a helping hand

Houston nonprofits need help during the coronavirus pandemic

Kids' Meals helps alleviate food neediness for Houston preschoolers.

In any time of crisis, it's natural to want to be able to help, to feel like one can do something, even something small, to assist someone else. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to grip Houston and beyond, organizations that are used to providing for those in need are feeling the squeeze of dwindled supplies and donations.

For Houstonians who are in a place to assist, here are some organizations collecting money and supplies.

Interested in helping a specific Houston charity? Check out our handy Charity Guide.

Houston Children's Charity
Dedicated to improving the lives of Houston's underprivileged, disabled, and abused children, the organization was established in 1996. The group cancelled its annual gala, but is hosting an online auction to raise funds. Check the organization's website for further details.

Kids' Meals
While school-aged children can often get meals at school — and many schools throughout the area continue to provide this service — Kids' Meals helps alleviate food neediness for area preschoolers. The nonprofit typically provides 3,000 meals to youngsters; since the advent of the coronavirus pandemic, the need has increased to 6,000 as the organization looks to help cover preschoolers' siblings, too. Those who can help are encouraged to donate here.

Second Servings of Houston
Founded in 2014, this is the area's prepared and perishable food rescue organization. Its main goal is to pick up unused food from retailers, hotels, and restaurants and deliver it to sites throughout Houston. Restaurateurs with overstock can click here for details if they want to donate food. Others who wish to help can donate online.

Southern Smoke Foundation
Founded by Houston James Beard Award-winning chef Chris Shepherd in 2015, this organization raises funds to help members of the food and beverage community facing hardships. With Houston restaurants reduced to curbside pickup, takeout, and delivery options, the need for relief is great.

Those working in the hospitality sector who are affected by coronavirus closures and hours reductions can apply for assistance from the organization's Emergency Relief Fund here. For those who've helped make dining out Houston's unofficial city pastime, consider making a donation that could help a favorite server, bartender, chef or other hospitality professional.

The American Red Cross - Houston
The American Red Cross - Houston desperately needs donations of lifesaving blood, platelets, or AB Elite plasma. The blood shortage could impact patients who need surgery, emergency victims, and cancer patients. The organization insists that donating is a safe and urges organizers to maintain scheduled blood drives.

charity

safe suburbs

Houston neighbor shines on new 2025 list of safest American cities

Photo courtesy of Visit Pearland

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New Year's resolutions can come in many forms, and if relocating to a safe Houston-area suburb is high on the list for 2025, Pearland is the place to be.

Pearland was declared the No. 13 safest city in America for 2025 in a new study by personal finance advisors MoneyGeek. The website's experts examined the most recent FBI crime statistics (from 2023) to determine the cost of crime in 292 U.S. cities with populations over 100,000 residents.

The estimated cost of crime in this Houston suburb – which the study calculated as the "societal cost of crime per resident" – was $471 in 2023.

Pearland's crime cost per capita is far lower the national crime cost, which was $2,178 per resident.

The report also analyzed the city's violent crime and property crime rates, and Pearland had the 11th lowest rate of violent crime in 2023 with only 106 crimes committed for every 100,000 residents.

The city didn't fare as well with its property crime rate; there were 1,669 property crimes committed in 2023 per 100,000 residents, which was the 68th lowest rate out of all 292 U.S. cities.

However, that's still a better rate than most places in the country. Pearland residents can be smug that they don't live in Oakland, California, which had the highest property crime rate in the nation with 10,117 crimes committed per 100,000 residents.

Finally, MoneyGeek determined each city's total cost of crime, which the study defines as the "economic losses attributed to crime and its cost to society (individuals, community and nationally) in millions."

In this metric, Pearland had the seventh-lowest total crime cost, which was less than $60 million in 2023.

While some of these statistics may seem scary, Tulane University associate professor of political science Geoffrey T. Dancy warns it is unwise to make assumptions about a city based solely on its crime rates.

"We live in an unequal society," said Dancy in the report. "One often overlooked indicator of that inequality is who gets to engage in the politics of safety. Those who are objectively safe often fear crime and act on it in the counterproductive policies they support. Those who are actually victimized by crime and terrorized by gun violence pay the price and are rarely heard."

Elsewhere in Texas, the Dallas suburb of Frisco nearly topped the list as the No. 2 safest city in America with a $287 crime cost per capita. Other safe Texas cities in the report include Plano (No. 18), Sugar Land (No. 20), McKinney (No. 22), Round Rock (No. 26), Grand Prairie (No. 42), and League City (No. 48).

The top 10 safest American cities for 2025 are:

No. 1 – Ramapo Town, New York
No. 2 – Frisco, Texas
No. 3 – Irvine, California
No. 4 – Fishers, Indiana
No. 5 – Lakewood Township, New Jersey
No. 6 – Cary, North Carolina
No. 7 – Pembroke Pines, Florida
No. 8 – Elk Grove, California
No. 9 – Surprise, Arizona
No. 10 – Sterling Heights, Michigan

For the purpose of the study, violent crime rates were determined based on the number of murders and non-negligent manslaughters, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults per 100,000 residents; and property crimes were defined as the rates of burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft offenses per 100,000 residents.

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