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EMPOWER Leads Foster Care Services for All Children and Families in the Metroplex East Region

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The Child Welfare Collaborative Begins Managing Foster Care in Nine North Texas Counties

DALLAS, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — EMPOWER, a nonprofit child welfare collaborative, now provides foster care case management, kinship and reunification services for all children and families in the Metroplex East region, after entering Stage II of the Community-Based Care (CBC) contract with the State of Texas on March 1, 2024. EMPOWER is led by Texas Family Initiative LLC (TFI) and is supported by local providers in North Texas, including CK Family Services, Jonathan’s Place, The Bair Foundation and Pathways Youth and Family Services. EMPOWER will serve as the lead agency for the nine-county area that includes Dallas, Collin, Ellis, Fannin, Grayson, Hunt, Rockwall, Kaufman and Navarro counties.

“Our team has worked tirelessly to prepare for the final phase of CBC readiness and get ready to provide children and their families in the Metroplex East region with the most effective services to promote safety, permanency and overall well-being,” says Shirley Dwyer, Texas Family Initiative Chief Executive Officer (CEO). “We are thankful to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services for their loyal partnership in ensuring a seamless transition.” 

EMPOWER was awarded the CBC contract by the State of Texas in February 2023, and entered a multi-stage process to take over services for the region. Stage II is the phase of implementing and transforming the services and care provided to children and families in the nine-county region through February 29, 2028, the term of this contract.

CBC is an innovative approach to traditional foster care services because it utilizes local nonprofits to outsource out of home placement and case management services. Under CBC, a single entity is responsible for coordinating and delivering all child welfare services in a specific geographic area. The model allows for the CBC contractor to draw on existing community-based local resources and support to meet the unique and individual needs of children and their families. CBC’s goal is to have children placed in foster care close to their home so that they may thrive and remain connected to their family, friends, school and community. In order to promote family preservation and reunification, EMPOWER works with families to identify the root causes of their involvement with the child welfare system and provides the support needed to solve those issues. 

“Our team is committed to the safety and well-being of children and families in Metroplex East and we are dedicated to providing them with the best care available,” says Dr. Linda Garcia, Senior Vice President of EMPOWER. “We will also continue to educate our local communities on the crucial role foster parents play to fill the significant need for more foster homes.”

The Metroplex East contract is one of the largest CBC awards in U.S. history, and the fifth region in Texas to transition to CBC services. There are nearly 2,000 foster children in the Metroplex East region.

Since September 1, 2023, EMPOWER has provided placement services in the Metroplex East Region. During that time, all children referred by the State have been placed in a licensed placement and have not stayed in unlicensed child watch. For the first time in over five years, all children in the Metroplex East Region are placed in licensed placements.

According to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), from September 2021 to February 2022, on average there were 2,456 children in DFPS conservatorship in Texas’ Metroplex East region. Around 79% of those foster children were placed within the same Metroplex East region, and 37.8% were placed in their home county.

There are many local children in foster care in need of a safe, loving place to call home. To learn more about how individuals and families can help these children in need, please visit www.3empower.org.

EMPOWER:
EMPOWER is a unique partnership between Texas Family Initiative LLC, CK Family Services, Jonathan’s Place, Bair Foundation, Pathways Youth and Family Services that works together to serve some of our most vulnerable children and families. This partnership has almost 190 years of combined child welfare experience and will further our community’s pursuit of caring for our children and families with integrity and success. To learn more, please visit www.3EMPOWER.org.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Allison Chaney
allison@culverpr.com
214-352-5980

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SOURCE EMPOWER

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2026 Canton Fair Design Award Winners Showcase China’s Innovation Strength

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GUANGZHOU, China, Oct. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As the 140th Canton Fair opens, the winners of the 2026 Canton Fair Design Award (CF Award) have also been announced. Winning products are now on display in Area D of the Canton Fair Complex, offering visitors a closer look at some of the latest advances in Chinese manufacturing and industrial design.

Among this year’s top honorees, a domestically developed high-performance sport motorcycle and an intelligent navigation capsule robot gastric endoscopy system received the Best of the Best Award, the competition’s highest recognition.

The Canton Fair also enhanced the visitor experience with a themed showcase area within the award exhibition. Built around four application-oriented concepts, namely Outdoor Pleasure, Smart Living, Cozy Home and Kitchen Elegance, the immersive displays demonstrate how innovative designs can be integrated into everyday life, helping visitors better understand the practical value behind these award-winning products.

This year, 4,218 products from 2,112 companies competed for the award. Following multiple rounds of evaluation, 222 products from 174 companies were selected.

The award-winning products reflect several key trends shaping the next stage of Chinese manufacturing. Innovation remains a defining theme, with breakthrough technologies ranging from upper limb motor function assistance and enhancement system to exoskeleton robots, underscoring the growing momentum of high-end manufacturing.

Meanwhile, intelligent technologies continue to gain traction across industries. Smart products account for more than 30% of this year’s winners, with AI-powered glasses, intelligent conference terminals and smart healthcare devices extending AI applications across home, office, medical and outdoor environments.

Sustainability is also becoming increasingly embedded throughout the product lifecycle. Green products represent over 40% of the winning entries, while innovations such as integrated energy-saving panels and sugarcane paper demonstrate how environmentally conscious practices are being incorporated into product design, materials selection and manufacturing processes.

Established in 2013, the Canton Fair Design Award is widely regarded as a benchmark for design innovation in China’s foreign trade sector. The award recognizes products that combine design excellence with commercial value, promoting the transformation and upgrading of Chinese manufacturing and supporting high-quality trade development. Entries are evaluated across five dimensions: innovation, quality, functionality, aesthetics and sustainability.

For more convenient attendance, please click here for pre-registration:
https://buyer.cantonfair.org.cn/register/buyer/email?source_type=16

 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2026-canton-fair-design-award-winners-showcase-chinas-innovation-strength-302911954.html

SOURCE Canton Fair

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InstaMall Launches Same-Day Fashion Delivery Experience, Bringing 80+ Brands to Shoppers’ Doors in Miami

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First-of-its-kind shopping app pairs artificial intelligence with same-day delivery, bringing luxury
and contemporary brands directly to customers’ doorsteps 

Featured luxury and contemporary brands include AllSaints, John Varvatos and Aritzia

MIAMI, Oct. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — InstaMall, a first-of-its-kind shopping app offering same-day delivery and access to real-time inventory across luxury and contemporary fashion, launches today in Miami, Florida. Now available via iOS and Android, InstaMall provides access to more than 80 contemporary and luxury fashion brands across Miami’s five premier retail clusters, including Balmain, Louis Vuitton, Bottega Veneta, Ganni, Coach, Diesel, Reformation, Aritzia, Cult Gaia, Prada and more. InstaMall will add more brands within the app in the coming weeks and seasons. 

Sitting at the intersection of fashion, technology and commerce, InstaMall brings inspiration and purchase together through a more dynamic way to discover and shop for fashion. The experience combines access to luxury and contemporary brands with the convenience of same-day delivery, bringing the speed customers have come to expect across categories like food and groceries to fashion while maintaining the brand experience retailers and shoppers expect.

Within the app, customers will have access to InstaMall’s AI-powered stylist and virtual try-on features, making it easier to browse, discover and shop styles online. InstaMall’s AI Stylist serves as an intelligent shopping assistant that responds to customers’ preferences in real time. Customers can use the AI Stylist to receive product recommendations, build outfits, ask questions and discover new styles, while its virtual try-on feature allows them to visualize select items on themselves before making a purchase.

“InstaMall was founded on the belief that the convenience customers have come to expect from same-day delivery should extend to the way they shop for fashion,” said Elliot Aboud, Founder and CEO of InstaMall. “As fashion and technology continue to evolve together, we saw an opportunity to create a more seamless shopping experience that brings customers closer to the brands they love, combining a curated assortment, AI-powered styling and virtual try-on with the ease and convenience of same-day delivery.”

Prior to founding InstaMall, Elliot Aboud helped build the Aroma360 and Hotel Collection brands, overseeing the launch of the first retail store and expanding the retail footprint to more than 30 stores across the United States and two in Dubai. InstaMall is bringing fashion and luxury to the next generation with its seamless shopping experience and wide selection of brands.

Customers can download InstaMall through the Apple App Store or Google Play, or by going to instamall.co.

About InstaMall 

InstaMall is a same-day fashion shopping and discovery app reimagining how consumers shop for luxury and contemporary brands. Sitting at the intersection of fashion, technology and commerce, InstaMall brings inspiration and purchase together in an experience that gives consumers a more dynamic way to discover and shop. Where on-demand delivery has long existed for categories like food and groceries, InstaMall brings that same convenience to luxury fashion for the first time, delivering the same day without compromising the brand experience fashion retailers and their customers expect. The company launched publicly in Miami on October 16, 2026, and plans to expand nationally. For more information, please visit instamall.co.

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SOURCE InstaMall

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PTC to Announce Fourth Fiscal Quarter and Full Year 2026 Results on Wednesday, November 4, 2026

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BOSTON, Oct. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — PTC (NASDAQ: PTC) will release its fiscal 2026 fourth quarter and full year results on Wednesday, November 4th after the stock market closes. As previously announced on October 5th, 2026, PTC entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Schneider Electric. In light of the pending transaction, PTC is suspending quarterly earnings conference calls and is no longer providing quarterly or annual guidance.

The earnings press release and accompanying financial data tables will be accessible on the Investor Relations section of the company’s website at PTC Investor Relations.

About

PTC (NASDAQ: PTC) is a global software company that enables manufacturers and product companies to digitally transform how they design, manufacture, and service the physical products the world relies on. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, PTC employs over 7,000 people and supports more than 30,000 customers globally. For more information, please visit www.ptc.com.

Investors

Michael Maguire
mmaguire@ptc.com
investor@ptc.com

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SOURCE PTC Inc.

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