Month: September 2018

Week 39: Bye Bye Bags for Vogel Alcove

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September 28, 2018

During my 39th week of service, I worked with my Community Connections members at Lakehill Preparatory School on a project for our friends at Vogel Alcove.

We prepared Bye-Bye Bags, which are snack bags that are distributed to the children served by Vogel Alcove at the end of the day, giving them additional nutrition when they are away from the facility.

Each volunteer decorated several paper lunch sacks with uplifting messages. We set out a variety of healthy snack items on tables, such as applesauce, cereal, fruit snacks, tuna, and crackers. After decorating a bag, volunteers moved through the line, selecting one item from each category to place in their bag. We boxed up all the bags – about 200 in total – and delivered to Vogel Alcove to distribute as needed.

Vogel Alcove serves as many as 200 homeless children each day, allowing them to learn and thrive in a place free from hunger or trauma. Parents – most of whom are single mothers – have the opportunity to work, look for work, or go to school, knowing that their children are in good hands. Since 1987, Vogel Alcove has served more than 15,000 children and their families.

I am always surprised to read that Dallas has the highest child poverty rate in the country among cities with more than a million people. Thirty percent of Dallas children grow up in poverty. While there are many reasons for family homelessness, poverty is an overriding factor.

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.

Preparing Bye Bye Bags is just one of the many ways to help children at Vogel Alcove.

Find out more ways to get involved here.

 

Week 38: Lakehill Volunteer Fair

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September 21, 2018

I recently held a Volunteer Fair at Lakehill Preparatory School. I started this event three years ago to give students an opportunity to meet representatives from a variety of local non-profit organizations. The event was held on Lakehill’s Main Campus, in the Lydia and James Perry Community Room and the Student Commons.

Each service partner manned a six-foot table, set up their display materials. Students were able to move from table to table, depending upon their interests.

The Fair was a great way for our service partners to meet students who are interested in volunteering, recruit for their teen boards and other programs, share their mission with others, and interact with other non-profit representatives.

During the Fair, students were able to meet with 15 different charitable organizations, learning more about their missions and the volunteer opportunities available. The students and teachers enjoyed visiting with the representatives and learning more about their wonderful organizations.

This year’s participants included Bonton Farms, Catholic Charities/The Brady Center, C.C. Young Senior Living, Community Partners of Dallas, Crossroads Community Services, Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, Feed My Starving Children, Hunger Busters, Jewish Family Service, Jubilee Park and Community Center, Meals on Wheels, Reading Partners, Voice of Hope, and the Wilkinson Center.

The Fair gave seventh graders through high school seniors the opportunity to broaden their volunteer horizons and find new ways to give back to their Dallas community. Students appreciated the chance to network and communicate with a wide variety of volunteer partnerships and explore many new avenues for service.

I also encouraged the non-profits to keep us in mind for special events and projects. I was thrilled when several of them immediately requested our help on a variety of projects that we could complete on campus. (More about those later).

Together, Lakehill students give more than 15,000 hours of volunteer service each year. Our school is small, but our students are dedicated to making a big impact in their community. A Volunteer Fair is a great kick-off event to help them harness their altruistic energy.

Week 37: Painting Bowls for The Stewpot

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September 10, 2018

On January 17, 2019, The Stewpot Alliance will host its 11th annual Soup’s On! Luncheon at The Hilton Anatole Hotel benefiting The Stewpot.

Some of the best chefs in Dallas – under the direction of celebrity chef Brian Luscher, owner of The Grape – will prepare a variety of specialty soups for the first course of the luncheon. Each guest receives a soup bowl to take home, and others are sold as part of the fundraiser. Guests will also be able to view and purchase one-of-a-kind works from artists who are members of the Stewpot Art Program.

While decorating the bowls was once a project for the students in The Stewpot’s children and youth program, the project has grown and now requires the support of the community. The Stewpot’s goal this year was to complete 700 bowls by the end of October.

Lakehill’s Middle School Community Connections group originally signed on to complete 50 bowls, although, in the end, only 20 were needed. The Stewpot provided the glaze, bowls, and brushes, and coordinated the drop-off and pick-up of supplies. To keep the bowls cohesive, we were asked to paint a fruit or vegetable on the inside of the bowl and to paint the outside a solid color with a special sprinkle paint. Beyond that, we were given creative freedom.

This was a great project for both the students and adults. We worked together in teams and had a great time painting our bowls.

The Stewpot offers a safe haven for homeless and at-risk individuals of Dallas, providing resources for basic survival needs, as well as opportunities to start a new life.

At its main location on the corner of Park Avenue and Young Street in downtown Dallas, The Stewpot provides casework assistance and enrichment programs to individuals and families experiencing homelessness, as well as Children and Youth and Family Stabilization programs to at-risk children and their families.

Since May 2008, The Stewpot has been the sole meal provider at The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, serving 1,000 meals per day, seven days per week.

Find out more about The Stewpot, volunteer opportunities, and the Soup’s On! Luncheon.

 

Week 36: Dallas Animal Services

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September 3, 2018

Volunteering with animals is always a favorite with my volunteer groups. While it is sometimes difficult to find opportunities for younger children, Dallas Animal Services (DAS) provides a variety of ways for volunteers of all ages to engage with animals.

Dallas Animal Services is dedicated to helping Dallas be a safe, compassionate, and healthy place for people and animals. They work to control the loose animal population as well as increasing the positive outcomes for homeless animals in the city.

There are many ways to get involved with Dallas Animal Services. Adults over the age of 18 may volunteer on an ongoing basis in the main shelter in West Dallas or Everyday Adoption Center in North Dallas. Tasks might include customer relations, walking dogs, or cuddling cats. Volunteers must attend a program orientation and hands-on training and are required to serve a minimum of four hours each month.

Other one-time experiences include events like Easter in the Park, Mayor’s Back to School Fair, and All Out Trinity’s Bark in the Park. There is no monthly service hour minimum for these activities.

Students in grades K-12 can practice their reading skills among an attentive audience of shelter animals and in return improve shelter animal behavioral development through youth socialization and engagement. This is a wonderful opportunity for school groups and families, and I plan to incorporate this in my Community Connections camp next summer.

Educational visits enable students to learn more about animal welfare and the impact DAS has in their communities. These include a tour, visits with shelter animals, and an enrichment activity such as making toys and treats for shelter animals

The foster program enables the community to save hundreds of animals each year that might otherwise take longer at being adopted. Fosters provide a safe place for a dog to decompress before reaching their forever home.

Donations are always needed. An alert recently went out in the community that Dallas Animal Services was in need of new and used blankets and towels. We tend to have a lot of blankets and towels at my house, and this seemed like a great opportunity to cull what we had and donate them to a good cause.

Donations can be dropped off at the main shelter at 1818 N. Westmoreland Road or the PetSmart Everyday Adoption Center on 16821 Coit Road. Flat sheets are also appreciated, but fitted sheets should not be donated.

Bedding wears out quickly at a shelter, and these items are much in need for the animals they serve. As they say at Dallas Animal Services, even if you can’t take one home, you can still come to the rescue.

Week 35: Peanut Butter Drive for North Texas Food Bank

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September 2, 2018

Hunger can be a hidden issue in any community. It’s amazing to me that one in four children right here in North Texas may not know where they will get their next meal. There are more than 300,000 hungry children right here in our neighborhoods. Fortunately, there is something we can do to help.

September is Hunger Action Month, when people across the country work together to fight hunger. Every gift you share with the North Texas Food Bank makes a difference for families in North Texas.

The City of Plano hopes to raise awareness about the issue of food insecurity for children, families, and seniors and to get others get involved in the fight against hunger. The mayor and City Council have partnered with the North Texas Food Bank to help feed hungry children and families with the fifth Plano Peanut Butter Drive. Their goal is to collect 50,000 pounds of peanut butter. Donations of regular-sized (16 oz.) plastic jars of peanut butter or similar spreads like almond butter or sunflower butter are requested.

For the entire month of September, the North Texas Food Bank will be collecting regular-sized, plastic jars of peanut butter to help feed hungry children and their families. Your company or organization can register to host your own drive, or you can collect jars and drop them off at the five public drop-off sites throughout Plano.

Public Drop-off Sites:

Davis Library | 7501-B Independence Pkwy. | Plano, TX 75025

Plano Municipal Center | 1520 K Ave. | Plano, TX 75074

Carpenter Park Recreation Center | 6701 Coit Rd., | Plano, TX 75024

The Shops at Willow Bend (Lower-Level Court) | 6121 W. Park Blvd. | Plano, TX 75093

North Texas Food Bank’s Perot Family Campus | 3677 Mapleshade Ln. | Plano, TX 75075

My family and I dropped off several bags of peanut butter over Labor Day weekend. I plan to continue the drive with my Community Connections volunteers at Lakehill when we meet later this month by asking each of them to bring a jar of peanut butter to our meeting.

Find out other ways to donate healthy food, and learn bout hosting a canned food drive here.