Amarillo Angels celebrates new office and 7 years with ribbon cutting

Brianna Maestas, Amarillo Globe-News
·4 min read

Amarillo Angels celebrated its seventh anniversary of serving area children, youth and families in foster care by hosting a ribbon cutting and grand opening celebration for its new location on Wednesday afternoon.

The organization's new office is located in the same building that it was formerly housed in, located at 112 SW 8th Ave., but now in a larger office on the sixth floor. According to Amarillo Angels Executive Director Gwen Hicks, the much needed expansion included not only an addition in space, but also in staff.

"Thanks to the community's continuous support, that allowed us to expand our team, which meant we needed more space. ... This has been a glorious seven years, with amazing growth, so we wanted to open our doors and share with the community what they have created," Hicks said.

Amarillo Angels Executive Director Gwen Hicks celebrates the organization's seventh anniversary with a grand opening of its new office and ribbon cutting with the Amarillo Hispanic Chamber of Commerce held Wednesday afternoon.
Amarillo Angels Executive Director Gwen Hicks celebrates the organization's seventh anniversary with a grand opening of its new office and ribbon cutting with the Amarillo Hispanic Chamber of Commerce held Wednesday afternoon.
Amarillo Angels Executive Director Gwen Hicks celebrates the organization's seventh anniversary with a grand opening of its new office and ribbon cutting with the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce Wednesday afternoon.
Amarillo Angels Executive Director Gwen Hicks celebrates the organization's seventh anniversary with a grand opening of its new office and ribbon cutting with the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce Wednesday afternoon.

During the event, community members, fellow childcare organizations and many more overflowed from the office in celebration of the milestone. The Amarillo Chamber of Commerce and Amarillo Hispanic Chamber of Commerce each took turns honoring the organization with a ribbon cutting cerremony, cut by the Amarillo Angels executive director herself.

Moving forward, the organization hopes to help more families and individuals in foster care through its Dare to Dream Mentoring Program and Love Box program, which helps provide families and individuals with support, a greater sense of normalcy, relation permanency and self-confidence, which in turn helps to provide the foster children with placement stability and lower the overall turnover rate for children in foster care.

Amarillo Angels Dare to Dream Mentorship Program matches mentors with area youth to navigate and meet both practical and emotional needs, guiding their mentees through tailored developmental milestones. Mentors commit to meeting with their mentees every other week to set goals and help them achieve their dreams. While the relationships ideally last a lifetime, the program is a one-year commitment.

As a part of the Love Box program, a volunteer/group will be matched with a local foster family based on location and compatibility, who will show up monthly to provide a day of caring and connection, as well as help with general needs the family may have throughout the month.

Crowds wait to enter as Amarillo Angels celebrates its seventh anniversary with grand opening of its new office and a ribbon cutting held Wednesday afternoon.
Crowds wait to enter as Amarillo Angels celebrates its seventh anniversary with grand opening of its new office and a ribbon cutting held Wednesday afternoon.
Amarillo Angels Executive Director Gwen Hicks poses with Amarillo Hispanic Chamber of Commerce representative Ann Romo as they celebrate the Amarillo Angels' seventh anniversary with a grand opening of its new office and a ribbon cutting Wednesday afternoon.
Amarillo Angels Executive Director Gwen Hicks poses with Amarillo Hispanic Chamber of Commerce representative Ann Romo as they celebrate the Amarillo Angels' seventh anniversary with a grand opening of its new office and a ribbon cutting Wednesday afternoon.

Meghan Watts, Amarillo Angels Board President and Mentor, spoke about the organization's overall need for volunteers and her personal experience as a mentor in its Dare to Dream program and the connection that she has come to cherish.

"We are in need of volunteers for both programs, and encourage any and all who are even slightly interested to reach out and see if it could be a fit for them, because I promise they will be better for it. I am," Watts said.

"With my youth as a part of the mentorship, (we) exchange text messages and we hang out one a month. Last month, we did a form of painting activity at The Art Plug-In, but it is really about being a support system there for them and being a constant in their life," Watts added.

Watts said that many volunteers also help the youth reach milestones - like getting their driver's license, or studying to pass the state's STAAR test in school through the Dare to Dream Program - and that in the Love Box program, though they don't have "milestones," they help to allow the parents support to relax from the hustle and bustle of the day to day.

"We serve the entire family with Love Box, where we offer a once a month box including things like games, activities, household goods or whatever the family is needing at the time. ... One of my favorite examples of the Love Box program and how it helps is the group showed up and brought pizza for the family and played outside with the kids while mom and dad had a chance to sit on the porch and have an adult conversation that they were severely lacking but they just needed that time," Watts said.

"What is so special about Amarillo Angels is that it really is about forming those connections. It is really easy to donate, but here you aren't just donating. You are forming a bond with people, and that is what makes it special and unique, is those connections," Watts added.

To learn more about volunteering, reach out to Amarillo Angels by calling them at (806) 221-2821, emailing them at info@amarilloangels.org , or going online to https://www.amarilloangels.org/ .

For more information about the organization, visit its official webpage or on social media.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo Angels hosts ribbon cutting for new office, celebration