Community Support

C O M M U N I T Y
S U P P O R T



	Episcopal High School Episcopal High School students spent two weeks working with our day school classes in January. Together, EHS volunteers organized several creative projects for our students, including decorating a wall mural, hosting an interpretive dance class, and painting picture frames. Thank you, EHS! Click here to see more photos.

		PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. PWC never comes empty-handed to Avondale's annual Christmas party; the group brought presents once again for all of our nearly 75 students and clients. Special guest Santa Claus took time from his very busy schedule to hand the gifts out. Lunch and party favors were provided by the Friends of Avondale House to guests. Thank you PWC for remembering the children and young adults of Avondale House this season!

	Valvtechnologies, Inc. Valvtechnologies sent some very special elves to Avondale House on the night of December 8. Employees came bearing gifts for all our residential clients, while food, music and good company rounded out the evening. Valvtech has hosted this generous Christmas party for several years, ensuring that our residents have a very merry holiday.

		UT AIMS Volunteers from The University of Texas at Houston's Association of Internal Medicine Students (AIMS) hosted some fun crafts with our students on November 15. In honor of Thanksgiving, the AIMS group helped our kids decorate gourds to look like turkeys and make fall-colored leaf wreaths. Thank you for such a fun activity, UT AIMS!

	Texas Mutual Insurance Co. The Friends of Avondale House hosted another ghoulishly fun Halloween party, thanks in large part to the wonderful volunteers of Texas Mutual lnsurance Company. The group handled decorating the party room, games and blowing up balloons. They also helped serve pizza and pass out candy during the afternoon trick or treat. Thank you, Texas Mutual Insurance Company!

		The Kinkaid School The Kinkaid School's student volunteers joined Avondale House for a fun morning of team bowling on October 21. The bowling buddies were great cheerleaders, mentors and frieds. After bowling, all the students enjoyed pizza and drinks sponsored by CenterPoint Energy. Thank you to The Kinkaid School and CenterPoint Energy for creating a special day for our students.

	ExxonMobil ExxonMobil's Gas & Power Marketing employees visited an Avondale group home on October 12 for a mixture of painting and landscaping projects. The group did a complete overhaul of existing landscaping surrounding the house, removed a damaged portion of a brick planter box and painted the remaining structure, and restained the backyard deck and picnic table. The hard work of this generous group gave the house new life! Thank you, ExxonMobil!

		CenterPoint Energy A group of more than 40 employee volunteers from CenterPoint Energy spent a Day of Caring at one of Avondale's group homes on September 16, 2011. The volunteers gave the home some great curb appeal with a fresh coat of paint, and by weeding and trimming the landscaping. The eager helpers also replaced a door and gave the backyard picnic table a facelift with some new wood. Thank you to all of the kind folks of CenterPoint for making a huge impact on one of our group residences!

	Southern Union Company The helping hands and kind hearts of Southern Union Company hosted an end-of-summer party at Avondale House on August 11. Volunteers delivered delicious boxed lunches from Chik-fil-a to a room of hungry students, parents and staff. DJ London was on-hand to get the crowd up for some post-lunch dancing and singing. Thank you, Southern Union Company, for a great party!

		ExxonMobil Summer interns from ExxonMobil braved the heat to do some good deeds for Avondale House on August 6. The group restriped the parking lot, removed unwanted items from the facility's storage room, cleaned windows and detailed the agency's vans. With the temperature reaching 100 degrees, the outdoor projects were no small feat. Thank you, ExxonMobil, for making a difference!

	The Kinkaid School The Kinkaid School's student volunteers came to Avondale on March 4 for some high-flying fun with our students. Together, they decorated kites and worked as a team to get them off the ground and into the air. The students also played kickball, kicked field goals and ate a picnic lunch as a group. Thanks for your fun and friendly attitudes, Kinkaid! We also appreciate the generosity of South Campus Sports Association for granting us the use of their beautiful sports park for the field day activities!

		Episcopal High School Episcopal High School students volunteered in Avondale's day school for two weeks in January. During that time, they observed and interacted with students. They planned special activities for them, including an arts and crafts lesson and sports games. We appreciate all of the volunteers who devoted their time and efforts!

	The Emery/Weiner School Students from The Emery/Weiner School spent time at Avondale House January 4-7, working with the day school and the day habilitation program. Volunteers in the day school organized a cake walk and dance party at the end of the week for all of the students. Those working in the day hab assisted our clients with prevocational and daily living skills. As a special treat, they helped clients make cookies from scratch! "Working at Avondale House truly changed my life," said volunteer Jarett Taxman. "Prior to my volunteering, I was convinced that I would never be able to work with people with special needs; however, this has proved to be one of the most enriching experiences of my life." Thank you, Emery/Weiner students!