The Carrie S. Orleans Trust Provides Food and Clothing for Mosaic Clients

December 2008 – Mosaic Family Services received a $2,000 grant from the Carrie S. Orleans Trust. The Carrie S. Orleans Trust was established to purchase food and clothing for distribution to the poor and needy of Dallas County, Texas, without regard to race, creed or color. This is the third grant that Mosaic Family Services has received from the trust.

Funding from the Carrie S. Orleans Trust will help us to meet the growing food costs at Mosaic House shelter, which has served a growing number of clients each year. The funds will be used to purchase fresh meats and produce, after-school snacks for the children and additional school uniforms for the children. Funds will also be used to support victims of human trafficking, who often arrive at Mosaic Family Services’ door with nothing. Funds may also be used to purchase $25 food vouchers for clients served by the HIV Early Intervention Program. This program serves individuals who have an HIV/AIDS diagnosis, and have a history of substance abuse issues. Many clients are homeless and all are below the poverty level.

Thank you to the Carrie S. Orleans Trust!

Dallas Women's Foundation Empowers Mosaic House Clients

The Dallas Women’s Foundation recently awarded $16,600 to support Mosaic House, our multicultural shelter for victims of family violence. This funding will be used to support our shelter facility in serving the unique needs of immigrant victims of abuse.

The number of residents served by Mosaic House increased by 27% in the past year, from 171 residents served in FY 2007 to 217 served in 2008. This represents the largest increase in numbers served from year to year that Mosaic House has had since opening in 2001. Funding from the Dallas Women’s Foundation will help us meet the growing demand for our services.

For more information about The Dallas Women’s Foundation, please visit their website at www.dallaswomensfoundation.org.

The Embrey Family Foundation Supports Mosaic House with a $15,000 Grant

Mosaic Family Services, Inc. recently received a $15,000 grant from The Embrey Family Foundation. This generous grant will support Mosaic House, our shelter for immigrant women and children affected by domestic violence or human trafficking.

Based in Dallas, the Embrey Family Foundation champions the well-being and rights of all people by supporting programs that advance human rights, healthy communities, the environment, education and creativity. The foundation accomplishes this by funding program needs in North Texas that address violence, poverty, human services, arts and culture, animal services and community enhancement.

For more information on the Embrey Family Foundation, please visit their website at www.embreyfdn.org.

Thank you to The Embrey Family Foundation!

Costume World Helps Children of Mosaic House!

Special thanks to Costume World! Store owner Marilyn Wide donated $1,500 worth of costumes to the children at Mosaic House! The kids were very excited to choose their own costume for the upcoming Halloween party. Please visit Costume World's website or visit their Dallas location at:

Costume World

13621 Inwood Road

Dallas, Texas 75244

972-404-0584

Pumpkins painted by children at Mosaic House shelter, 2005

Thank you Costume World!
And thanks to volunteer Christina Mackenzie who solicited this donation for us!

Human Trafficking Focus Groups for DFW Metroplex Area

Human trafficking, or modern-day slavery, has exploded in the media as a hot-topic human rights issue. Sometimes, while listening to stories of far-away kidnappings and forced slavery, we forget how close to home these situations can become.

At any given moment there may be someone in our community who is a victim. Traffickers often target women, runaways and immigrants unfamiliar with their new home. Those smuggled into the United States may find themselves turned into trafficking victims once they have crossed the border.

During the month of August, we held two focus groups that gave us many great ideas for outreach to Human Trafficking victims in Dallas. We would love to hear more!

On the behalf of Mosaic Family Services, we would like to invite community leaders and activists to be a part of a focus group that explores the impact of human trafficking in your community, and that discusses how we can all join together to stop modern-day slavery. We wish to equip you, as a leader in your community, to help victims.

This focus group will take place on Wednesday September 24th, 2008 at 2 p.m. in the Mosaic Family Services offices.

Please call Christina Copeland at 214-821-5393 ext. 261 or email her at christinac@mosaicservices.org for more information.

The Rees-Jones Foundation Supports Mosaic House Shelter

The Rees-Jones Foundation awarded $15,000 to Mosaic Family Services for Mosaic House shelter.

This funding will be used to support our program costs at the shelter, including staffing our emergency hotline 24 hours a days and providing food, clothing, and household supplies for the residents there.

The Rees-Jones Foundation is a private foundation established primarily to benefit the people of North Texas. The Foundation’s mission is to provide support and funding for programs that will help improve in tangible ways the quality of life and life circumstances of the people it serves, with special emphasis on assisting underserved children and their families.Artwork by child residents at Mosaic House

Thank you to The Rees-Jones Foundation for supporting Mosaic!

Mosaic Featured on The Women's International Perspective Blog

Mirjana Omeragic, Program Director at Mosaic Family Services, was interviewed for a story on immigrant victims of domestic violence by The Women's International Perspective blog. Click below to check it out!

Immigrant Survivors of Abuse Struggle within a Changing System

by Michelle Chen

2007 Annual Report for Mosaic Family Services

Want to know more about Mosaic's work in 2007? Click above to see our 2007 Annual Report! In the report you will find powerful stories and quotes from the people we helped, information about how many clients we served and what services we provided for them. You will also see our donors, supporters, and volunteers from 2007.

Mosaic House Receives $30,000 Grant from the King Foundation

Mosaic Family Services has received a $30,000 grant for Mosaic House from the Carl B. and Florence E. King Foundation. This gift will support the program and operating costs of Mosaic House. Our shelter has shown significant growth in recent years, with the number of clients served increasing by 35% between 2005 and 2007. The King Foundation's support will help us serve more families at the shelter and meet the higher demand for our services.

The King Foundation, founded by Carl B. and Florence E. King, supports programs that provide education, services for youth, seniors and the indigent, cultural and historical organizations, and medical research. The foundation has been serving Texas and Arkansas since 1966, and is “committed to the highest standards of philanthropy."

Below is a story from one of the former residents of Mosaic House. Funding from The King Foundation will help many more women like Asmara who are escaping abuse.

“Asmara” is a 27 year-old Female from India who came to the United States 5 years ago to join her husband. Asmara was abused physically and emotionally by him on daily basis. She was not allowed to go out or have friends, and had very little contact with the outside world.

Asmara was referred to Mosaic House by the police department, who responded to a domestic violence call. She came to the shelter with bruises and was very depressed. She had been isolated for so many years that it took days for this client to come out of her apartment at the shelter. When she came up to the office, she found out that the computers were for clients to use. Asmara was able to communicate with her family back in her home country for the first time since coming to the United States five years ago. Since that day, Asmara used the computer everyday to send emails to her family, to submit resumes to potential employers, and to search for a job. Within a week, she was able to go to her first job interview and renew her driver’s license online. Asmara was finally able to connect with the outside world and her community, get a job, and live in a safe environment at the Mosaic House shelter.

For more information on the King Foundation, please visit their website at http://www.kingfoundation.com.

Thank you to the King Foundation for supporting Mosaic!

KPMG Volunteers Visit Mosaic House

A group of 21 KPMG employees came to Mosaic House in May 2008 to donate their time. Each year, KPMG hosts a day-long event for the women in the company. In the morning, the employees participate in a speaker workshop, and in the afternoon, they split up into groups and do volunteer work. The Mosaic group planted flowers in the garden, cleaned the playground toys for the children, and did group activities with the children. They also cleaned and prepared one of the apartment units for a new resident, and tidied the children's playroom.

Thank you KPMG for supporting Mosaic House!

KeyBank Volunteers Brighten Mosaic House

Volunteers from KeyBank visited Mosaic House on May 20, 2008. They rolled up their sleeves and made many improvements to the shelter! The volunteers painted a mural in the children's play room, re-painted the parking spaces, and put down new tile in one of the units. We appreciate their time and effort!

Thank you so much to KeyBank for helping Mosaic House and making it brighter from the women and children there!

Hoglund Foundation Supports Mosaic House

The Hoglund Foundation has just awarded Mosaic Family Services with a $30,000 grant for Mosaic House, our shelter for battered immigrant women and their children. This funding will be used to support the ongoing operating costs at the shelter. The number of clients served by Mosaic House has increased by 35% in the past two years, and The Hoglund Foundation grant will help support the growing demand for our services.

The Hoglund Foundation was established in 1989 to use the resources and abilities of the extended family of Forrest E. Hoglund and Sally R. Hoglund to generate and/or support activities that can make a positive difference in the lives of others. The primary focus of The Hoglund Foundation is to promote interests and entities in education, health science and services, social services and children's health and development.

For more information on The Hoglund Foundation, please visit their website at www.hoglundfoundation.org.

Thank you to The Hoglund Foundation for
supporting Mosaic House!

The Dallas Team of Eli Lilly and Co. Volunteer at Mosaic House

Special thanks to Board Member Lori Wadding and her team from Eli Lilly for their continued support of Mosaic House. Back in November 2007, volunteers took time out of their busy schedule to replace flooring in the bedrooms, clean and repair existing flooring, attend to the front garden, and assisted with general repairs, as well as donating items and funds to the clients of Mosaic House.

The team returned on May 15, 2008 to do more work! They painted all of the rooms unit #201 and donated food to the shelter.

Thanks again to the Lilly Team for lending a hand!

Pampered Chef Fundraiser

Mosaic Family Services is grateful to all who participated in the Pampered Chef fundraiser on April 6, 2008. Cindy Coffin was a wonderful hostess and Tharine Wells gave an insightful and fun presentation to all in attendance. A percentage of the total sales was donated to Mosaic Family Services and all proceeds from the event went directly to the residents of Mosaic House.

Thank you Pampered Chef!

To order Pampered Chef products from Tharine Wells, please visit her website at http://www.pamperedchef.biz/tharine

Mosaic Family Services is Hilton's Big Give Winner!

Thank you to Jill Livingston and the Hilton Corporation! Ms. Livingston, an employee of Hilton and donor for Mosaic, entered us into an internal competition for Hilton staff. Employees were asked to write a short essay on a charity of their choice. Ms. Livingston wrote about Mosaic Family Services and the clients we serve, and was chosen as the winner! Dr. Walter Nguyen, Executive Director and Lori Wadding, Board Member were presented with a $1,000 check for the agency on April 22, 2008.

The Hilton Hotel in Park Cities, were Jill Livingston works, also donated a one-night stay for our 2008 Night of Hope silent auction.

Thank you again to Jill Livingston and Hilton!

2008 Night of Hope a Success!

Mosaic Family Services would like to thank all the donors and volunteers who helped make this year’s fundraising event a success. Thanks to you, we were able to raise much needed funds for Mosaic House, our shelter for battered immigrant women and children.

Highlights of the evening included a grand buffet with hors d’oeuvres, a video presentation about Mosaic Family Services, a silent auction, with such items as two plane tickets anywhere Southwest flies.

Lori Wadding, Event Chair and Emcee Shelly Slater of WFAA Channel 8 were both charming and entertaining and Ebby Halliday gave a wonderful and amusing speech.

Mildred Muhammad was the Keynote Speaker and told of her harrowing journey from the grips of her murdering husband to the advocate for domestic violence victims that she is today.

Again, thanks to all who gave so much to make this event a success to benefit the clients of Mosaic House.

Special thanks to the following sponsors:

Silver Sponsors
Ebby Halliday
Baylor Medical Center at Garland
Cindi's N.Y. Delicatessen
Sy Q. Le, MD
Mike Benet Formals
The Harold Simmons Foundation
Town North Bank

Bronze Sponsors
Presbyterian Hospital of Plano
Premier Designs, Inc.
DynCorp International
Vietnamese Health Professionals Association
Texas Capital Bank
Wilcare, Inc.

Media Supporters
WFAA Channel 8
Flower Mound Messenger

Special Thanks to all the companies and individuals who donated items for the live and silent auctions at the 2008 Mosaic Night of Hope!
Auction Items Donated By:
Bengal Coast Restaurant
Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Stars Franchise
Decorator's Choice
Ebby Halliday
FC Dallas Soccer Club
Firewheel Dentistry
Frisco RoughRiders
Great Skin By Lynne
Hilton Park Cities
HP Dental Clinic
Hyatt Regency Hotels
Ken's Man Shop
Kim-Cuong Than
Premier Wines of Plano
Sandy Shepherd
Six Flags Over Texas
Southwest Airlines
Tony's Wine Warehouse
Triana Studios

Welcome to the Mosaic Family Services Blog!

Thank you for visiting Mosaic Family Services' new Blog! We will use this blog to keep all of our supporters updated on our work, including:
1. Upcoming Events
2. Volunteer Opportunities
3. Mosaic News Updates
4. Client Stories
5. Our Services and Programs
6. How you can get involved

And much, much more! Check back each week for more news about Mosaic Family Services!