BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - Hundreds of children in the Brazos Valley are dealing with the trauma of being separated from their parents but one organization and its founder continue offering support to those families who foster.

Jenni Olowo and her husband, Ade, founded the nonprofit organization called BCS Together, a place local foster families can turn to when they need things like clothes, toys, car seats, or just about any other resource. It was the couple’s vision after fostering and then adopting their own two children. At first, the couple wanted to do an international adoption, but after learning of the need here at home, they took in children from the area and they quickly learned of the challenges facing new foster families.

“You don’t actually know what it’s like till you go through it, which is why we’re passionate about BCS together. Just so people don’t have to feel that way, so they know what to expect and they know they have support,” said Jenni. “BCS Together works alongside donors, volunteers, and churches, taking a Christ-centered approach to serve the foster system in our area, including foster, kinship, adoptive, and CPS-referred biological families.”

After launching BCS Together in 2019, the organization moved into its current building on Old College Road in Bryan in 2020. It’s where board member Kristi Stark sees miracles happening every day.

“When I realized the great need in our community and Jenni’s passion for it, we were so grateful for her and we just wanted to get involved in any way we could to help,” said Stark.

And the giving and the love don’t stop here. BCS Together now has a place called The Haven, where teenagers in the foster system can go before transitioning into a new home.

“When a child enters The Haven, they are coming from a worst-case scenario, dark place and they get to enter this home full of light, full of love, where all their needs are met,” said Director of Community Partnerships Lauren Falcone.

“The Haven is a special place that creates a sense of safety for teens and provides the stability they long for. We have outings in the community, and our incredible volunteers cook homemade meals, spend time with them, lend a compassionate ear, and pray with them. The Haven has become a place where we can provide a sense of dignity to these precious teens - something they have not often experienced in their lives,” said Olowo.

To learn more about the organization click here. You can also go here for volunteer information and click here for upcoming events.

There is also a Fall Festival event this upcoming Saturday for foster, adoptive and kinship families. Kids pick out fall clothing and Halloween costumes, play games at booths to win candy, eat popcorn, and have fun. BCS Together is currently in need of organizations to host booths and for individuals to donate new or gently used kids’ Halloween costumes. To donate a Halloween costume by October 14th, stop by The Closet at 3811 Old College between 9-3 p.m. Monday through Friday. To host a booth reach out to Becca@bcstogether.org.

KBTX and Daniel Stark Injury Lawyers are proud to present Jenni Olowo with this week’s Be Remarkable award.

If you have someone you want to nominate for our Be Remarkable campaign click here! Be Remarkable airs on News 3 at 6 p.m. every other Monday and is proudly sponsored and made possible by Daniel Stark Injury Lawyers.

Copyright 2022 KBTX. All rights reserved.

The Backward Classes (BCs) and the Most Backward Classes (MBCs) constitute 45.5% and 23.6% of Tamil Nadu’s population respectively, according to a Tamil Nadu Household Panel Survey’s Pre-Baseline Survey (TNHPS-PBS) 2018-19 funded by the State government. The trial survey showed that the percentage of population practising Hinduism had increased to 89.2%.

The State government’s Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Department initiated the TNHPS–PBS, which was coordinated by the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS) in collaboration with the Survey Research Center of the University of Michigan and Tamil Nadu’s Department of Economics and Statistics.

The Scheduled Castes (SCs) constitute 23.7% and Denotified Communities (DNCs) and the General Categories constitute 3% each of the total population, according to the Summary Report of TNHPS-PBS 2018-19 released earlier this week. The Scheduled Tribes (STs) constitute 0.7% of the population.

As for various religious groups, the report said, “For the period from 2011 to 2018, estimates from Census (2011) and PBS (2018-19) show that the percentage of population practising Hinduism increased from 87.6% to 89.2%, as opposed to other religions that recorded a decline.” This percentage drop was especially apparent for Christianity in rural areas and alternatively for Islam in urban areas, it said.

Compared with the data in the NFHS 2016, the Scheduled Caste population has decreased from 26.8% to 23.74% in 2018-19, said the PBS survey which was carried out by Principal Investigator and Project Coordinator Kripa Ananthpur and her team, including Principal Investigators L. Venkatachalam, K. Jafar, William G. Axinn and Narayan Sastry. The data were collected by the Department of Economics and Statistics.

As for literacy, Tamil Nadu improved from 80.1% during Census 2011 to 85.4% during PBS 2018-19. However, only 50% of the population was employed, it said. Compared with the NSS (2011-12), TNHPS PBS (2018-19) pointed to about 3% decrease in the percentage of working population (53.2% to 50. 1%).

The data collected from a trial size of over 2.12 lakh people across the State showed that the General Category had the highest percentage of people with a bachelor’s degree and/or a higher degree. “A higher share of persons with primary education from the STs, the MBCs (excluding DNC) and the DNCs indicate the educational backwardness of these communities.” Compared with this, the threshold level of education moves higher for the SCs and the BCs (more persons with high school education).

Explaining the significance of the report, Dr. Ananthpur said, "The report is important from three aspects. It is the first State-level panel survey initiated by a State government. Given that the 2021 Census still has not taken place and the last proper database for socio-economic and other demographic indicators is the 2011 Census, this almost comes at a endpoint. So, it is pointing to a trajectory of where the State was heading prior to the pandemic".

The PBS is only pre-pandemic dataset that is available for the State and once the Census is conducted it will be a post-pandemic database.

While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One company value investors might notice is Barclays (BCS). BCS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 5.07 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 7.57. Over the past year, BCS's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.20 and as low as 4.75, with a median of 5.87.

We also note that BCS holds a PEG ratio of 0.17. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. BCS's industry currently sports an average PEG of 0.45. BCS's PEG has been as high as 0.25 and as low as 0.14, with a median of 0.18, all within the past year.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. BCS has a P/S ratio of 1.11. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.31.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Barclays is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, BCS sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.

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Barclays PLC (BCS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company to watch right now is Barclays (BCS). BCS is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 4.40, while its industry has an average P/E of 7.12. Over the last 12 months, BCS's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.20 and as low as 4.14, with a median of 5.72.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. BCS has a P/S ratio of 0.9. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.21.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Barclays is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, BCS sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can obtain 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
Barclays PLC (BCS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research