Oli Mohammed is the founder and executive director of The Houston Furniture Bank. You should visit their second hand store where you can buy furniture from major brands at unbeatable prices. It helps to fund their programs. 300,000 kids in the Houston area don’t have their own bend and countless are literally sleeping on the floor. The Houston Furniture Bank helps to bring a little comfort and dignity to their lives. After expanding into Montgomery County, they are now serving Fort Bend County and we talk about the inception of that program. They also operate a matters recycling business that donates thousands of brand new mattresses every year. It also employs ex-convicts. It’s a successful program giving men worthy of a second chance their crucial fist job out of prison. Go to www.HoustonFurnitureBank.org and check out their Adopt a Family program!

DeJuana Jernigan is the CEO of Arms Wide. They provide adoption, post adoption and fostering support to families in the Houston area. We discuss the long processes of adoption and foster care and the consequences to the children in the system. Open Arms helps to protect the children by supporting them and their family and that include partnering with other Organizations. We discuss post-Adoption and post-Permanency programs and the need for new foster families. They have a lot great resources online:www.armswide.org

Kenyetta McGowens is the Program Administrator for Civic Hearts and Marcus Brewer is their development director. Previously known as Change Happens, they help at-risk youth excel in school, stay out of jail and get into great jobs. They also help families deal with hardships like HIV treatment (and prevention) and connecting folks with mental health professionals. They have been successful at helping people break the cycle of homelessness. They placed over 5,800 youth in after-school and summer enrichment and prevention programs and you can help them reach even more by going to their website: www.civicheart.org. They need volunteers – especially males to mentor boys and young men.

Brian Carr is the chief advancement officer for Northwest Assistance Ministries. They currently have a record number of people in need of their services. Homelessness and hunger have become much bigger problems in the past few years. They help people with rent and mortgage assistance and offer learning and vocational training. They also serve over 900 meals a day to our elderly neighbors through their Meals on Wheels program. You can help them serve even more people by donating and volunteering: www.NAMonline.org

Kevin Hattery is the president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston. They are gearing up for the best summer camps available to Houstonians. Not only is it just $25 for the whole summer, it’s convenient because of all their locations and you’re free to drop in and out of the programs. Going to visit Grandma for a few weeks? Drop back into the program when you get back! We also discuss literacy & math and helping children to keep up with their learning during the summer lull. Their workforce readiness programs help older students obtain valuable on-the-job experiences. They’re one of the best Orgs in town to support: www.bgcgh.org

Dirk Van Tuerenhout is the Curator of Anthropology for the Houston Museum of Natural Science where they have re-opened the John P. McGovern Hall of The Americas. This ever-evolving exposition explores the history of all America’s people and we discuss how we know that they walked to the Artic over coastline which don’t exist anymore. We also talk about how much of our indigenous history is lost when languages aren’t passed down and how the museum is currently recording people to preserve their ancient cultures. It’s a growing collection of oral history. Go to www.HMNS.org to discover this exceptional museum.

Allison Rosen is the director of project Echo at the American Cancer Society. She is also a survivor of colorectal cancer and she is a member of the Colon Cancer Coalition and the Colorectal Cancer Alliance. She is spearheading Project Echo which collects evidence-based strategies to improve cancer outcomes. All their resources are available to free online and they will even help you connect to doctors and support groups, no matter where you are in the world. They advocate early detection and now, colonoscopies are available through insurance for people 45 and up. We discuss why the age was lowered from 50 and how Project Echo helps to raise awareness and therefore, helps to save lives. Go to www.Echo.cancer.org

Jacque Daughtry is the CEO of Literacy Now and we talk about how we are hopeful that great teachers and increasing awareness will solve the monumental problem of illiteracy in Houston. Only 3 out of 10 3rd grade students can read at their grade level. Those who are already behind (70%) are not likely to ever catch up and far more likely to end up as dropouts and convicted criminals. Literacy Now sends paid teachers into school to tutor kids and bring them up to speed and guess what? Their success rate is absolute. There’s nothing wrong with the kids, we have the great teachers we need but when it comes to literacy, our society is simply blind to the problem and you can help by donating and volunteering: www.literacynowhouston.org

Lisa Tynan is the marketing and special events specialist for Houston PetSet. They lobbied our state government to improve the lives of pets but changing the minimal legal requirements for care. We discuss what those changes are. They also organize “pet transports” to northern cities that have empty animals shelters, thereby giving Houston strays a new life with good families. Go to www.houstonpetset.org to watch some of their animal transport videos. They will fill you with joy! They also help organize reduced-cost pet adoptions, spay / neuter / microchipping clinics. All info is on their website.

Claudia Gee Vassar is the president & general counsel for Houston Botanic Garden. They opened during the pandemic and are still one of the best kept secrets in Houston. You can walk around the beautifully designed biomes of The Global Collection Garden. Discover 3 acres of themed tropical, subtropical, and arid zones where you can admire plants from around the world that flourish in Houston’s climate. They also have a cool downloadable (or printable) scavenger hunt. Go to: www.hbg.org They are currently showing Steve Tobin’s Intertwined: Exploring Nature’s Networks, a beautiful sculpture garden.