Month: May 2018

Week 18: VolunteerNow

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May 5, 2018

As one of the nation’s largest volunteer centers and experts in community service, VolunteerNow seeks to transform communities through volunteerism. To achieve their mission, Volunteer Now developed VOLY.org, an innovative, web-based volunteer recruiting, management, and reporting platform designed to directly support the volunteer needs of nonprofits, schools, municipalities, and others who value volunteerism. By connecting nonprofits to the free workforce that they need, supporting teachers and students in the classroom, and providing volunteer infrastructure for municipalities, VolunteerNow programs and services build capacity for communities to address critical needs.

VolunteerNow connects nonprofits – large and small – with the volunteer workforce needed to fulfill their missions. The organization serves 3,000 nonprofits and refers more than 150 volunteers per day. Last year alone, VolunteerNow mobilized 135,000 volunteers who gave 1.5 million hours valued at $37 million.

I have often signed up for volunteer opportunities online with VOLY.org. This week, I decided to check out their Donated Goods Discount Depot. This warehouse-sized store, located in the Wilson Historic District in Dallas, provides nonprofits with access to items donated by area retailers for sale at a fraction of retail cost. They accept new, surplus, and gently used items from corporate donors such as JCPenney, Sam’s Club, Target, and many more. They then make these items available to their member nonprofits, local school district employees, police officers, firefighters, EMTs, military personnel, and veterans. The Discount Depots are not open to the general public.

As a member, nonprofit organizations have access to a wide variety of items, from clothes for children’s services, personal care products for women’s shelters, construction supplies for all kinds of projects, and even office supplies and furniture for everyday nonprofit needs. Every item is offered at a dramatic discount. Through Donated Goods, member nonprofits are able stretch their budgets by spending less on critical items, leaving more money to dedicate to their mission. Each shopper may bring one guest when they shop. All guests must be over 12 years of age. Each purchase will include a $2.00 fee to cover administrative costs previously offset by membership fees.

 

Discount Depots are open 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. There are two locations, one at 2800 Live Oak Street in Dallas, and another at 4137 Stadium Drive in Fort Worth.

Organizations may also donate surplus inventory.

 

Week 17: Vogel Alcove

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April 23, 2018

Dallas, with the sixth largest GDP of any American city, also has the highest child poverty rate in the country among cities with more than one million people. Thirty percent of Dallas children grow up in poverty, with more than 3,000 kids in our city currently experiencing homelessness.

Vogel Alcove helps young children overcome the lasting and traumatic effects of homelessness. Their vision is that every child in our community has a home, a self-sufficient family, and a foundation for success. Their new facility, housed in the former City Park School, opened in Spring 2014. They now have the capacity to serve up to 200 children each day, and continue to be specifically dedicated to serving the needs of homeless children.

For Week 17, I collected new books and toys for Vogel Alcove. By providing education and a broad array of therapeutic services, Vogel Alcove is dedicated to helping children who are experiencing homelessness cope with the physical, emotional, and mental trauma so that they might succeed in life despite their circumstances.

I have volunteered at Vogel Alcove many times over the past 10 years. I have enjoyed sorting donations, packing diapers for distribution to families, and playing outdoors with the children. Vogel Alcove is a recipient each year of our Lakehill Preparatory School Toy Drive during the holidays. My Community Connections summer campers love volunteering there. In lieu of birthday gifts for themselves, some of my altruistic campers have requested diapers that they then donated to the organization.

In-kind donations allow Vogel Alcove to provide essential items like clothing, diapers, and shoes, as well as books and toys, at no cost to families experiencing homelessness.

The most urgent needs include:

  • Children’s Clothing (boys and girls sizes 2t-6t)
  • Children’s belts
  • New children’s socks and underwear (2t-6t)
  • New/Gently used coats, rain jackets, ponchos (Size 2T-6T, boys and girls)
  • New Children’s toys
  • Umbrellas

 

Working with homeless children requires highly-skilled staff with specialized training in trauma-informed care. But there are a variety of opportunities for both individuals and groups, such as serving as Backyard Buddies, sorting and organizing donations, conducting donation drives, and preparing Bye-Bye Bags (snack bags distributed to the children at the end of the day).

Find out how to get involved or donate in-kind goods.

 

Week 16: EarthX

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April 22, 2018

EARTHx (formerly Earth Day Texas) has created the world’s largest annual forum for sharing the latest initiatives, discoveries, research, innovations, policies, and corporate practices that are reshaping our world.

This three-day, free event is held in April to celebrate progress, hope, and innovation and is the largest event in the world of its kind. EARTHx brings together environmental organizations, businesses, academic institutions, government agencies, speakers, interactive programming, and subject matter experts. The event creates a fun and engaging atmosphere for thought and experiential learning while encouraging attendees to be the change they wish to see in the world.

In 2017, EARTHx hosted more than 100,000 attendees, over 900 exhibitors, and 260 speakers. This year’s event, held April 20-22, at Fair Park, included a booth featuring Lakehill Preparatory School. The annual festival seeks to elevate environmental awareness and change the way North Texans think, live, and work. This is the seventh year that Lakehill has been featured. On Sunday, I had the opportunity to volunteer at Lakehill’s booth, educating others about sound environmental practices.

Visitors had a variety of activities available to them at our booth. They could paint silicone fish and leaves that they rolled paint onto and used to create colorful prints. Herbarium and insect collections that were created by second and third grade students were also showcased. Lakehill students in AP Environmental Science class showcased a variety of environmentally friendly projects.

A worm compost bin was available to teach visitors about the benefits of worm composting, but I avoided that activity. I was comfortable, however, engaging visitors in a fun matching game to teach about the amount of time it takes different materials to break down in a landfill.

Hundreds of volunteers give their time and talents each year to EarthX. Volunteers will help attendees engage in hands-on activities that teach children how to make a difference through science play or encourage adults to explore the many exhibits to learn what innovations are available today and ideas for a sustainable future.

Every volunteer needs to fill out an online application and e-sign a waiver before being allowed to volunteer.

Week 15: Voice of Hope

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April 14, 2018

I have been looking forward to this week’s project for awhile. I scheduled it several months ago for Lakehill’s Warrior Outreach Organization. Our high school students are always eager to volunteer with kids, and Voice of Hope offers an amazing opportunity to do engage with the children they serve. I have volunteered with Voice of Hope twice before with Lakehill‘s Community Connections Summer Camps. During those visits, we read, played games, led craft activities, and enjoyed spending time with the children in the classroom.

On this visit, half of our group worked with the children on a craft project, and then enjoyed playing games in the gym. It was an extremely cold and rainy Saturday, and not as many children as usual were in attendance. The other half of our group helped sort donations, clean, and organized the food pantry.

Founded in 1982, Voice of Hope has grown to serve more than 300 children daily in their ASPIRE after-school program and Summer Day Camp.

Voice of Hope has a rich history in the West Dallas community. The vision of Voice of Hope is to see inner-city families equipped with the resources and skills needed to overcome and break the poverty cycle and to see children success scholastically. Their mission is to nurture and train children through Biblical teaching, Christian role models, life skills coaching, and educational support. Their After School Program provides opportunities for students’ personal growth and to develop meaningful relationships with peers and supportive, caring adults.

Voice of Hope depends on volunteers to help them achieve their mission. Some volunteers work directly with children in the ASPIRE after-school program or Summer Day Camp, while others serve behind the scenes in support roles and garnering in-kind donations.

Find out about volunteer opportunities.

Week 14: Kite Day for Bayles Elementary School

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April 7, 2018

Kite Day is an annual celebration that brings students from Bayles Elementary to Lakehill’s nearby campus on Ferguson Road. Lakehill has hosted this event for many years, with attendance usually near 400 or 500. Braving unseasonably cold temperatures this year, our Lakehill volunteers welcomed the students and their families for the annual celebration on April 7.

The fields at Lakehill’s Roger L. Perry Campus provided the perfect location, as an old-school pastime became a new favorite for those who attended. Volunteers handed out kites and offered guidance to novice kite fliers and their families. The Lion’s Club fired up the grill to serve a hot dog lunch to all who attended. This year, the grill also provided welcome relief from the cold, and a place to warm up from the chilling winds. Despite the dropping temperatures, the children’s spirits soared as high as the kites they were flying.

Bayles Elementary was established by the Dallas Independent School District in 1956 and has educated thousands of children in the Ferguson Road community for more than 50 years. The administration and staff at Bayles work closely with neighborhood organizations to create strong community partnerships to support their students and help them reach their fullest potential.

Communities work best when the local schools are supported. Why not offer your support for a school in your community?

 

Week 13: National Kidney Foundation

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April 1, 2018

This week was a tough one to fit in a service project. Some weeks are like that, I suppose: something on the calendar every day and night. How do we find time to do something positive for others?

I was sorting through the mail, worrying about how to schedule a project, when I saw a postcard for the National Kidney Foundation Serving Texas (NKFST). There was a pick-up scheduled in my neighborhood coming up. My family and I spent the next several hours going through our closets with a fine-tooth comb. Items in good condition that my son had outgrown or that we no longer wore were perfect to pack up for NKFST. Organizations rely on these donations to support their mission. The donations really do make a difference.

In North Texas alone, there are 1.5 million people at risk of kidney disease. Throughout Texas, there are 3,000 people waiting for transplants and over 30,000 people on dialysis.

Donations of clothing and household items will allow NKFST to raise the funds needed to fight kidney disease in North Texas through early screening and education. It helps patients and families affected by kidney disease with aid and information. It also gives struggling families access to affordable clothing.

Clothes for Kidney is the pick-up service for NKFST. The donations are sold in bulk to area thrift stores. All proceeds from the sale of merchandise to area thrift stores benefit the National Kidney Foundation Serving Texas.

The National Kidney Foundation, Inc., a major voluntary health organization, seeks to prevent kidney and urinary tract diseases, improve the health and well-being of individuals and families affected by these diseases, and increase the availability of all organs for transplantation.

You can schedule a pick up here. A list of acceptable items can be found here.