Month: December 2018

Week 50. Sandbranch

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December 16, 2018

Sandbranch is known as Dallas County’s poorest neighborhood. A small, unincorporated community located just 14 miles southeast of Dallas, the fifth-wealthiest city in the United States, Sandbranch has been fighting for over 30 years to have access to clean running water.

Established in 1878 by the Reverend Allen Hawthorne, a freed slave from Louisiana, along with 11 other freedmen, the community grew around the Mount Zion Baptist Church, which continues to be at the center of this tight-knit community.

At its peak, Sandbranch’s population numbered approximately 500 people, but today only about 80 remain, all of whom live below federal poverty levels. The average age is 68. None of the homes have running water, sewer service, or trash pickup. The water in the community is contaminated, and residents desperately need food and drinkable water.

Sandbranch is also in a food desert, which means that residents – many without transportation – must find a way to travel more than seven miles to the nearest grocery story for healthy food options.

Sandbranch has never had running water in the entire 138 years of its existence, but up until the 1980s, people in the community used well water, which has now either run dry or is too contaminated to drink. Residents now depend on donated water or water purchased in nearby cities and brought in.

Mount Zion Baptist Church, under the leadership of Reverend Eugene Keahey, has been pivotal in helping the residents of Sandbranch maintain a decent quality of life.

For the past 22 years, the Dallas Bar Association (DBA) and special friends have contributed food and distributed it to families in the Sandbranch Community.

This was the third year that my family and I have helped distribute food during the holidays. DBA members raise the money and purchase the food to distribute to approximately 65 families. Volunteers gather at Mount Zion Baptist Church to help distribute the care packages. After unloading the U-Haul trailer and sorting the frozen turkeys, large bags of rice, beans, flour, and sugar, and cases of canned foods, volunteers and community members set up stations for each of the items on the side of the road in front of the church. Once all the items have been arranged, residents drive through the line and the items are loaded directly into their cars. Neighbors with cars help those without, so that everyone can take part.

There is a wonderful camaraderie among volunteers and neighbors, all working together for the benefit of a special community.

Read more about Sandbranch here.

Week 49. Salvation Army Red Kettle

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December 3, 2018

I love the story behind the familiar Salvation Army Red Kettle at the holidays. According to The Salvation Army’s website, the kettle originated back in 1891, when Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee was distraught because so many poor individuals in San Francisco were going hungry. During the holiday season, he resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner for the destitute and poverty-stricken. He faced a major obstacle, however, in funding the project.

As he pondered how to find the funds to fulfill his commitment of feeding 1,000 of the city’s poorest individuals on Christmas Day, he thought back to his sailor days in Liverpool, England. He remembered a large, iron kettle called “Simpson’s Pot,” located at Stage Landing, where the boats came in, where passersby could toss in their coins to help the poor.

The next day, Captain McFee placed a similar pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing at the foot of Market Street. Beside the pot, he placed a sign that read, “Keep the Pot Boiling.” He soon had the money he needed to feed the poor at Christmas.

Six years later, the kettle idea spread from the West Coast to the Boston area. That year, the combined effort nationwide resulted in 150,000 Christmas dinners for the needy. In 1901, kettle contributions in New York City provided funds for the first mammoth sit-down dinner in Madison Square Garden, a custom that continued for many years. Today in the U.S., The Salvation Army assists millions of people during the Thanksgiving and Christmas time periods.

Captain McFee’s kettle idea launched a tradition that has spread not only throughout the United States, but all across the world. Public contributions to Salvation Army kettles enable the organization to continue its year-round efforts to help those who would otherwise be forgotten.

Every December for many years, I have had the opportunity to ring the bell for the Salvation Army. A friend from the photography department at The Dallas Morning News sponsors the kettle at NorthPark Mall on Mondays throughout the holiday season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and he always invites us to participate. We fill several slots with faculty, staff, and students at Lakehill Preparatory School, and my family and I always volunteer for a shift together.

Celebrating more than 125 years, the Salvation Army’s traditional red kettle is an integral part of the holidays, with millions of dollars donated each year to aid needy families, seniors, and the homeless, in keeping with the spirit of the season. Donating to a red kettle is easy – spare change helps change lives.

Volunteer groups are needed to staff red kettle sites for a minimum of a full day. This is a great way for organizations to help raise important funds that make an immediate difference in the community. It is a fun activity for any age, and even more enjoyable when done with friends or family. The day can be divided into multiple shifts, to make it easy for volunteers to get involved. Find out more.

Week 48. Feed My Starving Children

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December 1, 2018

During my 48th week of service, I volunteered for Feed My Starving Children with Upper School members of the Warrior Outreach Organization (WOO) at Lakehill Preparatory School.

I first learned about Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) at Voly in the Park last summer. I spoke to them at length and learned that they were opening a facility in Texas. It was simple to sign up a group with their online registration process.

Feed My Starving Children is a Christian non-profit organization that coordinates the packaging and distribution of food to people in developing nations. Founded in 1987, it has reached out to more than 70 countries. Their process is simple. The organization recruits volunteers, including school children, to assist in packing. They also employ paid staff to supervise the operations.

Volunteers hand-pack scientifically formulated MannaPack meals for undernourished children, which are distributed to a network of missions and humanitarian organizations around the world. FMSC works with food partners who are reaching the most needy and vulnerable in Africa, the Caribbean, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North, Central, and South America. Donations fund the meal ingredients. Volunteers are encouraged to donate, or shop in the gift shop (or online) for t-shirts and hand-crafted items. A donation of just $80 helps them feed one child for an entire year.

FMSC has permanent sites in Arizona, Illinois, Minnesota and Texas. Opportunities are also available nationwide through FMSC MobilePack events, which allow volunteers to engage in an impactful meal-packing experience, regardless of their location in the United States. These special events provide the opportunity to instill compassion in your own community and improve the lives of malnourished children around the world.

Volunteering with FMSC was a well-organized process from start to finish. It was easy to sign up, the training was thorough, and atmosphere was energetic and fun. I especially appreciated the debriefing after the packing was completed, as well as the opportunity to sample a MannaPack meal. It added a special connection between what we were doing and who we were serving. During our shift, volunteers packed 151 boxes, representing 32,616 meals–enough to feed 89 children for a year.

Sign up to volunteer here or learn more about hosting a MobilePack event.