Helping Hands at Houston Processing Center
Giving back to the children of Francis Elementary School
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Houston Processing Center employees in 2011 gather around Santa as they give back at Francis Elementary School.
For the last four years, CCA's Houston Processing Center has sponsored Francis Elementary School. Chosen because of its proximity to the facility, the school also meets employees' desire to help underserved children, as many of the students are at or below the poverty level.
Chaplain Michael C. Davis shepherded the partnership with the school. And now each year employees donate funds to the school. While all contributions are voluntary, employees do engage in a little friendly competition. For example, sometimes each shift card vies to see which will collect the most donations for the kids, and the winner is announced at the facility's annual holiday party.
"It is amazing to see the joy on the faces of the employees once they learned their shift card was the greatest contributor," says Warden Robert Lacy.
The funds are used to hold a pizza party for students and staff, and purchase school supplies and books.
Each year, Houston Processing Center sets a goal to see how much money it can collect to donate. One day, they hope the funds will help purchase much-needed playground equipment for the school.
As a result of Chaplain Davis' involvement with Francis Elementary School, he has been invited to join the Aldine Independent School District's Community outreach program.
December 17, 2012