Professional Services in Houston

As noted on CBSDFW.com, Gene Simmons and longtime partner Shannon Tweed hosted a live-music event coordinated by The Aces & Angels Foundation, which was later featured on Simmons's A&E reality show. The party was just one of many fundraisers that the nonprofit organization has created to provide assistance for active-duty and former members of the United States Armed Forces. They visit US military installations with a cadre of famous musicians, Hollywood celebrities, and athletes, doing their part to boost morale and the instances of excited, high-pitched screaming within the armed forces. They also organize charitable, star-studded events such as poker tournaments, VIP parties, and chili cook-offs.

Proceeds from the events benefit charities such as the Wounded Warrior Project, which helps veterans recover from physical and mental injuries, and The Gleason Initiative Foundation, which raises public awareness of ALS and provides equipment and services to individuals with muscular diseases or injuries.

Even painstakingly crafted footwear from renowned brands such as Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin, and Manolo Blahnik experiences eventual wear and tear. That’s where the cobblers of Houston Shoe Hospital come in. The skilled craftspeople have meticulously revamped footwear of all kinds with the same attention to detail since the business’s inception in 1906. Using high-quality, handpicked rubber and leather products, they affix new heels, soles, and souls to myriad shoes, boots, and foot Spanx.

Founded in 1893, Sheltering Arms Senior Services has devoted more than a century to providing Houston’s elderly population with care, advocacy, and community support. Despite its long history, the nonprofit organization is only looking forward. Between 2011 and 2012, it provided seniors with 128,658 hours of personal-care assistance—including meal preparation and housekeeping—and fed 2,182 seniors a nutritious meal. And their specially designed Adult Day Center, which provides top-notch care for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Factor in the organization's more than 20 Houston-area senior centers, where staffers offer recreational activities, health education, and legal advocacy, and it is clear that Sheltering Arms is only building upon its 120-year foundation.

Sheltering Arms' mission begins with its committed corps of staff members and volunteers. Certified nurses’ aides customize and implement home-care plans that include light housekeeping, meal prep, and medication reminders. Social workers advocate for members at risk of being institutionalized by managing their financial and health casework. Volunteers make daily safety checks on seniors who are living alone and organize arts-and-crafts classes, game nights, and dances.

The Total Jingle Bell Run & Walk spurs more than 5,000 antler-clad participants to swarm through downtown Houston in the name of charity, fitness, and celebration of the holiday season. Like Santa's reindeer before the sleigh got GPS, the event explores several different routes, including a 5-mile course for runners and a shorter, less intense 3-mile course for families. After everyone has crossed the finish line, awards honor the fleetest of foot in each age group, as well as individuals donning the best holiday-themed costumes. All proceeds raised by the race get poured into the YMCA's partner campaign, which provides scholarship money to those in need of academic aid.

Capturing True Emotion is driven by a dynamic band of instructors who rove across the continent with cameras and teaching skills in hand. By fusing their narrative, tech-savvy minds together into one oversize head, the educators provide comprehensive guidance on both camera operation and creative visualization, giving participants complete control over all of their camera settings. During the hours spent in the company of other pupating shutterbugs, students convene at a tantalizing location to practice skills such as controlling depth of field by adjusting the aperture, composing a family portrait so there's not always a burning zeppelin in the background, using alternative angles to avoid red eye, and other techniques.

Electronics physicians at Dr. Cell Phone revive technological investments with original replacement parts and a three-day turnaround time. Cell-phone and computer specialists repair cracked screens, casing damage, and malfunctioning keys and address other common mobile-device maladies such as out-of-style ringtones. In addition to treating every single model of brands such as BlackBerry, Nokia, and Motorola, phone techs seamlessly repair screens and LCD components for iPhones 3G, 3GS, 4, or 4S and cracked iPads. Each customer—whether they drop by for a walk-in appointment or send their phone through the mail—receives a repair-order number to check in on their electronic pets, as well as a 30-day warranty on all parts, scratch 'n' sniff upgrades, and labor. In addition to handheld devices, The Dr. Laptop branch fixes up personal computers.