BOERNE– While wine flowed and songs were sung at the Roy Maas Youth Alternatives campus May 6, there was something much larger at play: An evening of charitable donations to help children impacted by trauma.
The nonprofit organization hosted its first, of what officials hope will be many, Moonlight over Meadowlands May 6.
“It was really an effort to focus on developing relationships with the Boerne community in particular where we have not historically done a lot of intentionally and focused fundraising,” CEO Blair Thompson said. “So, we thought we would try to start with a small event just sort of putting our toes in the water a little bit and reaching out to the community.”
The center, founded in the 1970s by a man with a lifelong dedication to helping children in need, houses, educates and cares for children suffering from some of life’s heaviest woes.
A team of dedicated directors based out of San Antonio and onsite staffers have been working to renovate several of the housing spaces on the campus.
However, with only half of the nonprofits already tight $10 million budget coming from state and federal funds, the agency relies on the kind hearts of those willing to spare funds for the cause.
“The Boerne campus is where 70% of our budget is allocated, so the Boerne campus is really where the core of our work is done,” Senior Development Director Julie Healy said. “With that budget, we are funded 50% by the government – that’s through federal and state funding. That leaves about $5 million a year that we have to raise, and honestly, it should be more because that’s just what we budgeted, and we probably need the budget to be higher.”
When nearly 90 people showed up to the center’s first Moonlight over Meadowland that Saturday evening, more than $600,000 were raised for the Roy Maas goal, marking roughly 6% of the nonprofit’s modest budget.
Healy explained that donations like these have helped the center’s mission in several ways, funding a 55% raise for all the staffers with boots on the ground helping children from seven to 17 who need the support.
She said this was desperately needed to combat high employee turnover rates identified by the agency’s CEO, Thompson.
“My son is 17, and he works at Mod Pizza, and he makes $14 an hour. When Blair (Thompson) got here, our staff was making $11 an hour,” Healy said. “And that’s for people who are dealing with children who have significant trauma as opposed to making pizza.”
Now, salaries have been raised dramatically, according to Healy, to ensure those helping the children at the Roy Maas Youth Alternative Center are paid fairly.
These kind- hearted donors didn’t just help support the staff, however, as leaders like Thompson and Healy have been working to update several of the housing and recreational areas across the campus since joining the team over the past two years.
“We just finished the Girlsville cabin,” Thompson said. “We’re really excited about that. Getting that back online is great, and we have two other cabins – one of which will be updated as a result of the generosity of our guests. All in all, it far exceeded our expectations.”
The Greater Boerne Chamber of Commerce is hosting a special ribbon cutting to celebrate the renovation of the Girlsville Cabin at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, May 30, at the Meadowland Campus at 121 Old San Antonio Road.
This was an event truly driven by community, as a local winery, Siboney Cellars, provided the libations and the former owner of The Grill at Leon Springs – which burned down last year – served a trompo: a rotating spit of thinly- sliced meat.
Further, Boerne leaders, Allan and Liza Bloxsom and Amy and Karl Eggerss, were called upon to cohost the event.
“It’s important the Boerne community understand that children at Meadowland are there to heal from severe neglect and abuse, not through any fault of their own. Meadowland is an incredible place of hope for children who have lived through unthinkable circumstances and I’m confident our generous community will unify in fighting for their futures through critical fundraising events in the years to come,” Amy Eggerss said. “To me, the event was an opportunity to give a few local folks a glimpse into the lives of these children in hopes of starting a hometown movement of support. Breaking cycles of abuse and neglect start with healing those children victimized themselves.”
One moment that everyone recalled: The young girls living in the Maas Cabin at the center took to the stage to sing for the guests.
Summing up the sentiments shared by those intertwined with the mission of the Roy Maas Youth Alternative Center, the group of girls sang: “Even when the dark comes crashing through, when you need someone to carry you, when you’re broken on the ground, you will be found.”
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