Kings Ridge neighbors rang in the holiday season at nearby Quartino Ristorante & Wine Bar in Grandscape and celebrated friendships made in our community.
As neighbors enjoyed Italian food and drinks in a private room, they also did what Kings Ridge neighbors have done for more than two decades – help people who are less fortunate.
By the end of the neighborhood holiday party, four giant boxes were filled with new toys and coats as the donations from neighbors made Christmas brighter for area children in the foster care system.
A few days after the holiday party, Kings Ridge social chair Elizabeth Ashby, and communications chair Bill Kula, with the help of Elizabeth’s daughter Reese, took the boxes to the Dallas County Child Protection and Permanency Court in downtown. There, they presented the gifts to Judge Delia Gonzales who annually oversees cases involving about 400 children whom the state has placed in the permanent custody of Child Protective Services.
Neighborhood Philanthropy Serves North Texas Youth
In a large room adjacent to Judge Gonzales’ courtroom, clothing, toys and daily necessities are sorted by volunteers affiliated with the Child Protection and Permanency Court and nonprofits like Friends Investing in Foster Kids, www.fifk.org. Judge Gonzales serves on the board of FIFK.
While Texas state law requires twice-a-year hearings to ensure each child placement is successful, Judge Gonzales usually sees kids at least four times annually. She checks in with some monthly, others weekly or even daily.
She was appointed to her associate judge role in 2019 through the Office of Court Administration. In addition to her judicial work, she has sparked efforts to fill the many material gaps the foster care system doesn’t cover.
Judge Gonzales urged friends and colleagues from her law practice years to create Friends Investing in Foster Kids. The nonprofit helps stock the court with dolls, games, clothing and more for the younger kids, gift cards for teenagers and basics like school supplies to help financially strapped foster families.
“Over the past 25 years, Kings Ridge neighbors have found many ways to serve the needs of people in North Texas,” said Bill, whose family moved into Kings Ridge in August of 2001. “Hearing from Judge Gonzales how impactful the gifts that neighbors donated would mean to foster children was heartwarming. Because of the generosity of Kings Ridge neighbors, the lives of many foster children in the Dallas area were made better over the holiday season.”
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