Week 4: Bags of Warmth for the Homeless

January 24, 2018

Winter, even in Texas, is a difficult time to be homeless. It might be more accurate to say especially in Texas, where we can have temperatures in the 70s one day, followed by a hard freeze the next. Cold weather can be brutal-even life threatening-for the homeless.

With the colder temperatures this January, it seemed the right moment  to focus my efforts on the homeless. Last week at Lakehill, we collected outerwear to distribute to those in need. We received so many wonderful donations of coats, scarves, hats, and mittens. As part of my fourth week of service, I worked with my Lower School Community Connections Club to prepare “Bags of Warmth,” with each containing a scarf, mittens, and a hat, plus a note from a student.

These bags, with a tag that says, “If you need this, please take it. Stay warm.” will then be given to those who are experiencing homelessness—on the street or in parks or other places where they may gather. My students and I took the bags to personally deliver while the coats we collected were donated to Dallas Life Homeless Shelter. This is a great project for children of all ages. They can also add snacks or water to the bags before they are delivered.

Week 3: David’s Place Head Start

January 20, 2018

During my third week of service, I volunteered with David’s Place, one of the Greater Dallas Head Start programs, located in the Jubilee Park neighborhood. I volunteered with 20 Lakehill high school students as part of our Warrior Outreach Organization (WOO). WOO was founded four years ago, as an initiative of our Student Council, to provide more opportunities for high school students to serve their community. This year, WOO has scheduled six projects on Saturdays throughout the year. I volunteered at David’s Place once before, during my Community Connections Summer Camp last summer.

Opened in 2002, David’s Place serves 190 children between the ages of 3 and 5. Volunteers are always needed to help prepare classrooms, work in the library, tutor children, and help with special projects.

Community service is rarely glamorous. A good volunteer will jump in and do “whatever is needed most.” With flu season expected to be one of the worst in years, our project on Saturday was an important one: cleaning the center, sanitizing, bleaching, and preparing the rooms for the children when they returned on Monday morning.

Head Start of Greater Dallas (HSGD) offers free, high quality child development services to income eligible families with children ages 0-5 years old. Their goal is to provide young children with the foundation of skills and knowledge they need to be successful in school and life and foster self-reliant families and communities.

Find out how to get involved with a Dallas Head Start program, or search for opportunities in your area. Volunteer opportunities are also available at Jubilee Park and Community Center.

Week 2: For the Love of the Lake

During my second week of service, I worked with an organization that I have been happily involved with for many years. I began volunteering with For the Love of the Lake (FTLOTL) in 2008 with Lakehill students and families, and we became an Adopt-a-Shoreline group shortly after. Any business, non-profit group, school, church, or local organization can become part of the Adopt-A-Shoreline program by becoming responsible for a small portion of the shoreline or park and keeping it litter-free.

In 2010, Lakehill was honored as the New Volunteer Group of the Year, and, in 2016, the Volunteer Group of the Year. We celebrated this honor on the anniversary of our 100th lake clean up.

Every second Saturday of the month is the Shoreline Spruce Up at White Rock Lake Park, a FTLOTL tradition that has been going strong since 1996. Volunteers collect litter throughout the park and along the shoreline. As a result of this dedicated effort, volunteers have transformed White Rock Lake Park into the neighborhood treasure it is today.

Over the years, our Lakehill volunteers have picked up trash in pouring rain, freezing snow and sleet, and unbearable Texas heat. We have also enjoyed many beautiful days in one of my favorite locations in Dallas. Our group has developed an incredible sense of pride in our adopted area. It’s not uncommon for a student to head to our section of shoreline to pick up trash on days when we don’t even have an event scheduled.

We have found many “treasures” during our 100+ clean ups: a 15-foot storm drain in the water (that one took several hours and a physics lesson on levers and pulleys from a science teacher in a kayak); a full-size sofa; an urn full of preserved lemons (we’re still talking about that one); dozens of shoes (but only one matching pair); and more tennis balls and Styrofoam cups than I care to mention.

I love this service project because you can visibly see the results of your hard work. Cleaning at White Rock Lake is a perfect activity for children of all ages and a great way for families to spend time together outdoors. I can’t think of a better way to start a Saturday morning than on the shores of this neighborhood gem.

If you would like to volunteer and are not part of an Adopt-A-Shoreline group, check-in between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. at the FTLOTL office, enjoy a continental breakfast provided by local sponsors, and collect your supplies (trash bags, gloves, and grabbers). First-time volunteers should stop at the training table for a quick orientation.

For the Love of the Lake (FTLOTL) is a non-profit organization whose volunteers support programs to preserve and enhance White Rock Lake Park. The group organizes regular clean-up activities, tree planting events, and raises money needed to fund improvements to White Rock Lake Park. White Rock Lake Park, at nearly 2,000 acres, is a hub of recreational activities and one of the most heavily used parks in the Dallas Park system.

Other volunteer initiatives of For the Love of the Lake include the Texas Stream Team, the Playground at Flag Pole Hill, and the Celebration Tree Grove.

Lakehill volunteers at the Second Saturday Spruce Up at White Rock Lake.

Week 1: VNA Meals on Wheels

What better way to start the new year and my 52 weeks of service than with an organization that is already near and dear to my heart. At Lakehill, we embarked on a regular Meals on Wheels route six years ago, delivering to 18 clients in a nearby apartment complex. During our inaugural year, I delivered meals with two colleagues. Since then, each year’s sixth grade students have adopted Meals on Wheels as a class project. We take groups of two or three students with us on the first, third, and fifth Wednesday of every month to deliver meals.

VNA Meals on Wheels supplies hot, nutritious, freshly prepared meals five days a week to Dallas County residents who otherwise might go hungry. The program helps seniors to maintain independence in their homes by providing daily meals and social contact. We know our clients by name, and look forward to seeing them each time we visit. For many of them, I know that we may be the only smiling faces they see all day.

In 2017, VNA Meals on Wheels provided 1,602,502 home-delivered meals, benefitting some 7,000 individuals. While the organization needs volunteers to drive regular routes, short-term and one-day projects are also available to volunteers of all ages.

Meals on Wheels operates in virtually every community in America through a network of more than 5,000 independently-run local programs. In the Dallas area, find out more about Meals on Wheels and how you can help, or search for opportunities in your area.

Fifty-Two Weeks of Service

By Gigi Gano Ekstrom

Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something. ~Author unknown

Small, daily acts of kindness can have a profound impact.

This year, I am setting forth on a personal quest: to volunteer every week of the year, with a different organization each time. Fifty-two different non-profits to learn about and work with. Fifty-two weeks of service.

I fully believe that helping others can make the world a better place. One person at a time, one day at a time, and one project at a time, you, too, can make a difference that will leave a lasting impact.

In my Community Connections service club at Lakehill Preparatory School, our mantra is, “It’s not about me.” So how do I incorporate that into my life and set an example for others to follow?

When it comes to making a difference, nothing matters more than simply taking action. Every effort counts, no matter how small it may seem. As we say in Community Connections, “Just do something.”

It doesn’t matter how old you are, where you live, or how much money you have. You just have to show up…and just do something. Keep in mind that the most valuable skills you can bring to any volunteer assignment are compassion, an open mind, a willingness to do whatever is necessary, and a positive attitude.

While I suspect most of my projects will focus on nonprofits in Dallas, Texas, as that is where I live and work, I am also looking forward to exploring opportunities in other cities when my family and I travel. My hope is that these activities will inspire others to seek out opportunities in their own communities.

Let’s get started!