SPECIAL TO THE PRESS
The Greater Taylor Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, hosted its Report to the Community breakfast event last week at First Baptist Church, 2500 Mallard Ln.
The event brought together interested citizens, decision-makers, faith leaders and nonprofit organizations to address critical community needs as identified in the Greater Taylor Foundation’s Impact Taylor study.
Impact Taylor is a community needs assessment that was conducted by Crescendo Consulting Group, L.L.C.
“We’re entering into a new time where we can begin to address the needs we’ve struggled with,” Mayor Brandt Rydell said.
“But also there’s a danger that some of those … gaps between the haves and the have-nots will widen, that the divides will grow wider and wider. Which is why I think this initiative is so critically important, to identify the situation as it is in Taylor, what needs to be addressed and to have a vision for the future.”
Rydell added that there are challenges in Taylor, but the opportunities to address these challenges are unlike any the town has seen.
The consulting company facilitated six local focus groups and an online local survey to determine which community issues need the most urgent attention in Taylor.
Diana Phillips, founding director of the Greater Taylor Foundation, expressed gratitude for the enthusiastic participation of Taylor residents.
“We are deeply appreciative of the community’s active involvement in addressing our area’s challenges,” she said.
At Friday’s breakfast, the foundation and Crescendo Consulting revealed six key areas that require urgent attention in the Taylor community. These areas included childhood and early childhood education, community connections and collaboration, economic well-being, food insecurity, mental health and
housing. All attendees were asked to select an individual category they cared to address. Together they formed six solution-oriented task forces to tackle these area challenges.
In the coming months, each group will determine actionable, community-driven and donation-backed and grant-backed next steps to improve the quality of life in the Taylor area.
“Moving forward, these new task forces will provide diverse perspectives and innovative solutions that confirm and celebrate the strength and unity in our community,” Phillips said.
Nyle Maxwell, owner of the Maxwell car dealerships, was the event’s keynote speaker. He said that, in order to successfully survive the coming economic boom, the Taylor community needs three things: good governance devoid of partisan politics, an active volunteer base and a commitment to philanthropy.
“Without that philanthropy component, we will not be able to meet the needs, whatever they are,” Maxwell said. “That’s what the Greater Taylor Foundation is all about. It’s a ‘who’s who’ of Taylor, Texas.”
