the efforts of our community, all 3029 children have been adopted!

Danny Bowen, Sales Manager for Classic Pre-Owned explained, “We all participate in gathering donations for the Employee Charity Fund, but we also try to do even more just within the department.  So throughout the year, we take some of the money from our wholesale vehicles and earmark it for charity. At the end of this year, we had $15,000 in the fund.”  The employees presented the money to Susan Durant, wife of owner Tom Durant, to give to the charity of her choice. But Susan Durant had a better idea. “Over the past few years, it’s been a sheer pleasure to see how our employees have so fully embraced the spirit of giving back to our local community. Tom and I felt that the money that the Pre-Owned department raised be given to the charity of our employees’ choice.”
 
“Classic Chevrolet has supported us in many ways over the years, but this came as a complete surprise; I was flabbergasted. This incredibly generous donation comes just days before our Night of Wonder which makes Christmas possible for over 1200 families,” remarked Scott Sheppard. “Classic’s incredible donation will make this year’s event more special than we even imagined. We have so many people involved including chambers, businesses, churches and the cities themselves.  I can’t wait to tell them all that Santa showed up at the last minute and his name is Classic Chevrolet.”
 
Ken Thompson of The Thompson Group at Classic said, “we encourage our employees to push themselves to achieve not only our company goals, but their own personal goals as well. Giving back to the community has become incredibly important and fulfilling for the entire organization.”

]]>Night of Wonder Adoptions are now closed.http://www.6stones.org/stories/2011/12/9/night-of-wonder-adoptions-are-now-closed.html6stones2011-12-09T16:19:03ZAdoptions are now closed, but It's not too late to donate online.

Our elves will be shopping for the remaining children using donations from our generous sponsors such as Classic Chevrolet, Supply Depot, DFW Plastics, TXU Energy and numerous private donors.

Night of Wonder bag drop off:
Friday  10am-3pm
Saturday  9-11am (the PODS roll out Saturday)

Please pray for the parties that will be taking place over the next few days and the families impacted.]]>Free Skating Fun For the Whole Familyhttp://www.6stones.org/stories/2011/12/8/free-skating-fun-for-the-whole-family.html6stones2011-12-08T22:06:37ZNational Pairs Champions - Ashley Cain & Joshua Reagan

Dr Pepper StarCenter Euless presents Ice Fest 2011. You can enjoy seeing world class athletes and upcoming future talent. Then, ice skate with the cast.

2-3pm Public Skating for all
3:-3:30pm Skate with Santa
4-4:45pm Holiday Ice Show
(With 2 time US National Pair Champions Ashley Cain and Joshua Reagan. And, special guest Santa Claus)
4:45-5:45pm Skate with the Cast

Ice Fest 2011
Saturday, December 17
Dr Pepper Starcenter Euless
Free

]]>A gift of hopehttp://www.6stones.org/stories/2011/12/5/a-gift-of-hope.html6stones2011-12-06T02:16:08ZLet me tell you about Kim.

A couple of years ago, Kim was having a difficult time paying the bills. As Christmas approached, her three children were invited to participate in Night of Wonder. During the party she picked up black bags with gifts for her children...gifts she would give to her children.

Christmas morning, the children awoke with excitement and opened their gifts. Yes, there were new clothes and toys. But, those black bags contained smiles and laughter. Those black bags contained hope. Joy overflowed as she watched her kids cherish the gifts she could not have provided on her own.

As she sat thinking it couldn't be better, her children brought her a gift. A gift they had kept a secret since the Night of Wonder party. As she opened it, warm tears began to stream down her face.

Today, if you visit Kim's home, the first thing you will see is the small cross her children gave her that Christmas morning. The first thing she will tell you is about the year she found hope.

Our community has hundreds of moms like Kim - moms who have to choose between paying the electric bill or providing a Christmas gift for their child.

For as little as $35, you can help one of mothers of the 700 children remaining. A mother like Kim.

 

 
Check out nightofwonder.org for more details.

]]>-http://www.6stones.org/stories/2011/12/3/adopt-a-child-from-heb-or-donate-at.html6stones2011-12-03T22:09:19Z

Adopt a child from H.E.B. or donate at NightofWonder.org.

statistics from lab42, some graphics used.

]]>Why did Brad choose 6 Stones?http://www.6stones.org/stories/2011/11/30/why-did-brad-choose-6-stones.html6stones2011-11-30T21:21:34ZThis fall, a group from Bell Helicopter spent two days working with the 6 Stones staff. We walked them through our processes for each piece of what we do. These guys were logistics ninjas! They helped us refine the systems, become more efficient and even reorganized our food room and warehouse.

Brad Holloway (Sr. Sales and Marketing Specialist) was a part of that group.

"I had the opportunity to work with the 6 Stones staff through a recent corporate training program, and the team's passion and dedication inspired me to adopt for Night of Wonder. There are many organizations asking for assistance during the holiday season, so it can be difficult to chose one organization to donate limited financial resources to during these lean economic times. With 6 Stones, I can rest assured that my donation will make a positive impact in the life of a child in need."

 That's why Brad chose 6 Stones & Night of Wonder. If you've chosen 6 Stones, leave a comment and tell us why.

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