Organization finds ways to fill needs

A desire to help those less fortunate led to a grassroots effort that now provides hundreds of children in Frisco each year with basic necessities.

Frisco Reach Out, formed in 2009, looks to the Frisco community for support as its volunteers collect donated items, ranging from school supplies to toys, and gives them away to children and families in need.

Although the organization focuses its efforts on two giveaway events a year—a school supplies and clothing giveaway in the summer and a toy giveaway in the winter—Frisco Reach Out's mission is about identifying problems and finding solutions, said its founder and director, Jo Hooper.

The organization works with homeless shelters and runaway teens, has formed mission trips across the U.S., helped with tornado relief efforts in Oklahoma and Forney, Texas, and volunteered after the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas.

Frisco Reach Out volunteers made multiple trips to Oklahoma to deliver food to a local college that housed tornado victims. They also participated with the National Disaster Adoptions program.

In West, Frisco Reach Out volunteers gathered items for displaced nursing home residents and helped West churches sort clothing.

"It has turned into a huge blessing," Hooper said.

A native Frisco resident, 28-year-old Hooper lived in the city before Frisco's major growth of the late 1990s. As a result, she said she is aware of many areas in the city that deal with poverty, violence and homelessness.

"People ask me how this all got started," Hooper said. "I just tell them I found a need and did something about it. We didn't know how, but we learned, evaluated and made changes. We looked for needs to fill."

Hooper, her family and friends began knocking on doors in some of Frisco's more troubled neighborhoods to understand what families needed. They determined the best way to help was to gather basic necessities families might not be able to afford.

Collection of needed items from residents of the Frisco community began and led to the first giveaway event. Hooper said she had no idea what kind of response the event would garner. Advertisement of the giveaway consisted of going door-to-door, handing out fliers to families.

More than 400 people showed up to receive items, and Frisco Reach Out's efforts have continued to grow each year as a result.

Volunteers have flocked to the effort. Hooper said there are more than 20 volunteers on hand at any given time to sort items and help prepare for events. At the giveaways, volunteers have grown to more than 70 strong.

"It's a group of passionate people who want to make the world a better place," the director said.

The twice-a-year giveaway events help about 100 families and 250-300 children on average. Hooper said people stand in line for hours before registration starts. Each family gets a number and is seated in an auditorium, then is called to register before a personal shopper assists them.

The giveaways are not limited to toys and back-to-school supplies, Hooper said. Whatever someone wants to donate, Frisco Reach Out will find a way to give it away.

In an effort to connect and form relationships with the community, Frisco Reach Out also hosts regular events, such as family fun nights, that allow the organization to see positive changes take place in neighborhoods.

Frisco Reach Out is headquartered in a space donated by The Word Center, where her parents are pastors, but the organization's volunteers are people of different faiths and walks of life.

"The thing that unites us is our desire to help," Hooper said.

Volunteerism

Frisco Reach Out volunteers help patrons at a giveaway event. Volunteers have flocked to the organization since it was formed in 2009 by Jo Hooper, her family and friends. Hooper said at any given time, there are at least 20 volunteers who will come forward to help sort donated items. Hooper said there have been as many as 70 volunteers step up to help at the giveaway events.

Giving

Frisco Reach Out volunteers hold a sign that says, "Love does not make the world go round. It makes the trip worthwhile." The nonprofit organization gathers school supplies, clothing and toiletry items for an annual summer giveaway event. A toy giveaway is held each winter as well. In addition to the giveaway events, Frisco Reach Out hosts regular community events in an effort to build relationships with residents.

Fifth annual Frisco Reach Out End of Summer Celebration

• Aug. 17, 8:30 a.m.-noon
• Everything is free
• School supplies, gently used clothing and toiletries
• Hair cut vouchers and family and school portrait opportunities
• The Word Center, 7090 Oak St., Frisco. 214-796-7832. www.friscoreachout.com