Sachse-area nonprofits are preparing for one of their biggest fundraising days of the year as North Texas Giving Day returns Thursday, Sept. 17.

From feeding hundreds of families each week and helping homeless pets find new homes to caring for rescued exotic cats and providing support for women and families, local and nearby organizations are among thousands across the region asking North Texans to support causes close to home.

Now in its 18th year, North Texas Giving Day has grown into one of the region’s largest charitable giving efforts. In 2025, more than 100,000 North Texans donated $78 million to more than 3,500 nonprofits supporting causes ranging from education, health and social services to the arts, environment and animal welfare.

Since its inception, the event has generated $712 million for North Texas nonprofits.

Donors do not have to wait until Sept. 17 to participate. Early giving began Aug. 27, and donations made through NorthTexasGivingDay.org count toward this year’s campaign. Communities Foundation of Texas, which presents North Texas Giving Day, is covering transaction and technology fees this year, allowing 100% of online donations made through the platform to go directly to participating organizations.

For Sachse residents, the event provides an opportunity to support organizations working in their own community as well as others serving residents throughout the surrounding area.

5 Loaves Ministries in Sachse has set a $60,000 goal. The faith-based organization provides support for people of all ages while working to meet both physical and spiritual needs.

Donations help support a food pantry serving more than 800 families each week; provide diapers, wipes, bottles and formula to families; supply students with clean clothing; and provide job-skills training for teens and young adults with special needs through the Transition to Life program.

Friends of Rescue Animals in nearby Rowlett has a $40,000 Giving Day goal. The nonprofit partners with animal shelters, including Sachse Animal Shelter, to help homeless pets find homes by mobilizing volunteers, funding lifesaving programs and advocating for better outcomes for shelter animals.

Its programs range from cat rescue and veterinary care to heartworm treatment, emergency medical assistance and transportation for dogs from overcrowded Texas shelters to out-of-state destinations.

The organization estimates it spends about $125,000 annually on adoption and medical expenses for its cat rescue program, helping approximately 900 cats and kittens find homes each year. Another $60,000 annually helps transport approximately 400 dogs out of state, freeing kennel space in overcrowded shelters.

Friends of Rescue Animals also provides heartworm treatment for about 150 dogs each year and funds emergency medical care for shelter animals needing urgent treatment or surgery. Its Trap Neuter Return program provides sterilizations and vaccinations for approximately 400 unowned outdoor cats annually, helping prevent unwanted litters and reduce pressure on shelters during kitten season.

Nearby Wylie organizations also are participating in this year’s Giving Day, including nonprofits whose programs and services reach beyond the city.

In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue and Educational Center has set a $250,000 goal to help care for rescued exotic cats. The sanctuary spends more than $21,000 each month on food and more than $250,000 annually on medical care. This year’s campaign also will help transform previously unusable land into permanent sanctuary space and create new natural habitats. Donations of up to $18,000 are being matched during the campaign.

Hidden Pastures has a $15,000 goal to support its horse-centered farm experiences for youth, veterans, first responders, families and other community members. Donations help pay for feed, hay, veterinary and farrier care, scholarships and reduced-cost programs, fencing, shelters and pasture improvements.

Hope Bridge Pregnancy Resource Center is seeking $120,000 to support services for women and families facing unplanned pregnancies. Donations help provide pregnancy testing and ultrasounds, childbirth and parenting education, diapers, clothing and other essentials, along with one-on-one care from trained advocates and health professionals.

North Texas Giving Day is only part of the local nonprofit community. Not every organization participates in the annual event, and participation does not constitute an endorsement of an organization’s mission by Communities Foundation of Texas or its Giving Day partners.

Donors can search for participating nonprofits and make donations at NorthTexasGivingDay.org through Sept. 17.

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The department will host a free Civilian Response to an Active Shooter Event, or CRASE, training at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Sachse Public Safety Building, 3815-D Sachse Road.

The community training is built around the Avoid, Deny, Defend model, which teaches civilians options for responding when confronted with an active shooter or similar threat.

The course is open to residents, business owners, employees and anyone interested in becoming better prepared. There is no cost to attend and registration is not required.

CRASE was developed by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center, or ALERRT, at Texas State University. The program was designed in response to requests from schools, businesses and communities seeking guidance on how civilians should respond during active shooter events.

ALERRT developed the Avoid, Deny, Defend strategy in 2004. The model encourages people to first avoid the danger and move to a safe location when possible. If escape is not possible, the next option is to deny an attacker access to their location. Defending oneself is considered a last resort when faced with a life-threatening situation.

The concepts are similar to the more widely recognized Run, Hide, Fight model, but ALERRT uses different terminology intentionally.

According to ALERRT, “Avoid” recognizes that not everyone may be physically able to run, while “Deny” emphasizes taking steps to prevent an attacker from gaining access rather than simply hiding. “Defend” describes taking action to protect oneself as a last resort.

The organization emphasizes that regardless of the terminology used, the goal is for civilians to have a plan, remain aware of their surroundings and understand that their actions during an emergency matter.

CRASE training also provides information about the history and prevalence of active shooter events, civilian response options and medical considerations. Law enforcement officers who complete ALERRT’s instructor training can then provide the information to schools, businesses and members of their communities.

The Sachse class is part of that community outreach and gives participants an opportunity to learn the response principles directly from local law enforcement before they are ever faced with an emergency.

The free training begins at 9 a.m. Oct. 3 at the Sachse Public Safety Building, 3815-D Sachse Road. No advance registration is required.

For additional information about CRASE and the Avoid, Deny, Defend model, visit alerrt.org.

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New Secretary of State Robert Howden has rolled out an online portal that allows Texans to confirm their active voter registration, register to vote in the upcoming election on Tuesday, Nov. 3, or make changes to a voter registration certificate. 

Monday, Oct. 5, is the last day to register to vote in the November Election and early voting runs from Monday, Oct. 19 through Friday, Oct. 30.

Requests for a ballot by mail must be received by Friday, Oct. 23. The mail ballot must be received by Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, (Election Day) at 7:00 p.m. if the carrier envelope is not postmarked, OR Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, (the next business day after Election Day) at 5:00 p.m. if the carrier envelope is postmarked by 7:00 p.m. at the location of the election on Election Day (unless overseas or military voter deadlines apply).

 The link to the Secretary of State’s voter registration portal is: https://bit.ly/4gMFjUL.

The portal, with a first build date of Aug. 18, confirms voter registration by asking for First Name, Last Name, Suffix, Date of Birth, and either ZIP Code and county, Driver’s License number or Voter ID number.

If a site visitor is not registered, a link asks in English or Spanish if the person is a U.S. Citizen and whether they will be 18 years of age on or before Election Day.

Clicking “No” on the citizenship question triggers the response: “You must be a United States citizen to proceed with this form.”

A similar message informs those under 18 that they must be at least 18 years old in order to vote.

Answering “yes” to both questions opens a form that must be completed, printed, signed and sent by U.S. Mail to the Secretary of State’s office.

The form requests a Driver’s License number, Texas ID number or the last four digits of a Social Security number. There is a box to check if a person does not have any of those documents.

The information form includes a warning that giving false information to procure voter registration is perjury and a violation under state and federal law.

“Conviction of this crime may result in imprisonment up to one year in jail, a fine  up to $4,000, or both,” the form says. “Please read all three statements to affirm before signing: I am a resident of this county and a U.S. Citizen; I have not been finally convicted of a felony, or if a felon, I have completed all of my punishment, including any term of incarceration, parole, supervision, period of probation, or I have been pardone [sic.]; and I have not been determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.”

Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Howden on July 17 to succeed Secretary Jane Nelson, who Abbott appointed in January 2023 following her three decades in the state Senate.

A University of Texas at Austin graduate, Howden had worked in Abbott’s office as director of legislative affairs. He previously worked with Govs. Bill Clements and Rick Perry.

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For Ashley Carlisle, growth does not always begin where it can be seen.

Sometimes, it starts in darkness — with no outward sign that circumstances are changing or prayers are being answered.

That idea is at the heart of Roots, a new Christian devotional app Carlisle developed to encourage people navigating seasons of waiting, uncertainty and spiritual growth.

Read the full story in the September 10th edition. Stay informed — subscribe to The Sachse News.

The club will host its inaugural Rotary Peace Summit from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, at the Collin College Wylie Campus Conference Center, 391 Country Club Road.

Designed as a conflict resolution conference, the summit will focus on building unity, encouraging dialogue and helping participants engage respectfully with people whose perspectives may differ from their own.

Wylie Rotary Past President Ofilia Barrera said the idea grew from Rotary’s broader commitment to promoting peace, but with an emphasis on challenges much closer to home.

“As Rotarians, we are committed to peace building,” Barrera said. “For many people, this brings to mind war torn countries. For us, it hits a little closer to home.”

Rotary President Bryan Brokaw proposed the summit as a way to address increasing polarization within the community, added Barrera.

“A lot of what we hear on the news and social media is negative, but when we look to our friends and neighbors, the positives abound,” she said. “We wanted to build on that. We want people to walk away knowing they can disagree and still work together to build a stronger community.”

The summit is open to anyone interested in strengthening the community, Barrera said, including leaders, business owners, educators, volunteers and engaged citizens from Wylie and surrounding areas.

Three featured speakers will guide participants through the day.

Wylie High School graduate Roza Patterson will open the summit. Patterson, an attorney and UCLA School of Law professor, is also a former Rotary Youth Leadership Awards participant. In 2013, she received a Rotary International Global Grant Scholarship to pursue a master’s degree focused on peace and conflict prevention and resolution.

Patterson has worked in employment law and was selected in 2021 for Orrick’s Racial, Social and Economic Justice Fellowship. She currently works as a deputy attorney general with the California Department of Justice.

The Rev. Celestin Musekura, president and CEO of African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries, will bring decades of experience in reconciliation and peacebuilding to the summit. The global nonprofit works toward an Africa without violent racial, tribal and religious conflicts.

Musekura lost family members during the Rwandan genocide, an experience that inspired his work helping leaders and communities move from conflict toward reconciliation. For three decades, he has trained leaders in strategies intended to promote healing and sustainable social change.

Organizational psychologist Heather Hodges will lead participants through a research-based framework examining how people approach challenges and how understanding those differences can help foster innovation and cooperation.

Hodges, who has 25 years of leadership experience, will also explore how culture shapes behavior, perceptions and an individual’s sense of safety.

Rotary organizers say the full-day program is intended to give participants opportunities not only to hear from the speakers but also to practice listening, gain perspective and develop skills that can be used in workplaces, organizations and everyday community interactions.

Doors open at 8 a.m. for check-in and a continental breakfast. Lunch will be served at noon. Following the summit, participants may attend an optional happy hour from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Landon Winery in downtown Wylie.

Registration is $115 per person. A table for eight is $805. Sponsorship opportunities are also available.

Parking at Collin College is free.

For registration, sponsorship information or additional details, visit wylierotary.org/page/peace-summit or email to [email protected].

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Family stories, Revolutionary-era fashion and Wylie history came together Saturday, Aug. 29, as the Wylie Historical Society celebrated the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary with its America 250 BBQ Luncheon.

Wylie Historical Society Treasurer Alexis Tapp welcomed guests to the event, which included the posting of the colors by Boy Scout Troop 442, the national anthem, a costume contest, raffle and silent auction. Col. W.D. Wylie, portrayed by Eugene Hauptmann, led the pledge and later offered a prayer.

The luncheon’s keynote speaker, author Tracy Lawson, explored how family lore, letters and journals can become the foundation for books, while Jen Thompson and Beth Klimek of the DFW Costumers Guild brought another piece of the past to life with a demonstration of late-18th-century women’s fashion.

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The Texas Department of Transportation is proposing a $230 million expansion of FM 3286 and FM 546 across Lavon Lake, a project that would replace the existing two-lane bridge and widen nearly five miles of roadway between Lucas and the Princeton area.

But construction remains years away and no money has been identified to build it.

TxDOT presented the proposal Tuesday, Aug. 25, during an open house at Southfork Ranch in Parker.

The project covers approximately 4.71 miles, extending from FM 1378 in Lucas east along FM 3286, also known as East Lucas Road, across Lake Lavon and continuing on FM 546 to FM 982 leading into Princeton.

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From Wild West fun and pop-up parks to the State Fair of Texas, Maize Days and Sachse’s annual Fall-O-Ween celebration, the next several weeks offer something for just about every age.

The season gets underway Saturday, Sept. 5, with Sachse’s Mother N’ Son Wild West Roundup from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Michael J. Felix Community Center, 3815-E Sachse Road.

Designed for mothers and sons ages 4-11, the event will feature bounce houses, Western-themed games, crafts, prizes and mechanical bull riding. Admission is $15 per pair and $5 for each additional child.

Later in the month, Sachse Parks and Recreation will bring activities directly into the community with a Pop-Up Park from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, at Firefighters Park, 2841 Fifth St.

City staff will provide games and activities for the whole family during the free event. Another Pop-Up Park is scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. 

Saturday, Oct. 3, at J.K. Sachse Park, 4310 Ranch Road.

Sachse will host its X-Treme Green Event from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, at Heritage Park, 4408 Hudson Drive.

The annual event, held in partnership with Community Waste Disposal, gives residents an opportunity to dispose of and recycle a variety of household items while promoting environmentally friendly practices.

For those willing to venture a little farther from home, one of North Texas’ biggest fall traditions returns Friday, Sept. 25, when the State Fair of Texas opens at Fair Park in Dallas.

Celebrating its 140th anniversary, this year’s fair carries the theme “Stars, Stripes and Howdies!” and runs through Sunday, Oct. 18. Fair hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Closer to home, Murphy will celebrate 16 years of Maize Days with its free Cornival Saturday, Oct. 3, at Central Park, 550 N. Murphy Road.

Festivities begin at noon and continue through a fireworks show scheduled for 9:30 p.m. The festival includes live entertainment, games and rides on the Maize Midway, a playground area for younger children, inflatables, farm games and a cornhole competition.

General parking is free at Tom Kimbrough Stadium. Ride wristbands are $15 in advance and $20 the day of the festival.

Sachse will continue its October activities with National Night Out from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, with gatherings planned in neighborhoods throughout the city and at Heritage Park.

Residents planning neighborhood gatherings are encouraged to register for a Block Party Permit and select “National Night Out” on the form. Registration helps city officials and Sachse Police officers know where gatherings are taking place so they can stop by during the evening.

The fall calendar continues Saturday, Oct. 17, with one of the city’s signature seasonal events, Fall-O- Ween.

This year’s Fall-O-Ween will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. in an expanded area of Heritage Park, 4408 Hudson Drive, behind Sewell Elementary.

The free event packs a full slate of activities into four hours, including a haunted maze, creepy carnival, petting zoo, costume contests, food vendors, live performances, a trick-or-treat market and cornhole tournament. A drone show is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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Griffin, 76, died Sunday, Aug. 23, after serving the district for 28 years. She was the first Black woman to serve on the Garland ISD Board of Trustees.

In a statement following her death, Superintendent Ricardo López called Griffin’s passing “a tremendous loss for Garland ISD and the countless students, educators, families, and community members whose lives she touched.”

“Mrs. Griffin will be deeply missed, and the love she gave and the difference she made will live on for generations,” López said.

Board President Wes Johnson announced that the Team of Eight training meeting had been canceled following Griffin’s death. He then asked for a moment of silence before reflecting on one of the philosophies that guided her service to the district.

“Miss Griffin would want us 100% to move on with this meeting and all meetings because what was her life about? Always benefiting children. ABC,” Johnson said. “And if you knew her for any length of time, you’re going to hear those three letters. And so she wants us to continue doing that tonight and every night moving forward, and that’s what we intend to do.”

Garland Education Association President Lucero Cazares-Rodriguez also honored Griffin during the public forum, noting that the organization had supported her each time she ran for trustee and that her loss would be “greatly felt throughout the district.”

Cazares-Rodriguez also asked the board to consider creating a program that would allow employees to donate a day of leave to other employees struggling with health issues.

Following the public forum, trustees recognized high-achieving students and their instructors, including UIL State Solo and Ensemble Gold Medalists, UIL State Solo and Ensemble Outstanding Performers and members of the Texas Choral Directors Association Honor Choir.

The district also introduced several new principals, including Melody Sawaski, principal of the Gilbreath-Reed Career and Technical Center; Ashley Wong, principal of Sachse High School; and Kristy Nolan, principal of Coyle Middle School.

During trustee reports, board members again reflected on Griffin and shared memories of their longtime colleague. Trustee Robert Selders Jr. said the meeting felt “different” without her and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to learn from Griffin during his own service as a trustee.

Johnson said the district plans to hold a “more formal” celebration of life for Griffin but did not specify a date.

Following reports from trustees and the superintendent, the board unanimously approved its consent agenda.

Trustees also unanimously approved consolidating two contracts for the purchase of musical instruments, repair services and parts following a brief discussion.

The meeting adjourned following an executive session.

Garland ISD trustees will meet at 5 p.m., Sept. 22, for their next regular meeting.  

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Officials say the individual visited three public venues while infectious:

Turrentine Jackson Morrow Funeral Home, 2525 Central Expressway North, Allen, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Aug. 14; Gloria’s Latin Cuisine, 152 Fountain Circle Fairview, between 12:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Aug. 14; and The Revel in Frisco Patio & Grill, 9305 Preston Road, Frisco, from 7:45 p.m. to 12 a.m. Aug. 15.

The county says measles is a highly contagious disease that can be transmitted from person-to-person through the air or contaminated surfaces. Measles can remain in the air for up to two hours after an infected person has left the area. Measles can lead to serious health complications, health officials say.

Collin County Health Care Services says if you or anybody you know were at any of these locations during the specified dates and are not vaccinated against measles, or are unsure of immunity, there is a risk of contracting measles. Those people, as well as pregnant or immunocompromised individuals, should contact their health care provider.

The county says anyone who was at the venues on the dates listed should monitor themselves for measles symptoms through Sept. 5.
Symptoms of measles typically include fever, dry cough, runny nose, sore throat, inflamed eyes (conjunctivitis), small white spots inside the mouth known as Koplik’s spots, and a skin rash made up of large, flat blotches.

If symptoms develop, health officials recommend staying home and avoiding contact with others. A health care provider should be contacted for guidance, and individuals are advised to call ahead before visiting a clinic or hospital to prevent further exposure.

The most effective way to prevent measles is vaccination with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, said health officials.

For more information about measles, including symptoms, prevention and treatment, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at www.cdc.gov/measles.

Collin County Health Care Services said it will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as needed.

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