Dallas Bethlehem Center: Our Current Story

At the Dallas Bethlehem Center, the communities we serve are the heartbeat of our mission. By building relationships with our neighbors based on trust and a willingness to listen, we are following their lead to better meet their needs and make meaningful, lasting change in our communities.

“I may be the Executive Director of the Dallas Bethlehem Center,” says Dr. Fred Jones, “but the community is the true leader of DBC. We are dedicated to our mission because we are truly aligned with what our community needs. And right now, the need for DBC in the community has taken on a greater sense of urgency and value for our neighbors.”

In other words, simply because we listen, the Dallas Bethlehem Center is a truly unique organization. We pride ourselves on being completely present and attentive, which gives us the ability to adjust our regular programming or introduce innovative services through our network of community partnerships to meet specific needs in our community.

Because of these relationships, we are poised to become the change agents that our community needs. We are asking for your support as we work together to break the cycle of generational poverty and promote thriving communities.

EDUCATION

Every intentional approach to addressing generational poverty has to begin with facilitating families’ access to early childhood education.

The purpose of early childhood care and education is to help young children develop the essential skills that set the foundation for future academic success—skills like creativity, curiosity, and determination, to name just a few. Decades of research have shown that early childhood education programs that emphasize vocabulary building and reading readiness are important building blocks in preparing children for kindergarten.

To that end, we have partnered with ChildCareGroup to help our families access high-quality care and education for children ages 0-3. We are pleased to host the on-site ChildCareGroup Development Center, because, like us, ChildCareGroup has been serving the Dallas-area for decades.

“Dallas Bethlehem Center serves a community in need,” says Kristen Sloan, Early Childhood Center Manager. “Reliable and safe childcare is difficult for many of our neighbors to find. However, through our partnership, we have been able to create a one-stop shop for families in need.”

The Early Head Start Program, led by highly trained educators from ChildCareGroup, provides a safe, nurturing, and stable environment that fosters an early love of learning. The quality services address the physical and socio-emotional development needs of young children. Program benefits also include free health screenings and developmental assessments.

Because of our community partnerships, “families can bring their children to DBC to receive care through ChildCareGroup, and they can also pick up nutritious food on distribution days,” says Kristen. “Dallas Bethlehem Center is not just a hub, since they serve such a pivotal role in the community as a one-stop shop.”

MEALS

For many of the families we serve, Dallas Bethlehem Center is a vital point of access to receive enough healthy food to power their week. In 2021, we served over 12,000 individuals through our weekly drive-up food distribution program. With the help of a dedicated team of volunteers and staff, we distributed 400,000 pounds of food. Staple goods, along with proteins, come through our partnership with Crossroads. The Lovers Lane UMC Food Ministry provided 120 bags of fresh produce every week. As inflation continues to soar, these valuable partnerships are how we’re helping families become more food secure.

Every Friday, our neighbors are also invited to visit our facility to take a hot-from-the-oven casserole home to share as a meal with their families. Chef Stephanie Allen creates approximately 1,200 hearty casseroles annually, in addition to running her own business as a personal chef.

“The community that we serve at Dallas Bethlehem Center is within a food desert, which means that there is limited access to affordable and nutritious food,” says Chef Stephanie. “I have had the privilege to serve our neighbors for years, and I am grateful for the opportunity to do so. I truly enjoy preparing the casseroles each Friday, because I know how important it is for families to be able to share a healthy (and delicious!) meal at home together.”

COMMUNITY

We take great pride in serving our community and offering programs and services to help families overcome the heartbreaking cycle of generational poverty. At the Dallas Bethlehem Center, we are intentional, as well as strategic, in how we develop programs to meet the needs of our families. From facilitating access to early childhood care and education in partnership with ChildCareGroup, to creating a welcoming experience for households that are food insecure, we are promoting stronger families, better lives, and thriving communities.

When you make a gift of support to Dallas Bethlehem Center you are not only helping us continue our current programs, you are helping us grow our impact on the neighborhoods in our community—and helping us grow more vegetables to feed our neighbors.

Right now, we have several proposed 2022-2023 programs in the works as we fulfill our 75+ year commitment to our neighbors:

• A brand-new community garden with staff, supplies, and tools
• Brand new computers and an updated computer lab
• A copier/printer for community use, since printing services are limited in our community
• Afterschool and summer programs
• Family engagement events (i.e., Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.)

We believe that by serving families, we are assisting in transforming the community.  But we cannot do it without your support. We invite you to make a donation in any amount to help us reach our goal to help support our mission of serving children, women, and youth in the southern Dallas and Fair Park communities.