Local Affiliate

Houston Young Lawyers Association – HYLA & Making It Better - Family Literacy Night
By: HYLA Board Member Paul LeBlanc Jr. of Winstead PC

Illiteracy is a crisis in our communities across Texas, and is only getting worse.  However, early childhood intervention, parental involvement, and positive role modeling are proven methods of combating this huge societal problem.  As part of the solution, I have the privilege of serving an organization that strives to make a positive difference in the lives of children on a daily basis.  The organization is Making It Better, a Houston nonprofit organization that focuses on improving the lives of children through its focus on teaching literacy, leadership, and life skills to under-privileged children in the Houston area.

On October 20, 2015, the Houston Young Lawyers Association (HYLA) partnered with Making It Better to host a Family Literacy Night at the Belmont Place Apartments.  Family Literacy Nights are fun events where literacy is literally "brought home" to an under-served community in the Houston area. The events consist of various activity stations designed to engage the children and parents that live in the apartment complex, plus free food and literacy-related giveaways (books, bookmarks, family-friendly games, etc.) are provided to the attendees.  The theme for this particular Family Literacy Night was “Reading Under the Stars,” a camping theme, where guests enjoyed a summer camp-type atmosphere that included arts and crafts, s’mores, story time, family bonding, and a ton of fun and laughter!

Making It Better routinely organizes Family Literacy Nights, but this was the first one coordinated in partnership with HYLA volunteers.  The October Family Literacy Night was made possible by a generous grant from the Houston Young Lawyers Foundation.  And on a very exciting note, thanks to a generous grant from the Texas Young Lawyers Association, Making It Better and HYLA are teaming up again to host another Family Literacy night in February 2016! 

To learn more about Making It Better’s mission, visit www.mibtx.org, and for more information on HYLA, visit www.hyla.org.

Paul LeBlanc is a member of Winstead’s Real Estate Finance, Default Resolution & Servicing Practice Group and HYLA board member, Leadership Academy co-chair, and Corporate Counsel co-chair.