Mission
To provide for the basic human needs of all people in our community in a welcoming, respectful and caring way.
Vision
To be the leader in stewardship and service in Texas.
Values
As The Caring Place continues to live out its mission, the organization has implemented some new things along the way. During that process, The Caring Place also adopted, what it calls, "Caring Values." The acronym leads the way in describing the organization's values.
Caring - I show kindness and concern for others.
Accountable - I own my decisions and their impact.
Respectful - I value the worth of others without judgment.
Integrity - I do the right thing with conviction.
Neighborly - I am helpful, friendly, and kind to all people.
Grateful - I honor the good everywhere.
Our first home, 303 West 8th St. in Georgetown, Texas
Historic Markers
In 1985, Georgetown's economy had collapsed and neighbors were going from church to church seeking help with rent, food, and clothing. Today, people across Georgetown and northern Williamson County can turn to one place for assistance with basic human needs — The Caring Place.
| 1985–86 |
Georgetown's economy had gone bust and families were struggling to afford rent, food, and clothing. Two community members envisioned a single place where neighbors could turn for help and brought the idea to the Georgetown Ministerial Alliance. Out of their work, The Caring Place was born. Former Mayor Carl Doering donated the first building, an old slaughterhouse on 8th Street with no heat or air conditioning. The Caring Place opened on June 8, 1985 with a handful of volunteers, three bags of donated clothes, an $17. |
| 1990 |
TCP opened a larger facility at 2001 Railroad Avenue, allowing the thrift store to become a significant source of income to fund the mission. |
| 2004–05 |
Due to growing needs the current building at 2000 Railroad Avenue was built. Just one year later, the 2000 Railroad building expanded to keep pace with community need. |
| 2011 |
A major expansion funded by a capital campaign resulted in a larger food pantry, a food warehouse, and more room for Programs & Services, The Shops at The Caring Place, and the donation receiving area. |
| 2012–13 |
The Board of Directors purchased and renovated the property at 2001 Railroad Avenue, the same building that had served as The Caring Place from 1990 to 2004. The renovated 2001 Railroad building began hosting educational programs and complimentary services offered by other nonprofit organizations. |
| 2017 |
The Caring Place opened its second thrift store — Second Helping — at 3700 Williams Drive. Programs & Services soon moved across the street to 2001 Railroad, freeing space for pantry and retail operations. |
| 2019 |
The Caring Place updated its mission and vision statements and adopted its "CARING" values, reaffirming its commitment to serving every neighbor with dignity and respect. |
| 2020 |
TCP closed its retail operations for three months, to focus solely on food distribution. Community support was overwhelming, ensuring that TCP continued to serve clients. |
| 2024–25 |
A generous bequest allowed The Caring Place to enclose its donations warehouse, adding over 5,000 square feet to its facility, significantly increasing our capacity to receive and process donations to support helping neighbors |
| Present |
Every year since 2022, TCP has served record-breaking numbers of people requesting assistance. |
Moving into 2001 Railroad Ave. (1990)
Our Full History:
The economy had gone bust. Many people were laid off and needed help to pay their rent and utility bills. Neighbors were hungry. So, it’s today? No, it’s 1985 in Georgetown, Texas.
Back then, families were going from church to church seeking help with rent, clothing, and food. Today, people from northern Williamson County can go to one place, The Caring Place, for emergency assistance.
Although countless leaders and volunteers created The Caring Place, two women - Yoli Branson, with St. Vincent de Paul, and Marty Maxwell, with Madella Hilliard Neighborhood Center - had a vision to create a single place where people could go for emergency assistance with basic needs. They asked the Georgetown Ministerial Alliance, 11 church pastors at the time, to help.
Rev. Tim Antwerp from Christ Lutheran and Rev. David Duncan of First Presbyterian organized the churches to realize the first Caring Place. Doris Krohmer, an original board member, shared, “My pastor at First Presbyterian invited me to that first organizational meeting. You had all these ministers at the end of their rope. ... Many people had lost their jobs, especially people in construction; they were really suffering. There was no coordinated effort to help. Welfare was weeks behind. The ministers were desperate because there were no resources available. They realized that if they pulled together, they would be able to do far more than they could individually.”
Former Georgetown Mayor Carl Doering donated the first building, an old slaughterhouse on 8th Street. Although there was no heat or air conditioning, the founding team was very excited to have the space. The Caring Place opened for business on June 8, 1985, with a handful of volunteers, three bags of donated clothes, and $17 in donations. Those initially involved successfully recruited volunteers from various churches and civic organizations. It was formally incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1986.
Throughout its history, community support has allowed The Caring Place to be nimble and responsive to the needs of its community. By 1986, the growing organization moved to space donated by Jeanne Mosier in the Industrial Park North. In 1990, The Caring Place opened a larger facility at 2001 Railroad Avenue, allowing the thrift store to become a significant source of income. The Caring Place outgrew that facility, and although the current building at 2000 Railroad was built in 2004, it was enlarged the very next year. By 2011, The Caring Place was again bursting at the seams, and the community helped it expand to help more families.
Continuous community support, growth, and improvements have allowed The Caring Place to help more neighbors in more meaningful ways. In 2012, the Board of Directors had an opportunity to purchase its former space at 2001 Railroad, which has housed its Programs & Services since 2017. Also in 2017, The Caring Place opened a new thrift store on Williams Drive, Second Helping. It doubled the size of its Food Pantry to accommodate the growing need in 2019. As a result of a generous bequest in 2021, The Caring Place expanded its food pantry, food pantry warehouse, thrift store, and pricing warehouse by remodeling the existing footprint at 2000 Railroad. It also purchased its first refrigerated box truck to safely pick-up fresh and frozen food funded by a generous grant.
Since 2022, year over year, The Caring Place has broken records in the number of neighbors assisted. In 2025 to improve its ability to serve neighbors in crisis, The Caring Place enclosed its exterior warehouse, funded by a generous bequest, which added 5,000 square feet of space to the building to meet current and future needs.
The Caring Place continues to fulfill the mission for which it was created back in 1985 – to provide for the basic human needs of all people in a welcoming, respectful and caring way. It is a community-based, community-supported, and community-serving organization that exists solely because of the generosity of the Georgetown community and the confidence it has in The Caring Place’s ability to provide a hand up and not step over our neighbors in need.
Values and Commitment Statement:
The Caring Place is committed to: welcoming and serving all neighbors in a caring way; listening to and engaging with our neighbors to make improvements; and, reflecting the diversity of our community in our leadership and workforce. We value every individual and believe that treating all people with dignity, respect, warmth and kindness affirms both our humanity and theirs. In the wisdom of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” The Caring Place continues to strive to live up to its name, and fulfill its mission to provide for the basic human needs of all people in our community in a welcoming, respectful and caring way.
