Week 48. Feed My Starving Children

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.

Week 42.Voice of Hope

October 15, 2018

Our Community Connections students at Lakehill Preparatory School and I have been volunteering with Voice of Hope for several years. Spending a day with the children they serve is always a highlight of our Middle School Community Connections camp. Our high school students involved with the Warrior Outreach Organization have participated as well. We love working in the classrooms on arts and crafts projects, or in the gym with physical activities and games. We have also cleaned closets and organized supplies when needed.

Voice of Hope is a wonderful community partner, and always attends our Volunteer Fair at Lakehill. This year, I asked those organizations in attendance to let us know if they ever had any projects we could complete on our campus, from stuffing envelopes to assembling packets.

Voice of Hope needed a group to stuff 2,000 invitations for their Voice of Hope Night at the Winspear Opera House, to be held on December 7. In addition to raising critical funds, the Sing an Irish Christmas event, featuring Keith and Kristyn Getty, also provides the opportunity for children and families to hear the message of Christmas and experience the blessings of the season.

We gathered in the Lakehill Library to form stations, preparing invitations, response cards, and envelopes for mailing. The students really took ownership of the project, and were determined to get all 2,000 invitations ready.The energy and focus the students put into the project was amazing. They completed the task, and felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment.

Voice of Hope has a rich history in the West Dallas community, giving children the resources and individual attention they need to grow into productive citizens and strong leaders. Founded in 1982, Voice of Hope has grown to serve over 300 children daily in their ASPIRE after-school program and Summer Day Camp. Their vision is to see inner-city families equipped with the resources and skills needed to overcome and break the poverty cycle.

Voice of Hope depends on volunteers to 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 how you can get involved.

Volunteering doesn’t have to mean traveling to another location. There are many things you can do to help local non-profits from your home or school. Just ask!

 

 

Week 40: Trick or Treat for UNICEF

October 1, 2018

Halloween is just around the corner, which means it’s time for Trick or Treat for UNICEF. Lakehill has been volunteering with UNICEF for more than 30 years, and is an Ambassador school.

Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF provides children, along with their parents and teachers, the opportunity to learn about their peers worldwide who are truly in need. It also enables them to raise money to help reduce the number of daily preventable deaths of children. Even if a child doesn’t trick-or-treat or celebrate Halloween, there are still a lot of fun ways to participate and make a difference.

UNICEF is the number one children’s humanitarian organization, working in over 150 developing countries. The organization provides impoverished children and their families with lifesaving medicine, nutrition, clean water and sanitation, education, and emergency relief throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, and parts of Europe. Forbes and Charity Navigator list the U.S. Fund for UNICEF every year as one of the most efficient charities, with more than 90% of all money donated going directly to save and improve children’s lives.

We often invite a UNICEF staff member to school to give a presentation for our students. This year, several of our Middle School volunteers presented the program to the entire Lower School, sharing their personal experiences and encouraging the younger students to get involved. It really has become a cherished tradition, and students look forward to it every year.

While carrying the collection box door-to-door is one of the most popular ways to contribute, supporters can host an event, skip a snack or movie and donate the money, or contribute part of their allowance to UNICEF. The whole family can help by donating spare change at the end of each day into the UNICEF box. We even encourage them to look under the cushions on the sofa and under the seats in the car!

Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF is the original “Kids Helping Kids” campaign. It began in 1950 as a door-to-door collection effort by a small group of children in Philadelphia to help children who were suffering after World War II. For nearly 70 years, the annual tradition of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF has helped raise nearly $177 million.

I believe that Trick or Treat for UNICEF helps our students as well, teaching them compassion and civic responsibility, giving them a chance to practice real-life math, speaking, and problem-solving skills, and empowering them to take action and work together.

This is my 11th year to be involved with UNICEF. What I love most is hearing the older students share their memories, ideas, and suggestions with the younger children. There is a special feeling when children join together to help other children. I love being a part of that.

Find out more and get involved with UNICEF here.

 

Week 39: Bye Bye Bags for Vogel Alcove

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 31: The Wilkinson Center

July 30, 2018

Nothing says “back-to-school” like a new pair of shoes. But for many families, it’s an expense they just can’t afford.

Wilkinson Center volunteer Carlin Morris saw need in East Dallas, and in 1985, started a shoe drive to help provide children with new shoes to start the school year. Since then, this volunteer-founded and volunteer-led program has supplied more than 36,000 children with new shoes and socks.

I have met the dynamic Carlin Morris before, and for many years have wanted to participate in the event that she started and continues to coordinate for the Wilkinson Center, an agency that combines food and emergency assistance to families with multi-generational educational opportunities that can change their lives.

I was thrilled this week to finally participate in the Carlin Morris Shoe Distribution, and to have my son Anders, and my husband Johan, with me. I love it when the three of us volunteer together, and think we will make this one of our annual projects.

We arrived at the Payless Shoes store where we were greeted by Carlin. After a brief orientation, we were ready for our assignment. Once families checked in, and the children received socks and were measured for their shoe size, we led them to the stacks to assist each child in selecting the perfect pair of back-to-school shoes. For many of the children, these are the only shoes they will receive during the entire school year.

We loved chatting with the families, hearing about where the children went to school, and seeing their faces light up when they found their new shoes.

During this 32nd annual shoe distribution, volunteers helped to give away more than 1300 pairs of shoes for children in need. According to the Wilkinson Center, over the course of the distribution, 120 volunteers gave more than 300 hours of service this year–a gift that allows this event to continue year after year.

Volunteers are vital to the success of Wilkinson Center, serving as partners with the organization and assisting in their goal to provide quality programs and services to their clients. I have taken several Lakehill Preparatory School groups to volunteer over the years, and have worked on a variety of projects. My Community Connections campers love partnering with the Wilkinson Center to work in the food pantry or in the resource center.

Individuals or small groups may sign up for volunteer assignments in the Wilkinson Center’s various programs, including food and emergency services, adult education, and family enhancement programs. Corporate and large group should inquire here about projects.

Week 29: School Supplies in Honduras

July 21, 2018

I confess. I had a hard time this summer keeping up with my weekly service. Not the actual service part; I actually managed to stick to that. It was the follow up that got me–actually writing the blog posts. I am slowly catching up, so please bear with me!

In July, I spent a week in Guanaja, one of the Bay Islands of Honduras in the Caribbean. Many years ago, when I was travelling extensively in Central and South America, I visited Utila, another of the three Bay Islands (the other being the more developed Roatan), and I was thrilled to return to these beautiful islands after 25 years.

My brother recently moved to Honduras, and is managing a charming small resort, Cabanas on Clark’s Cay, located just off the coast of the main island. In preparation for my trip, I needed to find a project I could complete while on the island. After speaking with my brother, we decided that school supplies would be a huge benefit to the local children. I packed the largest suitcase I could legally carry, and filled all the remaining space with pencils, pens, note cards, pencil pouches, folders, and other supplies.

Once in Guanaja, I learned that Bonacca Cay is the municipal hub and home to most of the approximately 10,000 people who live in Guanaja. The other two main settlements on Mangrove Bight and Savannah Bight.

Savannah Bight, with just over 1,000 residents, is the closest settlement to where my brother is living, and is home to many of his employee’s at Clark’s Cay. On my first day in Honduras, we attended a spirited soccer match there. The soccer team we were cheering for is sponsored by Clark’s sister resort, Villa on Dunbar Rock. During a break in the soccer match, we walked around the town, ending up at the small school. We decided that this school should be the recipient of the supplies I had brought with me.

When you are traveling, why not look for a way that you can give back to the local community? You’ll feel connected with the place and the people long after you return home.

Week 28: Ronald McDonald House

July 13, 2018

At Lakehill, our students have been collecting pull tabs for many years. Saving those little tabs that you pull to open soda, soup, or other aluminum cans, is a small project that can make a big difference for a non-profit organization. A couple of years ago, I took a group of Community Connections campers to visit the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas, take a tour, and deliver our pull tabs. Our collection bin at school filled up this summer, and I decided to visit the House again and deliver them.

The Ronald McDonald House of Dallas (RMHD) provides temporary housing in a caring home-like atmosphere to families whose children are receiving essential medical care. The goal is to lessen the burden, reduce stress, keep the family intact, and enhance the quality of life for the families they serve. The program is designed so that families can concentrate on helping their children heal, without having to worry about what they are going to eat or where they are going to sleep.

With approximately 60,000 square feet, RMHD offers 52 private bedrooms and six transplant apartments. There are several playrooms, a library, media room, craft room, chapel, meditation garden, and outdoor play areas. Communal kitchens and a dining room allow families to share a meal, which is provided three times a day by community volunteers, or to prepare their own food if they choose.

Families are asked to contribute $15 per family per night, but no one has ever been turned away because they couldn’t pay. The actual cost per night to house a family is about $130— a cost mostly covered by individual and corporate donors, community organizations, and special events. Since it opened in 1981, RMHD has served more than 38,000 families.

Hundreds of volunteers offer support by serving families, preparing meals, and hosting organized activities. Each month, it takes approximately 140 cooking groups to fulfill RMHD’s mission. Volunteer organizations and individuals host organized family activities on a regular basis, with most activities taking place in the evenings or on the weekends. Groups are typically limited to 12 people, and volunteers must be 15 years of age or older.

Individual volunteers must commit to volunteering at the House for at least three months. There are three main categories that are worked in weekly, three-hour shifts, including Front Desk, Kitchen, and Family Activity Volunteers. All individual volunteers must be 18 years of age or older.

Collecting pop tabs, like we did at Lakehill, is a great way for children, schools, and other large groups to get involved with RMHD. Children of all ages can participate in this easy and fun project. The funds generated from recycling the aluminum tabs help offset RMHD’s expenses.

On my recent visit, I discovered that there is a bin located right outside the entrance to the House, so that tabs can be dropped off any day. Staff members were also happy to give me a large cardboard collection container that was shaped like a house. This will be perfect to keep in our school cafeteria, where students can easily donate during their lunch period.

With 364 Ronald McDonald Houses, in 43 countries and regions, it should be easy to get involved in your area and make a difference!

 

Week 24: Community Connections Camp

June 11, 2018

This week was the week of my Community Connections Camp  at Lakehill for middle and high school students. It is without a doubt one of the highlights of my year! Each day of the camp, we partner with two different non-profit organizations (one in the morning, one in the afternoon). I love returning to volunteer with long-time favorites, as well as introducing campers to new places to channel their altruistic energy. I was honored to have my colleagues Kaye Hauschild and Jo Cayme-Mosley with me again for this camp. Many of our dedicated campers return every year to volunteer with us.

We began our week at Crossroads Community Services, where our campers did an amazing job sorting linens, stocking food, organizing donations, and shopping with clients. Crossroads provides much needed services to those living below the poverty line in Dallas. They are always needing donations of men’s and boys’ shoes and clothing – please think of them when clearing out closets!

In the afternoon, we visited Voice of Hope, where we worked with their first and second grade students. We led an arts and crafts activity in their classrooms and some competitive games of balloon tennis in their gym. Voice of Hope is dedicated to serving families in West Dallas, focusing their efforts on the children of the community.  Our campers did an amazing job engaging the young students, keeping them on task, and making sure everyone had fun.

On Tuesday, we began our day with CitySquare’s Food on the Move program. We helped set up, passed out food, organized activities for the children, and stayed and played at four different locations in the community. Our campers did a great job interacting with the children we served. CitySquare is a broad community development organization that offers a wide range of social services that address four key areas related to the persistence of poverty: hunger, health, housing, and hope. Their Food on the Move program helps provide free food and fun to impoverished children across Dallas in the summer when school is out.

From there, we went directly to our afternoon project at Jewish Family Service (JFS), a nonsectarian mental health and social services agency that impacts over 13,000 lives a year. We were able to participate in an amazing simulation they call the Food Pantry Experience. Our group was divided into teams and each given a family profile and scenario. They were charged with creating a budget for their family, dealing with unexpected setbacks along the way, and preparing a list of food they could purchase. They then went through the intake process at JFS, filling out the needed forms, before being allowed to shop in the food pantry. It really was an amazing experience, and gave us some insight into the food pantry clients we served the next day.

On Wednesday, we traveled to Brother Bill’s Helping Hand in West Dallas. Brother Bill’s brings not just a legacy of 75 years of service to West Dallas, but hope for a better life to the more than 25,000 people living in the 75212 zip code. This is always a favorite project for my students, as they love getting to help in the grocery store. We bagged produce, sorted plastic bags, and prepared for the approximately 100 guests who visited the grocery store. When the doors opened, our campers were ready to greet the guests, help them with their selections, provide food (and sometimes recipes), sack groceries, and help guests to their cars. This is the first post I have written on Brother Bill’s, and I highly recommend volunteering here. It’s fun, engaging, and always busy! The students were amazing – chatting with the guests, carrying bags of groceries, and making every person feel special.

In the afternoon, we cleaned Lakehill’s adopted shoreline at White Rock Lake (through For The Love of the Lake). The campers did a great job despite the heat, finding a lot of trash in a short amount of time.

We spent Thursday morning at Community Partners of Dallas, an organization that assists CPS caseworkers in helping abandoned, abused, or neglected children who have been removed from their homes. After a tour of the facility, we got to work on a seemingly monumental task – sorting, packing, and shelving row after row of backpacks. Our campers were absolutely amazing – they didn’t take a minute’s break, “power sorting” backpacks into a variety of categories and getting them into boxes and onto the shelves in beautiful order.

After lunch, we traveled to the North Texas Food Bank where we packed cereal boxes for distribution, broke down cardboard boxes, and stacked a lot of pallets.

On Friday, we headed to the VNA Meals on Wheels headquarters for a quick orientation and to pick up our food. We then traveled to Potter’s House/Primrose Oaks in South Dallas to deliver. The campers did a great job greeting clients and delivering meals with a big side of smiles. I loved seeing how they interacted with the residents.

After lunch, we prepared Bingo bags for Austin Street Center to be delivered later in the summer.

Together, our group gave 762 combined hours of service to ten wonderful organizations dedicated to the environment and to those affected by abuse, poverty, homelessness, and hunger. I am so proud of our campers and their engagement with our community this week.

I can hardly wait for my next Community Connections camp later in the summer!

 

Week 17: Vogel Alcove

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 15: Voice of Hope

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.