Houston Endowment

3,360 people from 121 countries were sworn in as U.S. citizens during Houston’s largest-ever naturalization ceremony this week. Thanks to our dedicated partners who made this historic event happen: Harris County, National Partnership for New Americans, American Immigration Council, League of Women Voters of Houston, and USCIS. KPRC shares the full story – including how these new citizens will strengthen our community: https://lnkd.in/gAsYA8N2

Homelessness continues to decline in our region, with a 33% decrease in unsheltered homelessness since 2020, according to a point in time count by grantee Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County. But that progress is in peril as federal COVID dollars expire. Houston Endowment recently gave $15 million to the effort, but additional sources of public and private funding must be identified to keep this success story a success: https://lnkd.in/gB8ih8kw

We are pleased to share that Tabitha Rice will join Houston Endowment on July 22 as Vice President of Programs, driving our commitment to PreK-12 education, civic engagement, and arts and parks. She will serve as a member of the executive leadership team and oversee grant activities.   In her most recent role as Executive Vice President at Texas Children's Hospital, Tabitha led numerous visionary projects to transform and develop clinical, research, and support departments. She has a proven track record of more than 20 years of leadership in health care, throughout which she has been dedicated to best meeting the needs of the community.   We’re confident Tabitha will help drive Houston Endowment’s impact in the areas where we work; she holds deep experience in nonprofit leadership, strategy, and operations, and is known for being an authentic and collaborative leader. More: https://lnkd.in/gXg3CDCR

Houston’s housing-first approach to reduce homelessness has been viewed as a successful example nationwide and is now the subject of a new documentary. Axios shares details of Beyond the Bridge: A Solution to Homelessness:  https://lnkd.in/gJdDbGwq 📸: Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County

Our region’s children deserve great teachers, and the best teachers are well-prepared and highly qualified to lead the classroom. A new initiative from our grantee US PREP aims to help ease the path for community college students interested in education careers. Here’s how: https://lnkd.in/gEKcKauf

To create her work, Venessa Monokian photographs potato vine and after printing, cuts most of the photograph away and colors the shadow areas of the image in hot pink to act as a toxic visual marker. Thank you, Venessa, for adding your perspective to the 2024 Jones Art installation, Nature’s Imprints! More: https://lnkd.in/gwJVMZe8 📸: Nicki (Evans) Simpson

Six of Tiffany Heng-Hui Lee’s paper collages are part of the 2024 Jones Artist Awards installation, Nature’s Imprints. Her works depict the disappearance of salt fields, which ties perfectly to the show’s themes of time and memory. See her work: https://lnkd.in/gwJVMZe8 📸: Nicki (Evans) Simpson

In the works of Krista Leigh Steinke — a 2024 Jones Artist — images are captured in her backyard with pinhole cameras, then animated into a video loop. Imagery reflects passage of time, while reflecting on relationships between the Texas landscape and the greater universe. View Sun Notations, part of our latest installation, Nature’s Imprints: https://lnkd.in/gwJVMZe8 📸: Nicki (Evans) Simpson

Congrats to Christopher Blay for being one of our 2024 Jones Artist Award Winners! A visual artist and the chief curator of the HOUSTON MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE, Christopher shares cyanotypes from his series, Don’t let the sun go down on me, in our latest installation, Nature’s Imprints. See his work: https://lnkd.in/gwJVMZe8 📸: Nicki (Evans) Simpson

Houston’s work to reduce homelessness by more than 60% since 2011 has been widely viewed as a success – but there’s still work to be done. That’s why Mayor Whitmire, as part of a group of bipartisan mayors, travelled to Washington D.C. to seek additional support. Houston Chronicle shares their pitch: https://lnkd.in/gvTWydZY