At its annual Band Aid Breakfast Feb. 12, the clinic that services low-income uninsured residents of the Tomball, Magnolia and Waller communities showed why it is one of the area’s most respected partners.

More than 270 people attended the morning breakfast at the Beckendorf Conference Center at Lone Star College – Tomball, which was held to help raise money for the clinic’s $1 million operating budget.

Following an address by Executive Director Judy Deyo, a short video showed how TOMAGWA’s services have affect area residents, and what role in plays in community health care.

Gloria Vasquez, a nurse for TOMAGWA, related her story of moving from Mexico with her husband several years ago and how the clinic helped in shaping her life.

Vasquez said she married her husband at a young age, birth to her first child as a teenager and moved out of an abusive household with him to the Houston area. Without a high school diploma, or even a GED, Vasquez struggled to find gainful and meaningful employment.

She became a volunteer at TOMAGWA, she said, which changed her life forever. Vasquez found a home away from home at the clinic and was encouraged by the staff their to continue her education.

Vasquez took their advance and last year, received her RN degree from Lone Star College – Tomball.

Her message, and the one TOMAGWA was giving, hit home among the crowd. The breakfast helped bring in more than $110,000 to support the clinic and patient care.

Deyo called their donations “an investment in the health of our community.”

She also said the clinic is looking to expand their services in the coming years to include dental care, counseling and weight loss services. According to Deyo, the clinic serviced more than 16,000 patients last year.

TOMAGWA was founded in 1989 and is celebrating its 20^th Anniversary this year. The clinic opened in 1992 as a part-time health care facility run by a small group of volunteers.

Today, TOMAGWA is a full-time, full-service family practice center will a small staff backed by numerous volunteers.

TOMAGWA projects that by 2011, they will be able to provide services to more than 35,000 individuals each year.

According to Deyo, TOMAGWA relies on individual donations to help fund the clinic’s operations. For more information about donating, visit www.tomagwa.org or call 281-357-0747.

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