July 8, 2022
Dear Conferences, Churches and Other Supporters,
Thank you for your support of JFON-NCTx in 2022. We are halfway through 2022 (where has the time gone?), and I am so proud of the work and ministry that our staff, Board of Directors, and volunteers are doing. As you may recall from our report at the end of the 2021, our goal was to launch a new program that specifically focuses on providing free legal services to unaccompanied immigrant children. In June, we launched our fundraising campaign to support this new program, Unaccompanied No More.
As part of our mid-year report, we are proud to announce that we have recently been selected as grant recipients of the 2022 Grant Cycle 2 for the Permanent Endowment Fund of Moody Methodist Church. This funding will specifically be used for our Unaccompanied No More program. We are so grateful to the Permanent Endowment Fund of Moody Memorial First United Methodist Church for their support of our legal ministry. JFON’s ministry continues to be a beacon of light and hope to the most vulnerable in our communities.
Also, we are thankful to the Central and North Texas Conferences for supporting and highlighting JFON’s ministries at their respective Annual Conferences in June. Our ministry is reflective of the support we have from both annual conferences, their churches and their members.
We thank God for providing us with the gifts and talents to serve those in need and for your generosity, efforts, and service in support of this ministry. Attached is an information sheet that provides examples of how your generosity helped our ministry serve immigrants in the North and Central Texas Conferences of The United Methodist Church and asylum seekers at the south Texas border thus far in 2022. We look forward to continuing serving our clients, communities, and The United Methodist Church in 2022.
Blessings,
Sid Earnheart
Executive Director
Summary of Ministry and Service in 2022 through June
Clients Served
- Our ministry and the number of clients we are able to serve continues to grow because of your support.
- In 2022, we’ve handled approximately 200 total cases so far, and we are expanding the legal services we offer to include representation of unaccompanied children
Funding/Diversification
- One of our goals that we will continue to work towards over the next several years is diversification of our sources for funding. Evidence of our organization working toward that goal includes the $30,000.00 grant we have been selected to receive from the Permanent Endowment Fund of Moody Memorial First United Methodist Church for their support of our legal ministry to serve unaccompanied children through the next 12 months.
Board Members
- In 2022, our JFON site has added two new board members so far, Beatriz Terrazas and Mariela Alvarado, who graciously agreed to serve on the JFON-NCTx board. Both are the daughters of braceros.
Increased Advocacy and Collaboration with Partners at Texas Border
- At the end of 2021, Elisa O’Callaghan held a Facebook fundraiser to support Ministerio Una Mision in Matamoros. The organization has a shelter in Matamoros that houses asylum seekers while they wait for their claims to be processed. The fundraiser allowed them to hire a part-time teacher in 2022, so the children in the shelter can continue their education while they wait.
Clinics/Service
In 2022, we are proud to say that all three of our clinics are now operating each month for the first time since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. We are so grateful to our partners at Grapevine UMC, Genesis UMC, and Arapaho UMC for working with us on hosting our clinics. While our lives may have been disrupted, our clients’ cases have proceeded forward and the need for immigration legal services continues to grow:
- We have designed and tested the way to conduct clinics under strict Covid-19 protocols
- In the absence of clinics and/or with limited clinics, the pandemic forced us to re-design how we meet and serve clients in a variety of ways, including the use of technology. We are determined to serve our clients in the ways that best meet their needs.
Advocacy Efforts
- Ana, our Legal Director, provided free consultations to participants at Community Fairs in collaboration with United Fort Worth
- We continue to offer Know Your Rights, “Mythbusters” and informational presentations about immigration at no cost to your church, community and/or group. If you would like to inquire about a presentation for your group, please email sid@jfondfw.org
Promotional Efforts/Visibility
- We were honored to be a featured ministry at the North Texas Annual Conference earlier this year, where Elisa and I were able to present about JFON’s ministry to the entire Annual Conference, and Ana gave the address at the Hispanic Ministries Luncheon
- We were honored to be a featured ministry at the Central Texas Annual Conference earlier this year, where Elisa and I were able to present about JFON’s ministry at the Hispanic Ministries Luncheon
Social Media/Website
- Our presence on Facebook continues to grow through Elisa’s consistent posts about JFON’s ministry
- We continue working to improve our website and other social media accounts