Coalition for Empowering Children & Families - CECF

10/30/2026

On behalf of the Child Protection Court:

🎃 Thrift n’ Thrive Trunk or Treat 2026! 👻🍬

What an incredible evening! A heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s Thrift n’ Thrive Trunk or Treat such a memorable event. Seeing so many children and families enjoying the evening, sharing smiles, and celebrating together made the experience truly special! 🧡

🎓 A HUGE thank you to our UTRGV School of Social Work interns Carla Lopez-Triana, Brianda Alaniz, and Hannia Gonzalez, along with our former intern and special guest Yaritza De La Torre. These young ladies put in an incredible amount of time and effort preparing for the event, and their hard work and dedication helped make the evening a success. I am incredibly grateful for each of them! ✌🏻

👏 I also want to recognize our Child Protection Court staff, Agustin Delarosa, Ross Beltran, and Letty Lazo, for their continued support, dedication, and willingness to go the extra mile. I am fortunate to work alongside such a committed team, and I truly appreciate everything they do.

💕 A very special thank you to our youngest volunteer, Olive Mendoza, and her parents, Britny Rocha-Mendoza and Ignacio Mendoza, for stopping by and lending a hand! Olive was a terrific helper, and we loved having the whole family join us!

🤝 A special shout-out to CASA of Hidalgo County, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), Johnny Garcia and Ceballos-Diaz Funeral Home for coming out and helping make the evening special for the children! We appreciate your participation and your continued support of children and families in our community.

🏙️ A special thank you to the City of Edinburg for hosting this fantastic community event! We appreciate the opportunity to participate and be part of an evening that brought so many families, organizations, and community partners together.

🍭 Thank you as well to everyone who donated candy, volunteered their time, participated in the festivities, and helped bring our community together. We couldn’t have done it without your generosity and support!

Most importantly, thank you to all the children and families who came out. Seeing the excitement on the children’s faces reminded us why events like this mean so much. ❤️

From all of us at the Child Protection Court of the Rio Grande Valley West, thank you for making this an evening to remember! 🎃🍬

10/29/2026

Please join us for trunk or treat at Edinburg municipal Park. Boys and girls club of Edinburg is here next to us and giving out free memberships! Hope you can join us! 🎃👻💀

10/23/2026

Thank You to Our CECF Community Partners!

Thank you to everyone who joined us today, both in person and online, for our Coalition for Empowering Children and Families (CECF) meeting at UTRGV!

A special thank you to our presenters, Mayra Aguillon of Colorful Breakthrough in ABA, PLLC, and Jorge L. Hernandez Jr., M.Ed., LPC, and Claudia Montoya of the Children's Advocacy Center of Hidalgo and Starr Counties , for sharing their knowledge and the important services their organizations provide.

We also want to recognize Alyssa Reyes and Dr. Cynthia Jones from the Office for Advocacy & Violence Prevention at UTRGV and express our appreciation to UTRGV for its continued partnership and support.

A big thank you to our UTRGV School of Social Work interns, Brianda Alaniz, Hannia Gonzalez, and Carla Lopez Triana, for their hard work coordinating today’s meeting!

I also want to recognize our Child Protection Court staff, Letty Lazo, Agustin Delarosa, and Ross Beltran, for their continued support and dedication to the work of our court and coalition.

The court cannot do it alone, and no single organization can do it alone. By working together, we can identify resources, address gaps in services, and make a meaningful difference for children and families throughout our community.

Thank you again to all our partners for your participation and continued commitment. We look forward to seeing everyone at our next meeting!

10/23/2026

Meet Iliana, a happy 15-year-old looking to be adopted by her forever family.

10/22/2026

10/21/2026

🎃🍬 WE REACHED OUR GOAL! THANK YOU! 🍬🎃

Thanks to the generosity of so many wonderful people, our Thrift n’ Thrive Trunk-or-Treat candy drive has officially reached its goal!🎉

A special thank-you to Attorney Jose L. Bravo, J.D., candidate for PSJA School Board, Place 2, whose generous donation helped us reach our goal!

We also want to extend our sincere appreciation to everyone who contributed to this effort. Your kindness and generosity will help make Halloween a little more special for children and families in our community.

🎃 NOW, COME JOIN US! 🎃

We invite everyone to join us for the City of Edinburg’s Fall Festival & Trunk or Treat!

📅 Thursday, October 29, 2026

🕕 6:00 PM

📍 Edinburg Municipal Park
714 S. Raul Longoria Rd., Edinburg, TX

Bring the family and enjoy an evening of Halloween fun!

Thank you again to everyone who helped make this possible. We look forward to seeing you there! 🎃🍬❤️

10/18/2026

Ackyllies plays right guard, makes all A's, and has spent six years in Texas foster care. Now he's hoping to finally find a forever family.

10/16/2026

Happy Halloween.

10/16/2026

Prepare yourself for a spookily delightful experience as Spooktacular makes its return to the Edinburg World Birding Center! 🌿👻
Gather the entire family for an evening brimming with trick-or-treating, frightening games, arts and crafts, delicious food vendors, and spooky nature trails!
📅 When: Friday, October 23rd | 6 – 9 PM
📍 Where: Edinburg World Birding Center (714 S. Raul Longoria Rd.)
🎟️ Admission: FREE!

10/16/2026

🎃 October is here, and so is a brand-new lineup of fun at the Dustin M. Sekula Memorial Library! 📚✨
From cozy storytimes to spooktacular crafts, we’ve got a month full of hands-on activities planned for your little ones. Check out the schedule below, tag a fellow parent, and bring the kiddos by for some fall magic! 🍂👧👦