Caitlin Hardegree

Carol Dingman, long-time civic leader in Farmers Branch, knows the Metrocrest community. She also knows real estate, non-profits, local government and the importance of civic involvement.

Where all of this knowledge intersects for Carol is in how to meet a growing need – and that’s why you find Carol at Metrocrest Services.

Along with her husband, Joe Dingman, Carol has been a long-time supporter of the non-profit social service agency. Involved since Metrocrest Services’ inception, Carol has worn a variety of hats: president of the inaugural board of directors, volunteer, board member, campaign chair, lifetime achievement honoree.

When Metrocrest Services recently launched its biggest fundraising goal to date, the Building Our Future Capital Campaign, Carol again pledged her support as a donor and also as a member of the capital campaign committee.

“After all this time, one thing I continue to admire about Metrocrest Services is that they have stuck to their original mission, which spells success for a non-profit,” Carol said. “I’ve been on a lot of non-profit boards in my life and one thing I’ve learned is that if you don’t follow your mission, you’re going to go into the weeds.”

Carol points to excellent leadership from the organization’s executive directors, including Tracy Eubanks, current CEO of Metrocrest Services. “Because of Metrocrest’s history and because Tracy is a guy who does a good job out and about, I don’t have to tell people to get involved in Metrocrest; they know it’s important,” she said.

During the pandemic, Metrocrest Services scaled up exponentially to meet an already rising need – one that hasn’t slowed down.

“I think the new building is going to help,” Carol said. “I agreed to join the capital campaign committee because of that. It made sense after 50 years! There are very few non-profits who can say they’ve been around for 50 years!”

Expected to open in mid-2023, the new campus for Metrocrest Services is the first facility specifically designed to meet the growing needs that the non-profit meets through its wrap-around services. The new facility is being built through funds raised from the Building Our Future capital campaign.

The new campus of Metrocrest Services will be located on 4.6 acres of property near the intersection of Josey Lane and Belt Line Road in Carrollton. A 48,000-square-foot facility will become a welcoming hub for all of the agency’s daily operations, including providing access to nutritious food, workforce development and financial literacy, rent and utility assistance, senior services and other programs for individuals, families and seniors that lead to self-sufficiency and foster independence.

Metrocrest Services’ new home also will include shared space for complementary service providers to support clients from one central location and a volunteer center offering greater access to opportunities for community engagement. Bringing all Metrocrest Services programs under one roof, the new campus will allow for improved efficiency in all operations, and will house the expanded programs that the non-profit has launched to meet today’s elevated need while planning for the future.

 “It’s just enriching and extending their mission,” Carol said of this landmark development in the organization’s 50-plus-year history.

To date, more than $14.8 million has been committed to the Building Our Future capital campaign for Metrocrest Services. Members of the community are encouraged to visit msbuildingourfuture.org to pledge their own support. Every gift makes a difference and helps to create a place that serves Metrocrest neighbors in need with dignity and respect.

The influx of people coming to DFW has been one of the biggest in the country, Carol emphasized. And with that, the Metrocrest cities of Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Coppell, Addison (and of course Dallas), continue to be desirable places to live and work, offering close proximity to all that North Texas has to offer and neighborhoods that create a sense of community. “It’s location, location, location,” Carol explained, noting that soaring home prices coupled with inflation were putting many families in precarious financial situations.

“Metrocrest Services was set up in the 1970s because the Community Council of Greater Dallas saw the growth and a need for social services,” Carol said. “The need grew and the cities have been supportive in providing funding as a contract for services.” Cities view Metrocrest Services as a partner in meeting a need — in addition to its role as a respected local charity—and are stakeholders in Metrocrest Services offering services for their community members, she said. “Metrocrest Services has been a real integral part of our community.”

“If your city grows, there’s going to be people there who have crises and needs, and the city is going to have to help them in some way. The approach was and is that Metrocrest Services has the experts who can help more effectively and efficiently than anyone. When cities provide funding, that helps Metrocrest to provide those important services in that city.”

What does Carol see as next in the future of Metrocrest Services?

“Ideally, they should go out of business, because there’s no need,” Carol laughed, “but that will never happen!

“I think they’re going to keep doing what they’re doing and finding more ways to serve the community, to build community. They’re trying to help make people self-sufficient. I hope they go for another 50 years!”

Progress Update

Things are moving quickly as the construction continues. “Each week, the building looks more and more like our new home,” shared Special Programs Director Bev Grimely.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

For the Wachs family of Castle Hills, giving knows no boundaries.

Deb and Steve Wachs, residents of Castle Hills in Lewisville, have chosen to be part of the Metrocrest Services mission for more than 35 years and have made volunteering at Metrocrest Services one of their most-treasured family traditions.

“Back then, they only had nine staff members,” Deb remembers of her beginnings with the young agency. “I was chair of missions at my church, and that’s how I got introduced to Metrocrest Services. We did Easter baskets and the holiday family adoption program,” she said. “That’s how we got started.”

That involvement expanded into being part of the team running the agency’s holiday store, becoming involved in back-to-school shoe programs, winter coat drives, volunteering for the Sack Summer Hunger initiative and more. Deb also has served on the Metrocrest Services Board of Directors, and Steve joined Deb in chairing the Metrocrest Services 50^th Anniversary Golden Gala in the fall of 2021.

Introducing Their Children to Volunteerism

Throughout their service, Deb and Steve have not only benefited families in need, but also have brought new traditions and perspectives to their own family.

“It was important to us to introduce our kids to giving back. Metrocrest Services provided that environment in which to learn, and it’s something our children carry with them throughout their lives,” Steve said.

“As our children grew old enough to be involved, they would just come with me,” Deb said of her daughter Stephanie and son Jeremy. The kids would spend hours helping Deb arrange the toys in the holiday store for families in need to come and select during the holiday season, or gather and organize coats for the winter coat drive, for example.

“Even when they would come home from college, they would bring friends to introduce them to the Metrocrest Services mission,” Deb, a clothing stylist with Cabi, said. “We’ve done a wide range of things, but we’ve always tried to integrate others into everything we do.

“We have gained so much from volunteering and for people new to Metrocrest Services. The best way to learn about it is to volunteer.”

Steve, owner and partner of Legacy Consulting Group, a wealth management firm in Plano, is committed to the idea of creating sustainable change that will far outlive any of us.

“Volunteering through Metrocrest Services is a way to introduce a generational change in your kids in giving back – not just with money but also with your time.” It develops a different person, Steve explained, one who is more conscious of those around them and how one person’s philanthropy – via time or money given – can help someone in need.

“We just really encourage our friends to teach their kids the art of giving,” Deb explained.

Steve and Deb’s daughter Stephanie turned her commitment to giving into a career, now serving as a licensed clinical social worker in Atlanta, Georgia. The Wachs’ son Jeremy lives in Justin and works in the audio/visual field. He recently put his specialized skills to work for Metrocrest Services, volunteering to run the A/V for the Golden Gala that the Wachs chaired.

When asked how both of their children ended up incorporating philanthropy into their lives – and in their own unique ways — Deb and Steve shrug and shake their heads. “They both just came out with the same heart for Metrocrest,” Deb said with a smile.

When asked what advice they might have for parents wanting to get their own children involved with volunteerism and philanthropy, Steve had words of wisdom to share: “Friends and food are two things I would suggest. There are times when our kids brought friends with them to Metrocrest. Bring them in packs, tell them that there’s going to be time to hang out, and feed them – take them out to eat after they volunteer.”

“For us, serving just evolved into our family tradition,” Deb said. “Even when they would come home from college, Stephanie and Jeremy would often go straight to Metrocrest Services to do a volunteer shift before heading home. As adults, they continue to volunteer, so we have seen the fruits of those efforts and their evolution as they have grown. They always looked forward to volunteering.”

Making a Generational Difference

In addition to helping grow and foster a new generation of volunteers, Deb and Steve also have chosen to support a new home for Metrocrest Services by supporting the Building Our Future capital campaign. The goal of the campaign is to raise the funding needed for a new facility for the agency in the heart of the Metrocrest Services’ service area. In addition to personally supporting the campaign, Deb and Steve Wachs also volunteer their time on the capital campaign committee.

“We’ve always talked about the perfect location of Belt Line and Josey roads in Carrollton would be — the fact that we’re in that location now was truly meant to be,” Deb said. “It’s been a dream for many for a long, long time.”

Because of her experience as a volunteer and board member, Deb is intimately familiar with the need for a larger facility to house the services required to help provide for the communities served.

“Because of that exposure to the inner workings of Metrocrest Services, I always knew we needed a better location and a better facility – and I also knew we wouldn’t find an existing facility,” Deb said. The new home for Metrocrest Services, slated to open in 2023, will combine all of the agency’s many services into one efficient, custom-built space that will provide convenient access for clients and also a great place to work and serve for volunteers and staff.

“The dream was always to have our own space where we could offer these programs and have space to add other services and programs,” Deb said. “Now we can see it.”

“Facilities like this allow you to have more people on hand, and the need is always there,” Steve said.

“At Metrocrest Services, it’s a hand up rather than simply a hand out, so Metrocrest provides job training, interview skills and other support services that will empower families to move on to that next step of self-sufficiency.” Steve points to wrap-around services like these and others that support clients as they better their lives for themselves and their families. Helping individuals as they learn and grow to meet their own family’s needs often opens up doors for their children they might have always assumed to be impossible to open.

“This building will provide that – and that’s something that will make a generational difference in people’s lives,” Steve said.

While the Wachs continue to add to their family’s tradition of giving back, they also help mentor others in how to create a legacy for themselves through volunteerism and philanthropy.

“It’s all about building it out to make a generational difference in people’s lives,” Steve said. Deb agreed and added, “If there’s any heart of giving in there, if they do it once, they’ll do it again.”

Vari Elevates Work of Metrocrest Services

Workspace innovation company shares innovation and dedication with non-profit.

To unlock the potential of an organization’s space and people, Vari provides expertise to companies across many different industries. Through a unique and inspiring partnership, that expertise will also make a difference for individuals, families and seniors striving to achieve self-sufficiency, as Vari provides volunteer time, professional support and exceptional products to Metrocrest Services.

In 2016, Vari CEO Jason McCann came across a sign-up sheet for volunteers helping deliver meals with a non-profit organization called Metrocrest Services. A Vari employee had signed up to help, and that led McCann to find out more about Metrocrest Services.

“After seeing his photos from the event, I wanted to learn more about what Metrocrest was doing,” McCann said. The Vari CEO decided to donate to Metrocrest Services and then took his support a step further by touring the non-profit and speaking with Tracy Eubanks, CEO of Metrocrest Services. “After personally volunteering with my team at Metrocrest and seeing the impact it was making in people’s lives, I was immediately hooked and wanted to do more,” McCann said.

McCann learned that Metrocrest Services was in the process of building a new facility to better serve the organization’s growing clientele through a larger, dedicated space that would allow the combining of several different facilities. A lightbulb went off as McCann discovered an additional way that he and other Vari employees could support the mission of Metrocrest Services: Vari “leaned in,” McCann said, and provided an in-kind donation of more than $500,000 to help Metrocrest Services create a flexible workspace to best serve clients and to be a fantastic place for employees to work.

Vari has worked with more than 1,000 organizations helping to create spaces that foster collaboration and engagement. Vari’s workspace design team works closely with organizations to understand their needs and determine how their spaces can best be outfitted with workstations, soft seating, moveable walls and more that enhance collaboration. At Metrocrest Services, Vari products will outfit a welcome center, workstations, offices and multipurpose rooms, and they were carefully chosen to best meet the needs of the growing non-profit.

“Metrocrest Services benefits not only in terms of receiving this generous donation, but most importantly, from the expertise Vari has offered to us,” Eubanks said. “As we continue to grow to meet the demand, we maintain a focus on this also being a place where talented people can do their best work, their life’s work, and in doing so, positively impact those in our community who depend on us.”

Vari and Metrocrest have collaborated to create an environment that will empower Metrocrest Services and its employees with flexible workspaces that encourage productivity and collaboration. “We can’t wait for the new facility to open and see what Metrocrest has in store next for DFW!” McCann said.

In addition to its expansive work with companies across the country, Vari also has first-hand experience in designing, building and outfitting spaces that best meet the need of a growing organization. Vari recently moved into its own new headquarters, VariSpace Coppell – an accomplishment that also served to commemorates Vari’s 10-year anniversary.

Vari has brought significant value to Metrocrest Services and, in turn, the non-profit has served in a unique role for Vari – as the foundation for a corporate giving program that will continue to help those in need as Vari employees dedicate themselves to bettering their communities.

“Our involvement with Metrocrest Services became the catalyst for Vari Community Giving and the Volunteer Time Off (VTO) investments that we make for our teams and the surrounding communities,” McCann said. Like Metrocrest Services, Vari’s dedication to giving back remains an important part of the Vari mission and core values. By partnering with nonprofits in key markets, Vari is able to provide in-kind donations and outfit workspaces for these organizations, allowing these nonprofits to use their resources where they matter most.

“Working alongside Vari – whether that’s while they help us serve those in need, or while they are pouring expertise into our new home – has been rewarding on many levels,” Eubanks said. “For Metrocrest to serve as some sort of inspiration for their philanthropic efforts is tremendously rewarding.”