Week 50. Sandbranch

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 47. Holiday Luncheon

November 20, 2018
with updates on December 14, 2018

For 40 years, on a special Friday in December, Lakehill Preparatory School continued a holiday tradition that remains in the hearts of attendees long after the pumpkin pie is finished.

This year’s Holiday Luncheon, held on December 14, brought 150 elderly residents from around east Dallas to the school’s main campus to share the spirit of the season with the Lakehill family.

The entire Upper School assisted in welcoming the seniors to the school. Each grade has progressively more complex responsibilities. Members of Lakehill’s senior class, along with their parents and class sponsors, joined forces with the entire Upper School to provide a memorable holiday experience for senior citizens. The senior class, along with their parents, hosted the luncheon feeding over 700 people throughout the day. While the senior citizens were eating, they were joined by Lower and Middle school students and entertained with various performances.

Juniors, dressed as elves, reindeer, and Santa and Mrs. Claus, visited with guests and posed for pictures. Sophomores served as photographers, giving guests a framed photo as they left the luncheon. Freshman decorated the Commons and hosted the guests for refreshments after their meal.

Students in all grade levels helped by donating the items that were used to fill the stockings that our Lower and Middle School Community Connections club members prepared for each guest. We spent several days organizing all the donations, sorting into categories, such as tissues, stationary, shampoo, and lotion, followed by several days stuffing each stocking with goodies. As each guest left the Luncheon, they received a poinsettia, the picture frame with their picture with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and a stocking full of goodies.

The Holiday Luncheon is a wonderful tradition that truly reinforces the meaning of the holidays. Many of these guests are regular attendees who look forward to the luncheon every year. Tasty food, good music, and enjoyable conversations with the students seemed to get everyone in the holiday spirit.

Week 45. First Aid Kits for Brady Senior Services Center

November 7, 2018

During my 45th week of service, I worked with my Lower School Community Connections members at Lakehill Preparatory School to create small first aid kits for senior citizens served by The Brady Program.

We first created “First Aid Kit” labels that volunteers attached to small Ziploc bags. They then fill edthe bags with antiseptic wipes, antibiotic cream, alcohol pads, gauze, and Band-Aids. We boxed up all the first aid kits – about 500 in total – and delivered them to Catholic Charities to distribute to those served by The Brady Program.

Catholic Charities Dallas (CCD) is a faith-based social service agency focused on improving the quality of life for people in need. Comprised of 17 individual programs serving the nine counties in North Texas, they help over 30,000 individuals annually to achieve stability and self-sufficiency through financial literacy, employment services, education, food programs, immigration legal services, refugee resettlement, disaster services, and permanent supportive housing.

Brady Senior Services aims to improve the health and wellness of senior citizens ages 60 and older. Services are designed to promote and support personal independence and emotional and physical well-being while recognizing individual dignity. The Brady Senior Services Center provides over 500 Dallas area seniors with daily meals, information and education, social activities, exercise classes, and access to medical care. With the Brady Program now housed at Marillac, seniors can take advantage of all of the services and activities available.

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to visit the new offices for Catholic Charities when I delivered the first aid kits, and to later visit the Marillac Campus which now houses the Brady Program, and the CCD’s newly opened St. Jude Center which provides long-term housing to the chronically homeless.

Week 6: Valentine’s Cards for Seniors

February 7, 2018

For my sixth week of service, I brought first and second graders in my Lower School Community Connections Club together to prepare Valentine’s Day cards for residents at C.C. Young Senior Living. We provided red, pink, and white construction paper, scissors, glue, stickers, doilies, and markers, and let everyone get creative with the cards they made.

Valentine’s Day is a holiday celebrating love and friendship. However, for many seniors, this annual day dedicated to love can be a day of increased loneliness and sorrow. Many seniors are widowed or living alone, and receiving a hand-made Valentine can help them feel connected and loved.

The cards we made were delivered to C.C. Young Senior Living to be distributed to their residents as desired. This is an easy project to pull together, and a great way for children of all ages to show their love and support for seniors.

Other great ways to get involved with  C.C. Young are to host a car wash for residents, play bingo, host a craft activity, or give a performance. Find out more here.

Week 5: Day of Service

February 2, 2018

One of my favorite days of the year at Lakehill is our Upper School Day of Service. I started this event a few years after I started working at Lakehill, and this year we celebrated our seventh annual event on February 2.

While our eighth graders were busy learning more about high school during Freshman Visit Day, our Upper School students headed out to a variety of locations to lend a helping hand in their community. Each grade volunteered with a different organization. This year, our students and faculty logged nearly 500 hours of service before returning to campus.

For our Day of Service, I look to partner with organizations that can accommodate, and actively engage, groups of 30 or more students. I was thrilled with our service partners this year. I think the comments from the students shed light on what a special day this is for all of us.

The freshman class worked with Hope Supply Co., sorting and packing hundreds of containers of formula and thousands of diapers, as well as school supplies, for homeless children, while sophomores visited and played Bingo with senior citizens at The Brady Center. “You don’t think about how important an eraser or a pencil sharpener could be, until you realize so many children don’t have any,” said Kathryn Mahan, Freshman Class President, who enjoyed packing backpacks at Hope Supply Co. Gaige McKnight enjoyed playing Bingo and visiting with senior citizens at the Brady Center. “I met a woman who spoke limited English and, with the help of Google Translate, was able to share a conversation with her.”

Juniors sorted onions at the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB), packing three pallets with more than 1,748 pounds of food, enough for 1,457 meals, for hungry North Texas families. “I am full of gratitude and thankful to have the opportunity to help people in need,” said Julia Bartholow.

Seniors joined forces with Reading Partners, to provide tutoring to students in two under-served elementary schools in DISD. “Volunteering with Reading Partners was such a rewarding experience,” said senior Toni Stark-Perez. “The children were shy, at first, but it was inspiring to see them gain confidence and start reading along.”

I am already looking forward to next year’s Day of Service, and to volunteering with these amazing organizations again soon.

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.