LVTRise and Western Hills High School’s Cougar Pride Alliance have merged to streamline services and support for students at Western Hills High School and their families. LVTRise has acquired the seven-year-old Cougar Corner program which will continue to operate on the Western Hills campus.
“For years we have worked together with Cougar Pride Alliance to provide services and support for students, teachers and parents,” commented LVTRise Executive Director Paige Charbonnet. “The goal of this merger is to streamline those services, while enhancing existing partnerships and collaboration that LVTRise brings to the table.”
LVTRise collaborates with service partners to improve the Las Vegas Trail neighborhood’s crime rate, education performance, health and wellness, and housing stability in long-term, meaningful ways. The vision of LVTRise is to transform the lives of the residents living in the Las Vegas Trail community by providing resources and services dedicated to the neighborhood’s revitalization and sustainability.
“We are thankful for our alumni and the surrounding community who have done so much for the Western Hills students over the years. To ensure we can provide the ongoing support for these deserving students, we felt it was time to merge with LVT Rise,” said Patty Pressley, co-founder of Cougar Pride Alliance and 1982 graduate of Western Hills High School. “We will continue to work together to help the students in our pyramid, including offering grants and other support, all under the LVTRise umbrella. It has been, and will continue to be, a labor of love.”
Alumni and other supporters of Cougar Corner can designate their gifts through LVTRise to assure those funds are earmarked for direct support of Western Hills High School pyramid.
LVT began as a mobile community center providing social services and access to resources for area residents after a series of Town Hall meetings uncovered significant deficiencies and a lack of resources in this part of the community. In 2018, the Las Vegas Trail Revitalization Project became the registered nonprofit currently known as LVTRise, Inc.
In spring of 2019, Rise Community Center opened to the public providing a permanent home for the organization. In January 2021, the city of Fort Worth opened a branch of the public library system in the community center furthering the resources available.
In May 2022, the Fort Worth City Council approved a land lease agreement that paved the way for a Las Vegas Trail Child Development Campus to become a reality for the high need community. Child Care Associates is building and will operate the new facility that is being built adjacent to the existing Rise Community Center. In late 2023, JPS Health System and Cook Children’s announced a joint medical center to be located at the corner of Calmont Avenue and Cherry Lane in the heart of the Las Vegas Trail neighborhood.
Since its inception, LVTRise has dedicated its work to collaborating with community partners, empowering community members through training and case management and impacting the Las Vegas Trail community addressing education, improved quality housing and reducing neighborhood crime.
source: press release
