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Volunteers outline plan to raise $275,000 for Gateway Cross on TxDOT property
Summary
Chaplain Lance Blackwell and Heartwarming Living Solutions told council volunteers are organizing a Gateway Cross for Cleveland on TxDOT-owned land; organizers said a vendor quote is $275,000 and they are forming a 501(c)(3)-backed, tax-deductible fundraising structure.
Chaplain Lance Blackwell and representatives of Heartwarming Living Solutions presented the Gateway Cross project to the Cleveland City Council on July 15, describing volunteer fundraising and plans to place a large cross on property the presenters said is owned by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).
Chaplain Blackwell said he is serving as volunteer project manager for the Gateway Cross and said the initiative has already been discussed with TxDOT. “On September, seventeenth of 2024, we had a city council meeting where I had presented what God had put on my heart and presented that we had already met with TxDOT...and all 5 of y'all that are here tonight voted yes on that consent agenda,” he told the council.
A Heartwarming Living Solutions founder, Evie Valapordisia, described her nonprofit work serving people experiencing homelessness and said her organization will sponsor the Gateway Cross project. Presenters said they have a vendor quote of about $275,000 to build the cross and that they are forming mechanisms to make donations tax-deductible by aligning with 501(c)(3) organizations. Organizers said they had opened a bank account and expected to complete a project website within days.
City staff did not present a formal agenda action or seek binding approval; the presentation was informational. Organizers noted the manufacturer Baker Signs Company in Conroe has provided a quote and that the group expects corporate and private donations to fund the project. Chaplain Blackwell and Ms. Valapordisia said volunteers and sponsors are handling planning and fundraising and that no city staff would be paid for the project.
Next steps: presenters said they will circulate informational cards and update the council as funds and design details are finalized. The council did not adopt a resolution or enter into any city contract related to the project at the July 15 meeting.
