Calhoun Community Development Alliance

The mission of the Calhoun Community Development Alliance is to unite our communities and enhance the quality of life for all Calhoun County residents through a series of programs, initiatives, and services.

1. The focus area for Housing Assistance is low to moderate income residents of Calhoun County who are in need of assistance to purchase housing for themselves and their families. The CCDA would help these individuals pass those sometimes difficult financial hurdles to complete what may be their first home buying purchase.

2. The focus of the Calhoun County Animal Services is and always has been the dogs and puppies for whom they work hard to rescue, rehabilitate, spay and neuter, and find homes. With the help of staff and volunteers, this work is never-ending. The shelter is constantly running out of space and is desperately in need of expansion as well as supplies and food.

3. The focus of the Youth Retention and Leadership Program is the youth in Calhoun County that are needed to bolster the workforce and maintain traditions. Maintaining a growing and educated workforce following high school or college graduation is important to foster community loyalty and grow a dedicated workforce that will stay in place and grow within the community.

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Testimonials

1. Housing Assistance
CCDA is currently working with local and state funding partners, but these stories are protected at this time.

2. Calhoun County Animal Services
On February 21, 2023, Animal Services staff picked up two adult dogs. One was a very pregnant female, due to deliver at any time. The shelter put out a desperate plea to the community via their Facebook page asking for foster assistance as the shelter was full at that time and unable to house these needy dogs. Lack of shelter space and much-needed veterinary care are crucial needs to address in order to continue their good work.

3. Youth Retention and Leadership Program
Nydja Hood, News19, October 7, 2022 (For photos and video, go to https://www.wltx.com/article/news/local/street-squad/community-arts-project-youth-retention-calhoun-county/101-ea00c9c0-910f-4a1f-84ee-690c1d2d9026)

"Community arts project encourages youth retention in Calhoun County"
The project is part of the youth retention and leadership program. Encouraging kids to stay in their communities after they graduate is the goal of the community arts project in Calhoun County. "The youth are in the schools, so we wanna keep them engaged and keep them involved because we believe that an engaged community is a healthy community and a healthy community is a prosperous community," said Calhoun County recreation director Zachary Tarrant. The project is part of the youth retention and leadership program. It's also a collaboration between the Calhoun County Recreation Department, Community Development, and the school district.
"We think that it helps the community grow, helps the county grow. The more people that live here, the more people that work here, the more businesses can come, the infrastructure will come, jobs will be here, we'll be able to open up different businesses," said Tarrant.
The first task was painting hole markers at the Calhoun County golf course. 26 students throughout the Calhoun County School District participated.
"A lot of them they took their time, they wanted to make it look as best as possible. So it gives them hands-on experience with the arts and whatever they want to accomplish once they go to next level, whether that be college or a career," he said.
Next, the group plans to paint murals throughout the county, including one at the John Ford Community Center next year. They will also be contributing to St. Matthew's Purple Martin Festival in the spring.

4. CCDA works with Calhoun Snack Packs to meet nutrition needs of over 130 school children in Calhoun County. Snack Packs is operated out of St. Paul UMC and partners with Calhoun County Public Schools to help students identified by school counselors as being in need of food over the weekends when school food services are not operating. Volunteers from throughout the community pack these bags and deliver them to counselors, who then distribute them discreetly to students. Calhoun Snack Packs accomplishes this with no paid staff and donated space.