Marc Sparks: In the News
Carpenters For Christ Doubles the Fun at Home on the Lawn Blitz Build!
Besides Groundhog Day and Valentine’s Day, February is famous for Highland Park United Methodist Church’s annual Home on the Lawn project. For the fifth time in as many years, Carpenters for Christ will partner with SMU and Habitat for Humanity to build homes for the working poor. This year is special. Not just one, but two homes will be constructed simultaneously, across the street from each other and completed in a two-week “blitz build.” Walls rise on Saturday, February 17, and work continues each Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday thereafter through March 4, Dedication Sunday. It takes a great congregation with many volunteers to pull off such a project and...
Read MoreBuilding a New Gateway
Knowing more about the Samaritan Inn’s success makes you want to get involved, MICHAEL LANDAUER says View on the DallasNews.com By now, you’ve heard of the Samaritan Inn. It’s one of Collin County’s most impressive success stories. It started in 1984 as a group project of several community leaders, and it barely survived for years in a rundown building in East McKinney. I remember the tour I took in 2001, a very quick circle around a cluttered set of darkened hallways. Nowadays, in the new, state-of-the-art shelter, you can take a tour of the building online (www.the samaritaninn.org). You can make a reservation by phone (972-547-5567) to donate...
Read MoreGateway Apartment Groundbreaking Ceremony
The Samaritan Inn, located in McKinney, is the only homeless shelter in Collin County and is regularly full. One reason for homelessness in our county is the high cost of housing. In an effort to assist those people who are living in the shelter and working full time but still can not leave, because they are unable to afford market value rents; the North Texas Gateway apartments are being built. The Gateway apartments will be a complex consisting of twenty units- ten one bedroom and ten two bedrooms. They will be located directly across the street from the current facility. Residents of the Samaritan Inn, who meet specific criteria, will be leased an apartment from 6 to...
Read MoreSparky’s Kids Improves Future For CASA Kids
Laptop Gift to Dallas CASA Kids Provides New Educational Opportunities Ten children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect and placed in protective care in Dallas have a brighter future today thanks to the generous donation of ten new Dell laptop computers from Sparky’s Kids. Based in Dallas, and founded by Marc A Sparks, Sparky’s Kids (www.sparkyskids.com) is dedicated to providing new, high quality computers to less fortunate children who desire to learn, yet are financially disadvantaged. Sparky’s Kids has donated hundreds of new computers to well deserving kids and computer labs. Dallas CASA is grateful for the ten new laptops that will give...
Read MoreGateway
Almost a year ago the Samaritan Inn began investigating some of the causes of homelessness in Collin County. The results were not surprising: a lack of affordable housing topped the list. In Collin County the average cost of a one bedroom apartment is $650 per month, in addition; a security deposit, utility deposits and an application fee are regularly required, this makes housing out of reach for most people who earn minimum wage. We come across this problem often at the Samaritan Inn-people have completed our program, they have secured employment and are ready to move out, but there is simply no affordable place to go. In December 2005 the Marc A. Sparks family became...
Read MoreSparky’s Kids End the Year With a Bang
What better way to end the school year than with an end-of-the-summer bash? Recently, one of Texans Can!’s biggest supporters, Sparky’s Kids, hosted a picnic in Addison, Texas, recognizing all Dallas-Fort Worth Can! students who received one of 375 computers awarded from the Sparky’s Kids Computers For Kids program. Thanks to GlobalTec, Sparky’s Kids and Marc Sparks, students, staff and administrators enjoyed some barbeque on a warm, sunny day at the Addison Circle Park celebrating the achievements of those students who have worked hard, and had great attendance. The festivities included a performance by South City, a popular Christian hip-hop...
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