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ACCC History

In 1977, far-sighted citizens of Plano, including the future State Senator, Florence Shapiro, formed the Center's first Board of Directors. Initially called the Information and Referral Center of Collin County, the Center was established as a not-for-profit organization that "Informs, Guides, Directs, and Links people to appropriate human service resources."

We have grown along with the needs of the community. Each physical move has meant we could deliver more services, but it also meant we were serving more families in Collin County. Our four locations have been; 1111 Avenue H, in the historic Douglas community of Plano, 2416 Park in the Park Mall Shopping Center, 1569 Avenue K in Plano and the current location at 900 18th Street in Plano.

Responding to the growth and wider needs of the county, the organization was soon addressing medical/dental needs, employment/job training, adoption, arts organizations, volunteer opportunities, housing, food, clothing utilities assistance, and other services.

By the year 2000, the Center recognized the I&R name no longer fit the work we were doing. In light of the broad range of assistance we were providing, we changed our name to The Assistance Center of Collin County.

Today the ACCC is the primary contact point for all Collin County residents who need social services. We are located in old downtown Plano, in a building dedicated to our service and easily accessed by our client community. The building functions as the permanent home for the center with facilities to support our clients. We also use the building, including the parking lot, as a site for fundraising and our garage sale.

What We Do

In many cases the Assistance Center is the organization that can best provide the direct support needed by an individual or family. Most of our clients contact us first by phone.

ACCC staff

Within the geographic area of the Plano Independent School District and the Wylie ISD, the Assistance Center is able to provide direct support to 387,865 people, over 51% of the Collin County's population. Through funding from the United Way, the Congressional Emergency Food and Shelter program, and contributions from the City of Plano, the Assistance Center directly helps defray expenses for citizens with valid needs. In addition, TXU Energy Aid contributes funds that are used to assist TXU Energy customers with bill payment assistance for electrical usage.

With the continuing work by our volunteer specialists and staff, and the continuing support of our individual and civic donors, we will be here to meet the increasing demand for assistance in our area.

Economic and demographic studies indicate that the growth of population, the negative changes in income levels of our population, and the continuing influx of immigrants into our area will only increase the need for the services of the Assistance Center. We are working to be here to help in the future, as we have for the past 30 years.