Community Involvement
Strategic and creative communications can be a powerful vehicle for social change – whether it’s speaking out for those who have no voice, raising awareness about relevant issues or building communities of volunteers who make a difference. At Brooks & Associates, we enjoy lending our communications expertise to causes that matter to women, children and the disadvantaged in our area.
Big Brothers Big Sisters North Texas matches adult mentors with underserved boys and girls in the North Texas region. By matching “Bigs” to befriend, mentor and spend time with “Littles” who may not have positive adult role models in their lives, Big Brothers Big Sisters brings loving support and guidance to local children and joy and fulfillment to the adults who volunteer to be matched with them. Brooks & Associates founder Virginia Brooks has served for three years as a “Big Sister” to a 10-year-old boy in Sherman, TX, whose family has been shaken by divorce and economic struggles. The consistency of the friendship and time spent together has benefitted the young boy socially, academically and emotionally, to be sure. But the real payoff? Lots of laughs and fond memories for both the “Big” and the “Little” in this happy match.
There are times in everyone’s lives when help is needed. Problems arise and obstacles form that block our way. MasterKey Ministries was created and founded on the belief that for every locked door, there is a specific key that opens it. Serving North Texas and Southern Oklahoma from the Sherman, Texas, area, MasterKey Ministries believes that one of the greatest ways to make a difference in a community is to unlock doors of opportunity for every person. The organization’s vision is to unlock the community’s limitations and provide opportunities for success…adding one Key at a time! Brooks & Associates founder Virginia Brooks became part of the MasterKey vision after visiting one of the organization’s after school tutoring programs for Latino children struggling in school because of language barriers. The happy sounds of children of all ages reading aloud, conducting science experiments, and tackling math problems in both Spanish and English was a powerful incentive to offer the Christian-based non-profit organization a helping hand. Brooks & Associates will assist with fundraising, newsletters and social media for this worthy cause. MasterKey’s outreach to the area’s underserved community has expanded in a few short years to include summer learning loss prevention classes, ESL classes for adults, Spanish-language Bible studies, after-school character-building classes for children and the just added food bank program. It’s a joy to be part of founder Julie Rickey’s vision for unlocking opportunity for all people in the area.
Rebuilding Together Greater Dallas gave Brooks & Associates the opportunity to join their Kickoff to Rebuild Super Bowl-sanctioned project in the Arlington, TX, area in January 2011. Working with the national and local organizations, we helped tell the story of how this organization revitalized an entire neighborhood right in the shadow of Cowboy Stadium where Super Bowl XLV was played. Using Cowboy legend Tony Dorsett and heads of major sponsoring organizations including Atmos Energy, Allstate Insurance, Home Depot and others as spokespeople, the Brooks team invited camera crews and Metro reporters to the site and helped bring well-deserved visibility to this hard-working organization focused on neighborhood revitalization in the Greater Dallas area. Brooks & Associates continues to support RTGD by providing media and community relations expertise and support.