it started when…

In 1988, the Fair Housing Act determined that landlords were not allowed to discriminate and prevent families with children from living in the apartments in Vickery Meadow. The economic downturn, depreciated housing, and the new laws caused young professionals to move out. Lower rent created an opening for working class families and newly arriving immigrants to move in, while also providing low-cost housing for resettlement agencies to place refugee families. As a result, a vibrant and diverse community with over 7,000 children populated the community

John Neill, a successful businessman in the Vickery community, noticed the changing community and formed the Vickery Meadow Youth Development Foundation. John and friends began providing soccer and basketball programs for the community, which quickly evolved into a desire to provide evidence-based strategies around long-term academic success to meet the needs of the community. 

Efforts were made to connect with organizations to bring services that benefited children into the neighborhood, as well as help financially support child-focused organizations already in the community.

Over time, programming has evolved and is now centered on offering programming from the Success Center located on Holly Hill Drive. Utilizing the Success Center, our goal is to create an inclusive ecosystem of support for families and children in the Vickery Meadow community, focusing on a cultural wealth model while also utilizing the strengths of our partner organizations.

neighborhood & schools

Vickery Meadow is located in the 75231 zip code of Dallas, Texas. The boundaries are Northwest Highway, Walnut Hill, Central Expressway, and Skillman/Abrams. 

DISD schools of Vickery Meadow include:

• Conrad High School

• Tasby Middle School

• Lowe Elementary

• McShan Elementary

• Jill Stone Elementary

• Hotchkiss Elementary