RISE Day South Dallas 2026
The RISE (Resilient, Inclusive & Sustainable Economies) program is a multi-year capacity-building initiative run by Community Wealth Partners. The program is for select nonprofits in Dallas and Miami-Dade. Since the majority of the program is online, when opportunities to meet in-person come about it’s always special. Last year, both Dallas and Miami cohort members met for the first time at the RISE conference in Dallas, and left with great memories and momentum to meet again. This year, each cohort met in their respective cities to meet, connect, and share how their organizations are shaping their communities. Abide Women’s Health Services and Cornerstone Community Development Corporation in South Dallas were at the forefront of RISE Day. We would like to share the truly remarkable experience we had during RISE Day Dallas.
Morning at Abide Women's Health Services
Abide Women's Health Services welcomed everyone in the morning portion of the program. This Black-led nonprofit clinic offering culturally informed prenatal and postnatal care in the heart of South Dallas exists to improve birth outcomes in communities with the lowest quality of care. They provide healthcare and complementary services that are accessible, holistic, evidence-based, and free from judgment.
South Dallas includes zip codes with disparities of Black maternal health in the region, and Abide is meeting mothers where they are, with midwifery care, postpartum and doula support, childbirth education, and even a mobile clinic that brings care directly into the community. It was an honor to meet the leaders of this organization and see a clinic designed to make women feel seen, respected, and cared for. It also set the tone for everything that followed.
Cornerstone Community Development Corporation and Partners
The rest of our day was spent on the campus of Cornerstone Baptist Church, base of the Cornerstone Community Development Corporation (CCDC). Places of worship are often anchor institutions and third spaces, and Cornerstone is a perfect example. The engine of the neighborhood work is CCDC, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that grew out of the church's commitment to South Dallas. CCDC runs its own programs and has helped attract, house, and champion a network of partner organizations in the neighborhood. We toured both.
The Partners
Viola's House provides maternity housing and wraparound support services to pregnant and parenting teens and young mothers who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness, offering parenting classes, job preparation, counseling, and a Baby Benefit Boutique where moms can earn credits toward baby essentials. While Abide cares for mothers' health; Viola's House makes sure those same mothers have a stable home.
Bike Friendly South Dallas is a 501(c)(3) dedicated to promoting wellness, mobility, and mentoring through bike riding, maintenance, safety, and awareness. Where transportation can be a barrier to jobs, groceries, and healthcare, this offers another mode for neighbors to embrace. Their motto is get more butts on bikes, but the impact on promoting freedom and access is much more serious.
Hope Farm – South Dallas is a long-term leadership development program that walks alongside boys growing up without a positive male role model in the home, starting when they're as young as five and staying with them all the way through high school graduation and beyond.
The Programs
We also visited several of the programs CCDC operates:
Southpoint Community Market is a nonprofit grocery store CCDC launched to fight food insecurity in a neighborhood long known as a food desert with shelves stocked based on surveys of what neighbors actually said they needed, and the space itself is intentionally beautiful because,”South Dallas deserves nice things.”
The Community Kitchen serves free hot meals throughout the week to neighborhood residents and people experiencing homelessness and doubles as a commercial kitchen space that local food entrepreneurs can use to build their businesses.
The Clothing Closet & Shower Facility offers clean clothes and showers to neighbors experiencing homelessness. Paired with the laundry services and other programs on campus.
And that's just what we were able to observe. It is incredible to walk blocks that have been transformed by CCDC's programs, from the after-school to the mobile laundry, and motherhood care available on their website.
Don’t Forget Lunch
The day was so intentional that the meal served was even moving. The meal was catered by Our DOOR to YOURS, a local catering business that happens to be one of the entrepreneurs operating out of the Community Kitchen. CCDC builds a kitchen to feed its neighbors, that kitchen incubates a local business, and that business in turn caters events that bring more people into the community.
Closing with a Moment of Silence
The day was closed with an immersive breath and meditation session hosted by Leah of Leah Heals at Breathe Meditation and Wellness. You can't pour from an empty cup, and Leah helped refill participants.
DCH Impressions
RISE Day is expertly organized and really galvanizes moments of the power of what the community can do together. Every one of these organizations is listening to neighbors, sharing resources, and trusting each other as partners. This is what a matrix of organizations can do for a community. We're grateful to Abide Women's Health Services, Cornerstone Community Development Corporation, Leah Heals, and every partner and program that opened their doors to us. And we're grateful to everyone who joined us, for the work you do supporting your community.
