CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Injury attorney and philanthropist Thomas J. Henry returned to his hometown of Corpus Christi on Wednesday to continue a nearly decade-long tradition of helping local students prepare for the school year.
Henry partnered with TEXAS YES for a distribution event at Mary Helen Berlanga Elementary School, part of a statewide initiative that has now distributed more than half a million school supply kits to students in need.
"This is an annual giveaway I do throughout the state, you know, in Austin and Dallas, San Antonio, here, and so here I'm at Mary Helen Berlanga Elementary School giving away school supplies to the kids here, like I've done in Corpus Christi for now going on a decade," Henry said.
"Reaching kids, giving them the tools to start their education is what we're all about doing here today."
The "Box of Dreams" program provides free essential school supplies to Title 1 elementary students from kindergarten through fifth grade. Each kit includes colored pencils, crayons, notebook paper, spiral notebooks, erasers, glue sticks, folders, rulers, pencils, ballpoint pens, and tissues — everything students need as families face rising inflation costs.
Henry described the range of emotions he witnesses at these events.
"Kids in some of these schools, they need those tools, and you can see when they come in they'll be a little nervous. Some will get excited, some will get giddy, and they're just developing their little brains and they're developing their personalities," Henry said. "Being able to see that at these giveaways throughout Texas is really, really exciting because we all like seeing the beginning journey of life and that's what we're seeing – the beginning journey of their education and their development."
Henry, who has deep roots in Corpus Christi, said the community holds special meaning for him.
"I'm here in Corpus Christi quite a bit more and more," he said. "It's always exciting to help people in Corpus Christi. We do it every year whether it's education, whether it's sometimes health care, whether it's feeding people."
He connected educational support directly to the city's future.
"Corpus Christi, we've got to help people get educated, get jobs here, and do the best we can to develop our community," Henry said.
TEXAS YES, a division of SA YES and a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, has supported Title 1 schools since 1998. The organization has invested more than $4 million back into communities through school supply distribution, grants for schools and educational nonprofits, and improved access to literacy resources.
Danielle Gunter, Executive Director of TEXAS YES, joined Henry and representatives from Mary Helen Berlanga Elementary School for Wednesday's distribution, which ran from 12:45 p.m. to 2 p.m., with supply distribution beginning at 1 p.m.
The event comes just ahead of the start of the 2026-2027 school year.
Thomas J. Henry Law, PLLC has built a reputation as one of the nation's leading personal injury firms and for its philanthropic efforts supporting causes related to poverty, veterans, national disaster relief, education, animals, and the arts. Henry has received numerous recognitions, including Attorney of the Year by Top 100 Lawyers for Outstanding Achievement in Personal Injury and Mass Tort, and was named a Legal Superstar of 2022 by Newsweek.com.
For more information about TEXAS YES and their programs, visit texasyesproject.org.
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