Meet Houston Missions: The Ballard House (Cancer Care Housing)

In Episode 12 of Meet Houston Missions, meet Kathy Alt, the Executive Director of The Ballard House.  The Ballard House is a 100% free temporary stay facility located in Katy, Texas, capable of housing up to 40 patients and their families who have traveled to Houston from all parts of the world in seek of treatment from the doctors and nurses at our renowned Katy and Houston medical facilities. Designed with the look and feel of a hill country resort, The Ballard House provides people with basic housing, hot meals, and Texas hospitality to enable patients to get medical care without strapping their families with a major financial burden.

Guests at the Ballard House

Applications to stay at The Ballard House are filled out online at their website and are approved on a need and availability basis. The goal of The Ballard House is to make sure no one goes without necessary medical care due to the costs of staying away from home for treatment. There are approximately 14 Katy/Houston area hospitals, including MD Anderson, that regularly refer people to The Ballard House when the need arises. When guests stay, they reside in their own private cottage at The Ballard House while volunteers provide food and hospitality to the guests.

Volunteering at The Ballard House

The Ballard House operates thanks to the love of approximately 66 regular volunteers who do everything from cooking and serving meals, washing dishes and sheets, cleaning rooms, and just interacting with guests to make them feel welcome. Individual and group volunteers are always welcome to assist with the cooking and cleaning as well as bringing in, donating, and/or serving food to the families.

Serving Through Volunteering, Participating in, and Sponsoring Events

The Ballard House has three main fund-raising events that provide opportunities to serve in ways such as volunteering to help, sponsoring, and just participating as entrants to the events. These include a sporting clay shoot, a wine, and food tasting event, and a summer concert/festival.

Aiming For Advocacy Sporting Clay Tournament

The Aiming For Advocacy Sporting Clay Tournament is an annual clay shoot that takes place at Westside Sporting Grounds in Brookshire, Texas. In addition to the clay shoot, there have been skydivers, a live band, axe throwing, and an auction at past events.

Katy Sip n’ Stroll

The Katy Sip n’ Stroll is a biannual event where food and drink vendors are gathered together to give folks a chance to see what the local Katy flavor offers in a party-like atmosphere. Sponsors can reserve tents with space to bring up to 12 clients or employees to enjoy wine, food, and live music.  Details for the Katy Sip n’ Stroll can be found here: https://www.sipandstroll.com.

Midsummer Festival

In July, The Ballard House combines with two other local charities, Compassion Katy and Clothed by Faith, to bring to Katy the Midsummer Festival.  The festival includes a BBQ cookoff, a carnival, food trucks, and live music on a full-size concert stage built just for the show. The Midsummer Festival wraps up with an evening firework show.  More details on this year’s event can be found at https://www.midsummerfestkaty.com

Contact:

To volunteer, learn more, apply to stay, or just get involved, please feel free to contact Kathy Alt, Executive Director at: The Ballard House
21412 Cinco Park Rd.
Katy, TX. 77450
281-717-4670
theballardhouse.org Kathy has been at The Ballard House for over 8 years and is happy to assist.

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