Author: Kallie Terrana

Kallie Terrana is the Engage Dallas Program Specialist at Southern Methodist University and oversees the Engage Dallas Student Directors.

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Community Partners Crum Commons Event Reflections Service Trip Uncategorized

Painting with Purpose

During my first semester as an Engage Dallas Student Director, I had the opportunity to tour one of the senior living homes supported by our community partner, The Senior Source. While visiting Modern Senior Living, I had a meaningful conversation with the activities director about the positive impact their new garden had on the residents. That conversation got me thinking—what other creative ways could we enhance the space and bring more joy to those living there? When she mentioned their hope to one day have a mural painted on an outer wall, the idea for the mural project started to take shape.

After months of planning, searching for the right artist, and finalizing the design, we brought that vision to life this April. I eventually connected with an artist through the SMU Student Organized Art Collective, and with the support of the SMU Engaged Learning ELSA Grant and additional funding support, we were able to paint the mural and host a block party to celebrate with the residents and their families. With the help of 17 amazing volunteers, we spent the day painting, celebrating, and even inviting residents to leave their handprints on the wall. It was a special moment that brought so much energy and community spirit to the space.

What made this project truly meaningful was the response from the residents. Throughout the painting process, many came outside—some for the first time in a while—to watch, share feedback, and chat with us. The staff told us it was rare to see so many residents actively engaging like that. During the block party, which was held on a Saturday when many families came to visit, residents proudly showed their loved ones the mural and took photos in front of it. One resident shared how moving it was to see someone in a wheelchair represented in the mural, saying it made them feel seen. For many of us students, it was their first time visiting a senior home, and it was eye-opening. I hope this project not only made a difference for the residents, but also encouraged all of us to stay engaged with and advocate for our elders—because one day, we might find ourselves in their place.

Raissa Umwali ‘25

Engage Dallas Student Director – Crum Commons

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Alternative Spring Break Event Reflections Service Trip

Spring Engage Dallas Alternative Break Trip

Written by Engage Dallas Area Coordinator Hannah Green

Over this past Spring Break I, along with our staff advisor (Dani Palomo), and three other students (Julian Seghers 26’, Margaret Alt 26’, and Marcus Johnson 28’) engaged in a week of direct service in the Dallas community. Specifically, we served at Engage Dallas community partners Joppy Momma’s Farm, a community farm and garden, and Mercy Street, a sports and mentoring outreach organization that serves the youth of inner-city communities! Here are some key highlights from that week.

Joppy Momma’s Farm
Spending the morning assisting with the upkeep of the garden was such an educational and eye-opening experience. Some of the tasks that we did throughout the week included mulching, planting, harvesting, and weeding. We were not only taught how to do these things properly but also the amount of care that goes into completing these practices weekly in order to maintain the garden. Some of the highlights from our time at Joppy Momma’s included harvesting lettuce, planting bell pepper sprouts, and making our take-home tea bags of sage, rosemary, mint, and lemongrass! It was truly a delightful experience to lend a helping hand. During the week, I was reminded of the importance of supporting initiatives that provide local access to fresh produce, such as Joppy Momma’s initiative! This farm is meeting a nutritional need within a community struck by the wider inequalities we see in Dallas.

Mercy Street
Following our lunch breaks, we would spend the afternoon serving at Mercy Street. We spent Monday and Tuesday repainting their soccer field gate but due to unfavorable weather conditions, we pivoted to assisting with other tasks. When we met with the Mercy Street administrative staff, they were so grateful for what we were able to accomplish with giving the gate a newer coat in time for Mercy Street’s opening day for their various sports programs, considering the financial commitment of otherwise completely replacing the gate. On Wednesday and Thursday, we organized and rolled hundreds of shirts tied with handwritten motivation messages that would be given out to the attendees of the opening day ceremony that upcoming Saturday! This was again much appreciated by the staff, and it was quite satisfying to get the shirts prepared in time! On Friday, we were tasked with setting up chairs in the gymnasium, setting up signs around the complex, assembling a pressure washer, and getting the soccer goals in tip-top shape for Saturday! Although the tasks at times were physically demanding, it was really neat to activate our teamwork skills in the process of doing new things such as putting together the pressure washer or replacing soccer nets and moving the goal across the field. Overall, we ended up accomplishing so much that week and we collectively walked away with a renewed understanding of how important volunteers are for organizations such as Mercy Street.

Not only was this week truly enriching, but it was also fun and full of surprises! I would encourage anyone who is debating on whether to go on an Alternative Break trip to go for it and be ready to potentially step out of your comfort zone!
If you have any questions about earning your Community Engagement proficiency, please reach out to me: greenh@smu.edu

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Announcements Event

Support Engage Dallas on SMU Giving Day

Today, March 11, is SMU’s annual Giving Day. Donations to Engage Dallas today will support our summer internship program. In partnership with the Hegi Family Career Development office, Engage Dallas offers students paid ten-week internships with our community partners in South and West Dallas.

Engage Dallas is a place-based community engagement initiative via SMU’s Residential Commons to address community needs focusing on South and West Dallas. The initiative is a long-term, University-wide commitment led by students to partner with local residents, organizations and other leaders to positively impact the community. There is equal emphasis on campus and community impact stemming from the initiative.

We are excited to announce the continuation of the Engage Dallas Summer Internship Program for the fourth year. This program provides the opportunity for our community partners to apply to host an internship experience and be matched with a qualified SMU student.  Engage Dallas provides compensation to interns, so that the community partners do not have to. Supporting this project allows donors to contribute to meaningful career exploration opportunities for Mustangs while investing into our South and West Dallas community organizations.

Visit our site here to make a donation today to benefit these summer internships and our Engage Dallas community partners.

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Armstrong Commons Boaz Commons Cockrell-McIntosh Commons Community Partners Crum Commons Event Kathy Crow Commons Loyd Commons McElvaney Commons MHPS Commons Morrison-McGinnis Commons Reflections Service Trip Virginia-Snider Commons Ware Commons

Engage Dallas Hosts Fourth Fall Day of Service

On October 12th, Engage Dallas held the 4th annual #1Day4Dallas fall day of service. On this day, students from every Residential Commons, along with staff and faculty, were able to engage in serving the city of Dallas. Engage Dallas offered service opportunities with ten of our community partners during this event.

Students served with Trusted World, Empowering the Masses, Austin Street Center, The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, Mercy Street Ministries, Brother Bill’s Helping Hands, Keep Dallas Beautiful, Our Saviour Community Garden, Senior Source, and Trinity River Audubon Center. 127 volunteers spent their Saturday morning assisting these community partners in serving the people of South & West Dallas.

Several of the community partners shared gratitude for the service that students offered. One of Ware Commons’ partners, Empowering the Masses, hosted one of the sites where students served:

“Keeping our space tidy and presentable is an underrated part of providing our services.  Whether you’ve broken down boxes, wiped down tables, swept and mopped the floors, or anything in between, we thank you for your diligence and dedication.Your positive attitude and willingness to serve is noted by the members of the church and staff of Empowering the Masses. Every aspect that goes into serving our community, no matter how small in the grand scheme, is crucial to the progress we’re achieving. We cannot thank you enough.”

Students from Crum Commons were able to serve with their community partner, Senior Source/Modern Senior Living. They were able to facilitate activities and interact with the residents who reside there. Senior Source staff shared their gratitude for the students who came to their site: “I cannot THANK the students from SMU Engage Dallas Crum Commons enough for hosting their #1Day4Dallas Fall Service Project at Modern Senior Living Nursing & Rehab Center in South Dallas this morning. The residents enjoyed meeting and socializing with the students. So many residents do not have family and seldom have visitors, therefore, the students made an immeasurable impact in the residents’ quality of life.”

Students at other sites engaged in trash pickup, gardening, donation sorting, and facilitating sports camps for youth. Overall, student volunteers had an excellent experience learning more about their city and how they can impact others. When asked what was impactful for them about the experience, students shared that the opportunity to give back and to connect to the community was really meaningful. One student shared, “Meeting people who live so close to me and have fallen on tough circumstances while I am so privileged has humbled me significantly. It has made me both more grateful for what I have and more determined to give back.”

A big thanks to all who came out to serve, and to our community partners for offering opportunities for SMU to learn and serve alongside them to better our city.

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Announcements Event

Engage Dallas Book Club Starting this Spring

Join us this spring as we launch the Engage Dallas book club. We will be reading and discussing Paved a Way by Collin Yarbrough. This book takes a deeper look at the influence of and injustices caused by the way the city of Dallas was built and developed, and the implications this has across the country.

The bookclub will be virtual, and will be held on the last Friday of each month, February through May, from 10:30am-12:30pm. The first twenty people to sign up will receive a complimentary copy of the book.

This is an opportunity to gather with others who are working toward successful community engagement and to improve the city of Dallas, and to continue the conversations that began at Engage Dallas’ Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium in November.

Click here for more information and to sign up to join us for the Engage Dallas book club.

We would also like to invite you to save the date for the 3rd Annual Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium, happening on October 3-4, 2024.