Tag: service

Categories
Holidays

A Thank You for Veterans

By Kaye Hauschild
Head of Middle School, Lakehill Preparatory School

Having a family member who served in our nation’s armed forces pretty much guarantees that Veterans Day is noted on your calendar. This in not because your beloved veteran brings it up or requests that the family come together for recognition. Instead, they hold their memories and experiences close to the vest, sharing only with those whose experiences are the same.

In our school, we make sure that Veterans Day honors veterans through assemblies or music or study. Through this and our service clubs and activities, students have come to recognize both the contributions that have made our country safe and the challenges of our veteran population.  They think of their great grandfathers who served in World War II, and consider uncles who fought in Desert Storm.  They also remember former military men and women they have met during a Bingo game at Austin Street Shelter or while serving a meal at Dallas Life Foundation.

When asked what they planned for Veterans Day this year, the students’ answer was unanimous.  Through an e-mail or a phone call or a personal visit, they are going to say thank you.

flag
Categories
Community

Delivering Smiles

By Nia Rasheed, ’11
Marketing Intern, Lakehill Preparatory School

When I was younger, we always knew that when my grandmother came into town we would have less responsibilities because she was always willing to help cook and clean. As she has gotten older and less independent, she has not been able to do various things, including cooking essential meals during the day. Thankfully, my grandmother has a friend volunteer to help her purchase food and make sure she is receiving the necessary things for her health.

Seeing the assistance that my grandmother needs allowed me to witness the importance of caring for senior citizens. As Marketing Intern, I have the privilege to participate in Meals on Wheels, a program motivated to increase the lifespan of seniors by providing health food and nutritionists facts. Through this program, I have the opportunity to deliver food to residents in the Dallas community.

The best part about participating in Meals on Wheels is seeing the smiles on the residents faces when they receive their meals. From the moment we walk in, we are greeted with hugs and gratitude. Knowing that your service may be the only love some of residents see that day makes the experience even better.

“Caring has the gift of making the ordinary special.” – George R. Bach

mow

Categories
Community Service Learning Uncategorized

An Everyday Hero

By Victoria John
Middle School Teacher, Lakehill Preparatory School

Sometimes a hero is not only the mythic god of Mount Olympus nor a contemporary Jedi knight. Sometimes a hero is someone we see every day, someone we know. In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, noted mythological scholar Joseph Campbell, describes heroes in myth as “practice models for understanding how to live…life principles embedded in the structure of stories.” Within these stories, he describes the qualities and passages of a hero through twelve stages called the hero’s journey. In Adam Bede, novelist George Eliot offers her concept of a hero, “It is more needful that my heart should swell with loving admiration at some trait of gentle goodness in the faulty people who sit at the same hearth with me…than at the deeds of heroes whom I shall never know.”

I am fortunate to know and teach such a hero, sixth grade Lakehill student Charlie Borowczak, who gifts children through the Salvation Army Angel Tree program with his Charlie’s Angels project. In December, as a guest on The Steve Harvey Show in Chicago, Charlie was featured in the Harvey’s Heroes segment.  Charlie shared that he became interested in supporting the Angel Tree program when he was in first grade. Since then, each November he goes to NorthPark Mall, chooses angels from the tree and purchases gifts for each child. Charlie funds these gifts by earning all the money himself through pet sitting, car washing or other odd jobs. Recently Charlie bought gifts for 30 angels, spending $100 on each. He says, “It makes him feel good to be Santa Claus for other children.”

When asked if he would describe himself as a hero, Charlie replies, “It makes me feel kind of smug to call myself a hero. I just think of myself as a normal person. I guess I would be a hero to the angels, because I give them a Christmas.”

This young entrepreneur is already planning for the future.  “I want to keep helping and inspiring others. I am working on expanding Charlie’s Angels and setting it up as a non-profit. I am spreading the word, and it is going fast.”

Talking with Charlie about his dedication to help children has touched me deeply and reminds me that he has heroic qualities. Charlie is a leader, loyal friend and respected by his peers. He is committed to helping others and genuinely cares about doing his part to make the world a better place. There is a gentle goodness in Charlie. He is someone we all know – he is our own Lakehill everyday hero. With his own words, “A hero needs a persevering spirit and the will to do good no matter what,” Charlie continues his path on the hero’s journey.

 

Charlie - 7 years oldCharlie in Chicago, Steve Harvey Show Charlie on Steve Harvey

Categories
Service Learning

Reaching Beyond Borders

By Jack Pippen, Class of 2015

This summer I was fortunate to spend nearly a month traveling across southern Africa in order to distribute donations made by Lakehill families and teach in a small Namibian school. I spent a week in a small community that my family and I have worked with in rural Namibia where few households have running water, electricity, steady incomes, or access to healthcare. The school teaches in English and has a promising student population.

Our purpose was to give the students the tools they need to succeed. I spent six hours a day teaching English, language, and vocabulary skills to students my age, using the books and curriculum used at Lakehill. I felt a real bond with these students because I was teaching them material that I had once been taught.

When I wasn’t teaching, I helped to organize and distribute our donations: 21 large boxes of donated books and clothes waiting that we had shipped before our trip. We had enough books for many class sets, as well as significantly increasing the collection of the library that we started a few years ago. We also realized that we had enough clothes for each student in the school to get at least one shirt or jacket. We went from classroom to classroom to distribute every piece of clothing. For many of the school children, this was only their third or fourth shirt or their only jacket. I stayed after school to watch the sports day events. The girls played netball (a sport like basketball) and the boys played soccer against other schools. Both teams were wearing donated Lakehill clothes as their uniforms. The boys had made soccer uniforms out of old yellow Trek For Tech shirts and blue PE shorts.

I am so grateful to everyone in the Lakehill community who donated to this cause.

Jack Pippen helps get books and uniforms for African school.
Jack Pippen helps get books and uniforms for African school.

 

 

 

Categories
Family and Community

Humbled by Service

By Kaye Hauschild
Middle School Coordinator, Lakehill Preparatory School 

My daddy was in the Navy in World War II.  When I was growing up, all that his service meant to me was that I could borrow a real sailor’s hat for my Halloween costume.  When I got to college and majored in History, I thought myself an expert in World War II military history and his service became a footnote in my knowledge.  When life had taught me that war is not something even remotely communicated in textbooks, his service humbled me.

I celebrate Veteran’s Day in his memory and share my celebration with my students each year, encouraging them to remember their friends and loved ones who served our country.

This year, I took the seventh grade, Mrs. John, and Mrs. Ekstrom down the road to C.C. Young Retirement Center where we volunteered to go and talk with the World War II veterans and help them get from where they live to where the Veteran’s Day flag ceremony was taking place.

In the days before our visit, we had four of our scouts volunteer to perform the flag ceremony and four girls volunteer to lead the entire group in the pledge of allegiance.  We practiced appropriate questions and conversation starters.  We reviewed procedures and dress code.

And then, on November 11, 2011, our seventh grade went to C.C. Young.  It was a beautiful flag ceremony, a rousing recitation of the pledge, and no one was lost in transit from home to ceremony or back.  The students did everything they were asked to do, but at the end of the morning, it was so much more.

There was a kind of magic that morning between the veterans and our students.  Maybe everyone was a little awkward at first, but minutes into our time together, that awkwardness turned to sincere mutual interest.  We learned about their experiences and they wanted to know about ours.  We were fascinated by their pasts and they were excited for our futures. (One of our veterans tried to recommend Texas A&M to everyone!)  Even after the lovely ceremony, one resident’s comment was “It means so much that you just came to talk to us.”  And our students felt the same way.

Everyone wants to plan another visit to our new friends.  Seventh graders are still talking about their experiences.  And there is talk of making our Veteran’s Day visit an annual event.

Once again, I am humbled.