FenCon XX - February 14-16, 2025

We love to give.

Thanks to all the fen who, over the years, have helped us give more than $27,000 to several worthy causes. Our annual charity efforts, born out of necessity in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, now seek to help a North Texas organization that can effect positive change in our community.

2024: Our designated charity for FenCon XIX was iUrbanTeen. Our charity auction and cover print sales raised $1500 for this cause. iUrban Teen is a nationally recognized program focused on bringing career-focused education to underrepresented teens ages 13 to 18. Youth receive hands-on exposure to a variety of careers and civic engagement that step them outside of their current boundaries. Their target demographics are African American, Latino, Indigenous and Pacific Islanders, however, the program is inclusive of all youth. They have an almost equal parity of girls that participate in their programs and also youth with special needs. iUrban Teen programs are now in Washington, Oregon, California, and Texas.

FenCon Designated Charity Results:

2022: Our designated charity for FenCon XVIII was Carter BloodCare. Our charity auction and the limited-edition cover print raised $4,000 for this worthy cause. The blood drive also collected X units of blood. Carter BloodCare is a not-for-profit organization that operates on behalf of patients and their loved ones in 56 Texas counties. Carter BloodCare is Texas' largest blood center, providing more than 330,000 units of lifesaving blood components for patients annually.

2021: FenCon's charity for 2021 was Dallas Future Society.

Our art print sales raised $500 for the parent organization of FenCon.

2021: FenCon's charity for 2021 was Dallas Future Society.

Our art print sales raised $500 for the parent organization of FenCon.

2019: FenCon's charity for 2019 was North Texas - Reading Partners.

Our charity auction and art print sales raised over $1,600 for North Texas - Reading Partners.

2018: FenCon's charity for 2018 was Literacy Instruction For Texas. Since 1961, LIFT has been providing services to increase the literacy rate in Texas. They provide English proficiency classes both in and out of the workplace. Our charity auction and limited edition Travis Lewis cover print raised $2,000 for LIFT.

2017: FenCon's charity for 2017 was the Visiting Nurse Association of Texas. The VNA helps people live with dignity and independence at home. Since 1934, VNA has responded to evolving community needs with innovative client and patient services. VNA nurses, therapists, chaplains, social workers, and volunteers provide the highest quality and compassionate care in the home across North Texas, especially for those with no place to turn and no means to pay. VNA was chartered as a nonprofit agency to address the desperate need for care in the midst of the Depression. Today, VNA’s programs include Meals on Wheels in Dallas County, and Hospice and Private Care in Collin, Cooke, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Grayson, Henderson, Hunt, Kaufman, Navarro, Rockwall, Tarrant, and Van Zandt counties. Our charity auction and limited edition Tom Kidd cover print raised $1800 for VNA.

Find their details at http://www.vnatexas.org/

2015: Our designated charity for FenCon XII wasEarning by Learning of Dallas. Serving more than 100,000 children since its inception in 1996, Earning by Learning (EBL) is a nationwide literacy movement. Through its headquarters in Dallas and satellite centers in Richmond and Seattle, EBL provides reading incentives to children in grades K-6 in communities concerned with the academic success of their young people. Our charity auction and the limited-edition Mitch Bentley cover print raised $2000 for EBL of Dallas.

2014: Our designated charity for FenCon XI was Children's Advocacy Center of Collin County. The Children's Advocacy Center "provides a friendly environment where children can safely tell their story and receive the support they need." They provide "safety, healing and justice" for children that have become victims of abuse or neglect. Our charity auction and limited-edition cover print by Rick Sternbach raised over $1800 for their work.

2013: Our designated charity for FenCon X was the Autism Treatment Center. For the past 35 years, the ATC has assisted individuals with autism throughout their lives as they learn, play, work, and live in the community. Calls and referrals to ATC for autism services have increased significantly. ATC is working to increase the number of classrooms, therapy rooms, therapists, and group homes in the community to meet the needs of these individuals. Our charity auction and the limited-edition Charles Vess cover print raised more than $4,000 for this worthy cause.

2012: Our designated charity for FenCon IX was Literacy Instruction for Texas. LIFT's mission is "to enhance lives and strengthen communities by raising the adult literacy rate in Texas". One of the most widely respected adult literacy education programs in the United States, in the last year alone LIFT taught more than 8,000 illiterate and low literate adults to read English. Our charity auction and the limited-edition Donato Giancola cover print raised more than $3200 for LIFT.

2011: Our designated charity for FenCon VIII / DeepSouthCon 49 was Habitat for Humanity of South Collin County, Texas. This nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry seeks to "eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world, and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action". Our charity auction and the limited-edition Vincent Di Fate cover print raised $2500 for this worthy cause.

2010: Our designated charity for FenCon VII was Carter BloodCare. Our charity auction and the limited-edition John Picacio cover print raised more than $1230 for this worthy cause. The blood drive also collected 40 units of blood Carter BloodCare is a not-for-profit organization that operates on behalf of patients and their loved ones in 56 Texas counties. Carter BloodCare is Texas' largest blood center, providing more than 330,000 units of lifesaving blood components for patients annually.

2009: Our designated charity for FenCon VI was the Genesis Women's Shelter. Our charity auction and the limited-edition Kurt Miller cover print raised more than $2500 for this worthy cause. Genesis Women's Shelter exists to provide quality safety and shelter to battered women and their children through crisis intervention and short term crisis therapeutics and to reduce the occurrence of violence against women and children in the greater Dallas area.

2008: Our designated charity for FenCon V was Reading & Radio Resource. Our charity auction and the limited-edition Real Musgrave cover print raised a total of $2130 for this worthy cause. Reading & Radio Resource is a non-profit 501(c)(3) volunteer agency, dedicated since 1969 to providing alternatives to reading for those who are visually or physically disabled and/or learning differenced.

2007: Our designated charity for FenCon IV was the North Texas Food Bank. Our charity auction and the limited-edition David Mattingly cover print raised a total of $2000 for this worthy cause. The North Texas Food Bank passionately pursues a hunger-free community. In 2006, the NTFB distributed 32 million pounds of food to 764 feeding and education programs in 13 North Texas counties, including after-school programs, residential treatment programs, food pantries, emergency shelters, soup kitchens, senior citizen centers and low-income daycare centers.

2006: Our designated charity for FenCon III was the American Diabetes Association. The total raised by our charity auction and our 2006 limited-edition Darrell K. Sweet cover art print was over $1400! Thank you for helping us honor the memory of Judith Ward with your generous support of this worthy cause.

2005: In the wake of Hurricane Katrina we announced that the designated charity of FenCon II would be the Salvation Army to aid their disaster relief efforts. The FenCon Charity Auction raised over $2800. Signed, limited-edition prints of our first two program book covers by Cat Conrad and Larry Dixon plus some cash donations raised nearly $700. That's a grand total of $3500! Wow. Thanks to all the fen for their generosity.