A MESSAGE FROM
MARJORIE VANESKAHIAN BURR, ACO CEO

Best News Ever!

I am so excited to announce that ACO has received a major gift donation of ONE MILLION DOLLARS to begin the expansion project that will provide more capacity to serve Collin County families in crisis.

Mrs. Diane Schoch of Fairview has generously given the first million dollar donation towards the project which will change lives of local families for many years to come.

In honor of she and her late husband, the new Diane and John Schoch Donation Center is finally under construction at the ACO Annex location, 117 N. Greenville in Allen.

Diane and John Schoch began as volunteers with ACO more than 15 years ago. As a former educator, Diane has a passion for the ACO school supplies and backpack program, and has spent every year helping with ACO’s program to benefit local students in need. In retirement, John enjoyed volunteering at the ACO Golf Classic. After John’s passing, Diane continued to be involved with the ACO Food Pantry and to volunteer for the holiday programs.

We are so grateful to Diane for the passion that she shares for ACO’s mission. Diane and her husband have been major gift donors annually for years. But this incredible capital gift that allows us to expand our services was just beyond what I could have imagined. She truly has a giving spirit and huge heart for helping others.

Along with the renovations of the Donation Center, it will include a larger flagship ACO RESALE STORE to be all be under one roof. Once complete the 32,000 square foot building, which was the former Big Lots retail store, it will provide a convenient and easily accessible location for drop off of household item and clothing donations. Shoppers will have a larger store and ample parking, with expanded shopping hours.

In the former Resale Store location at ACO’s main building, the space will be remodeled to house both the ACO Food Pantry and ACO Cares Center. This will provide an easy process for families in need of food, clothing and household supplies to get their essentials in a single location during one convenient visit. The space currently used for the pantry will become the food storage and sorting area, and the current rented space for the ACO Cares Center will be vacated.

Total for the complete project with both phases is approximately $2.5 million dollars. Thanks to our initial gift, we are able to begin construction right away and hope to be complete in early 2024.

However, we still need additional support and major gifts from the community. ACO will offer other naming opportunities for capital gifts in the $10,000-$1,000,000 range.

Available naming rights will include the

• ACO Food Pantry,
• ACO Cares Center,
• ACO Learning Academy,
• ACO Employment Center,
• ACO Volunteer Offices,
• The Book Nook (Allen’s largest used book store)
• and the ACO Changing Lives Donor Wall.

If you would like to be a part of the future lives changed through ACO’s mission while supporting this capital project, I would love to talk with you about having your name or in honor of someone to leave as a legacy for our community. For more information, please contact me, marjorie@acocares.org.

(photo above, Aaron Vaughn, ACO Chief Operating Officer and Marjorie Burr, ACO Chief Executive Officer stand inside the new ACO Resale and Diane and John Schoch Donation Center under construction, and proudly display the first million dollar donation.)

One more thing…

While I am focused on searching for large donations to complete our expansion, this reminder just came in the mail with a note attached and put into perspective the importance that it’s not the size of the donation, but the heart behind it.

The note said, “You all helped me and my family approximately two years ago. I want to say thank you by donating this $200 to be used as you see fit.”

That $200 donation felt like a million dollars today!

MARJORIE VANESKAHIAN BURR, ACO CEO