EMILY WHANG / NEXTGENRADIO
What is the meaning of
home?
Camilo Diaz speaks with Edna Jackson, the founder of Edna’s Creative Learning Center, a nonprofit that provides resources to underprivileged youth. Jackson is from Como, Fort Worth, Texas. After experiencing poverty as a child, she has devoted her life to helping children and families in the same situation she was once in.
Nonprofit brings feeling of home to underprivileged Fort Worth youth
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EDNA JACKSON: There was a girl who lived in a dream. She didn’t have clothes. Though a lot of my girls don’t have clothes. Some of them are in need of food.
I am Edna Jackson. I am a resident and a native of the Lake Como area here in Fort Worth, Texas. Edna’s Creative Learning Center is a nonprofit organization working with inner city youth and their families from Texas and beyond, that create programs to meet the needs of children in disadvantaged communities and in housing projects.
Some of the resources that I provide as for as the programs are fine arts, literacy, dance. The Inner Princess program, which it provides a full curriculum where it teaches self-confidence, self-love. They can come get gently used clothes, new clothes, shoes, toiletry items, food.
See where did we put that one?
Lake Como, It has been a community that has had its share of ups and downs. It has changed itself. I’m smiling because the roots go back so far, with me.
I brought this for mom, but I’m also going to go get a case of water.
When I look over at the house that we grew up in, my mother used to say, “it may not have bricks, but it’s mine.” And when I think about the food that we would smell — when we would come home from school and we could hear her in her cooking and singing — and we knew that she loved us. We didn’t know that we was really that poor, because our mom was always teaching laughing and loving on us and talking about life. It was a blessing.
So, that is why I do what I do because of my journey in life.
Think about some of these kids homes. They don’t even see that. At least I saw the form of love. So, for me, to come in and share and share love — because love is an action word and to meet a need — I’m able to empower little girls by being able to give and tell them that they have a right to dream. And I might bring a bow. I might bring the princess tiara and let them have that experience to be able to believe in themselves.
YAMILETH ROBLES: Thank you, Edna.
EDNA JACKSON: You’re Welcome, Princess. And I always want you to continue to be kind and smart and work hard in school..
They don’t call me Edna. They don’t call me miss. They call me queen Edna, ‘queen. Edna said that I can do it.’
So you dream on, be whatever you want to be. Just study and work hard..
One win, when I hear and I see the children smile. When I give new underware or shoes.
Two, when they call me queen Edna. And they’re excited about me sitting on the porch with them or bringing a program. It just — being able to see what i didn’t have. Sometime we didn’t even get new undergarments. And somebody said, “Are you going to break the pack open?” I said, “No,” but give them a whole pack of undergarments.
And just to see them saying, thank you. One little girl, it wasn’t that she said anything. She reached over and gave me a hug and I knew she was saying thank you.
It’s been times i’ve asked, why do you do this? It’s in my heart. I love people, I love humanity, and I know that sometimes you don’t have just an inkling, just a measure of hope. You won’t get up. Just somebody saying you can do it. I believe in you. That’s what I always tell them. And then not only do I tell them, I give. Maybe you thirsty. I can give you something to drink. Maybe you naked and I can clothe you. Maybe you’re hungry and I can get you some to eat. And then maybe when I leave planet Earth, they’ll say, “I remember this little lady. And she was always telling us that we can do it, and I’m going to keep doing it. I want to do what Queen Edna do.”
The backseat of Edna Jackson’s gray sedan was packed full of everything from snacks and household items to children’s books and colorful princess costumes. The overflowing cardboard boxes shifted and swayed with every turn as she drove through the Como neighborhood in west Fort Worth.
The weather may have been gloomy, but Jackson radiated joy as she started the day’s mission: Dropping off donations to families in need.
Jackson is the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Edna’s Creative Learning Center. For more than three decades, she’s provided resources like clothes, food, education resources and more for inner-city youth and families.
“I provide programs that inspire youth to dream and to believe in themselves,” Jackson said.
Arms stretched wide, Edna Jackson reflects on her life’s journey. Today she’s wearing a floral blouse that matches her bright personality. Jackson is quick with words of encouragement and a helping hand.
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Jackson delivers a tote bag filled with sidewalk chalk, bubbles and hair ribbons to a beaming Yamelith Robles, 8. Sisters Vicky Silva, Arlteth Robles and Yamelith Robles were a part of Jackson’s Inner Princess Program.
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She pulled into the driveway of a brown house belonging to a family she’s known for years. Brimming with excitement, she ruffled through a box of household cleaning products, paper towels, toothpaste and a gallon of water, listing out loud what the family might need as she sorted.
One by one, the three sisters who live here with their mom — Vicky Silva, 16, Arleth Robles, 15, and Yamileth Robles, 8 — came outside to greet Jackson with a smile and hug.
The girls were all part of the center’s Inner Princess Program, which includes a full curriculum on self-confidence, self-awareness and being a role model for young girls.
“I always would tell them ‘royalty lives inside of you, greatness lives inside of you, you have a right to dream no matter where you came from, no matter what your parents had done, you get to write your own story,’” Jackson said.
Vicky has fond memories of her time in the program.
“It was really fun,” Vicky said. “I liked being able to hang out with a lot of girls my age.”
Before dispensing the family’s more practical donations, Jackson presented Yamileth with a white canvas tote bag decorated with a blue and pink princess crown.
“Thank you, Edna!” she said and beamed while examining the colorful sidewalk chalk, tube of bubbles and hair ribbons inside.
“One win: When I hear and I see the children smile,” Jackson said.
Clutching a colorful bouquet of flowers and a grocery sack filled with household goods, Jackson makes her second delivery of the day to Bernice Lambert, 82, in Como, Fort Worth.
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Jackson’s next stop was just a few blocks over, to the home of Bernice Lambert. At 82, Lambert is a staple in the Como community.
“She’s just a lovable woman that has taken kids off the streets and tried to be there for them and feed them,” Jackson explained. “Now, they’re grown and doing well because she made a safe haven.”
Jackson brought her a bright bouquet of flowers and a shopping bag full of soft foods and hygiene products.
Lambert was happy to see her and got up from bed to give her a hug and a kiss. She also offered Lambert a sparkly tiara, telling her “You’re a queen to me and to many others.”
“Hallelujah,” Lambert said as she leaned in for a hug.
Along with hygiene products, Lambert receives a gift of apple sauce.
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Jackson visits with Lambert on Sept. 4, 2024, in Como, Fort Worth.
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With the day’s deliveries completed, Jackson decided to drive to her childhood home in Como. She stopped the car, got out and stepped into the front yard. Being there, she said, reminded her of her mother — especially her cooking and singing.
“Mom was the nurturer and the teacher,” Jackson said.
In their home, her mother made a place where Jackson always knew she was loved and had the support she needed. To her, home is a sanctuary of love.
That’s the kind of space she wants Edna’s Creative Learning Center to be. The youth Jackson serves are often experiencing poverty and homelessness. In her hometown of Como, where Jackson provides much of her services, about 23% of families live below the poverty line, according to Fort Worth city data.
Through her nonprofit, Jackson wants to take the love her mother gave her and share it with those who need a helping hand.
Looking up to the sky, she said, “Mama, if you can hear me, I learned what you was teaching and now I teach others.”
Jackson stands in front of her childhood home in Como, Fort Worth.
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