Trigger’s Toys Names Youth With Faces 2020 Children’s Champion Award Beneficiary

$100,000 Challenge Grant Provides Significant Opportunity to Impact the Lives of Justice-Involved Youth

With the mission to make a positive impact on the lives of our community’s most vulnerable children, Trigger’s Toys has named Youth With Faces as its 2020 Children’s Champion Award beneficiary. Trigger’s Toys considered several local nonprofits for the $100,000 challenge grant and selected Youth With Faces for its innovative approach in creating new pathways to success for thousands of teens in the Dallas County juvenile system.

The Trigger’s Toys 2020 Children’s Champion Award provides a $1 for $1 match to any donation Youth With Faces receives between now and December 31, 2020 (up to $100,000). While initially interested in Youth With Faces PREP Dog Training program, Trigger’s Toys quickly realized the synergy the two organizations share in impacting the lives of children in the North Texas community. Trigger’s Toys was founded in 2008 with the mission to reduce financial and emotional stress on chronically-ill children and their families. The organization is named after Bryan and Stacey Townsend’s dog Trigger who served as a therapy dog to children in hospitals throughout DFW. Today, Trigger’s Toys has expanded its efforts to serve all vulnerable children in our community.

“With this award to Youth With Faces, we are expanding the Trigger’s Toys mission to make a real change in ALL children’s lives,” said Bryan Townsend, Founder and CEO of Trigger’s Toys. “We chose Youth With Faces because they are one of the few proven organizations in North Texas working with incarcerated youth and children whose lives have been impacted by the justice system. I endorse Youth With Faces’ programs as the best way to bring hope and deliver a tangible impact on the lives of our young North Texas neighbors who have encountered the juvenile justice system.” 

Youth With Faces programs include Career Readiness, Culinary Arts, Therapeutic Dog Training, and Food Handler, Welding, Blueprint, Forklift and OSHA certifications, as well as reentry support. According to a study by the University of Texas at Dallas, fewer than 15 percent of teens who participate in Youth With Faces programming return to juvenile detention compared to a statewide recidivism rate of 66 percent. Seventy-five percent of Youth With Faces participants secure a job within the first year after their release. 

“For justice-involved youth, whose talents are often stunted by poverty and family disruptions, their mistakes can lead to a cycle of crime difficult for any teen to overcome alone,” said Chris Quadri, CEO. “We are thankful for Trigger’s Toys partnership and generous support in giving these young people opportunities to gain social, job and life skills for success after their release.”

Advocates for Youth With Faces students can double their impact on the lives of justice-involved youth by donating before December 31 at bit.ly/YWFChallengeGrant.