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Alternative Spring Break Event MHPS Commons Reflections Service Trip

An Alternative Break Reflection

This past March I, along with a staff advisor (Brandon Kitchin), and four other SMU students (Ava, Liah, Ben, and Tommy), embarked on an Alternative Breaks trip.

Alternative Breaks offers students a chance to go on issue-specific trips during spring break. Our trip focused on the issue of Immigration and Refugee Support, which is also the Engage Dallas community-identified need for MHPS Commons. When I heard about this trip, as the MHPS Commons Engage Dallas Student Director, I instantly became interested in leading it!

Our trip’s destination was San Benito, Texas, located in the Rio Grande Valley. Throughout our 5 days there, we were graciously hosted by La Posada Providencia, a long-term shelter for immigrant and refugee newcomers who seek to settle in the United States. La Posada provides clients (what residents are referred to as) with the time and resources to become self-sustaining by, for example, helping them obtain work permits and understand the use of U.S. currency by teaching them English. Residents of La Posada receive accommodation and three meals a day, funded entirely by donations.

Over the next two days, we helped the La Posada shelter with projects around the property. During that day, we had the chance to interact with some of the shelter’s clients who mostly were from Spanish speaking countries. Fortunately, we had Spanish speakers in our group. Interestingly throughout our trip, we shared lunch and dinner with the clients and met others from countries such as Afghanistan and Haiti.

On March 12th, we traveled to McAllen, Texas to assist with the Humanitarian Respite Center. The center serves as a short-term shelter. We were unable to take pictures in the center for privacy concerns but one of the major takeaways we had was that the center would be unable to function properly without volunteers and that the full-time staff were regularly overwhelmed. During our time there we engaged in laundry duty, help desk duty, and children’s programming.

For our next and final day of service, we lent a hand at the Rio Grande Valley Food Bank with other first-time volunteers.

We were able to package 1,248 boxes (37k pounds) of food in the span of a few hours, breaking a record for the facility!

This became a full circle moment when we learned that La Posada is one of the non-profits that the food bank serves.

Later that day we took some time to relax by making our way to South Padre Island to rest and enjoy some great seafood on the beach.

We returned to Dallas the next day with a complete shift in our perspectives on the issue of Immigration and Refugee Support and how important our roles as volunteers are. By taking the time to help non-profits you can really make a difference and directly or indirectly change a day in someone’s life whether it be sorting clothing donations or packaging food!

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Announcements Community Partners Event News

Engage Dallas Hosts 3rd Community Partner Council Meeting

Engage Dallas kicked off the 3rd quarter Community Partner Council meeting on February 9 at Austin Street Center. Organizations represented include Sunny South Community Garden, Keep Dallas Beautiful, LNESC, The Senior Source, Dallas Furniture Bank, Brother Bill’s Helping Hands, Jubilee Park & Community Center, and Austin Street Center. Community partners offered feedback on upcoming Engage Dallas events to ensure that they are community-centered and a value-add to all attendees.

The group learned about non-profit leadership and collaboration from Austin Street Center’s CEO, Daniel Roby. Roby also shared about the ways that Austin Street Center supports those experiencing homelessness. The day was completed with a tour of the newly opened center where community partners explored the commercial kitchen, donation drop-off process, dining facility & engagement center, and more. Community partners also learned about the many volunteer opportunities at Austin Street Center. Huge thanks to Jill Young, Volunteer & Community Engagement Manager, for coordinating the visit. Learn more about Austin Street Center here.

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Announcements Community Partners Kathy Crow Commons MHPS Commons Reflections

Winding Down 2023 with Engage Dallas

SMU students volunteering at Readers2Leaders

As the fall semester comes to a close, we would like to take a moment to reflect and celebrate. Students have participated in a variety of service projects this semester, serving a total of 1,519 hours, 986 of them being direct service hours in the community. Students had the opportunity to serve with a range of our community partners from After8toEducate to Empowering the Masse to Genesis Benefit Thrift Store and many more.

We heard from a couple of our first-year Engage Dallas Student Directors as they shared what they enjoyed. Hannah Green, our Student Director for Mary Hay Peyton Shuttles Commons, says, “Being an Engage Dallas Student Director has been such a growth experience for me. I love having the responsibility of planning and organizing events that other students can participate in.” When asked about the challenges she faced, she responded, “I think the most challenging part of having this position is the logistical responsibility along with the potential changes in plans that you might have to work around. Considering this, I think one thing that I have learned to develop is a solution-focused mindset.” 

Miles Chen is our student director for Kathy Crow Commons. He said he enjoyed, “… working with our community partners and learning more about what’s going on in the city. It was also really fun getting to serve alongside other SMU students.” A challenge for Miles was “…getting enough students to attend the service events, so I hope more students will learn about and get involved with Engage Dallas next semester! I also hope students will get to see service as less of a requirement, and more of something fun and impactful that they have the opportunity to do!”

Students serving at Austin Street Center for #1Day4Dallas

If you’re looking to get connected this spring, consider participating in an Alternative Break trip, where you can volunteer during spring break and fulfill your Community Engagement and Civics & Individual Ethics Proficiencies and Experiences to graduate. We have trips going out to Austin, Texarkana, and McAllen. We also offer Solo Service where students can serve with our community partners on an individual basis. We thank everyone who participated this semester and look forward to working with you next semester!

Finally, if you’ve ever considered planning and leading service trips like Hannah and Miles, consider applying to be an Engage Dallas Student Director for the 2024-2025 school year. Applications open January 22.

Make sure to follow us on Instagram @smu.engage.dallas to stay connected! 

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Community Partners Event Reflections

Engage Dallas hosts 3rd Annual #1Day4Dallas

On October 21st, Engage Dallas hosted their third annual #1Day4Dallas fall day of service. 151 volunteers from all 11 Residential Commons spent their morning serving with 13 of our Community Partners in West and South Dallas.

The day started off with breakfast tacos from Bonton Farms, an urban farm located in South Dallas. The Engage Dallas Student Directors and SMUSH volunteers helped check in the participants, who then heard some inspiring words from SMU’s Associate Director for High-Impact Practices, Audryanna Reed.

Our volunteers were shuttled to our thirteen sites throughout the South and West Dallas communities. They served with After8toEducate, Austin Street Center, Brother Bill’s Helping Hand, Dallas Furniture Bank, Empowering the Masses, Genesis Women’s Shelter & Support, Greenspace Dallas, Jubilee Park Community Center, Legacy Cares, Our Saviour Community Gardens, Sunny South Community Garden, The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, and Voice of Hope.

Staff and faculty volunteered alongside our students, participating in donation sorting, window cleaning, gardening, furniture building, and many other tasks. Volunteers were able to learn about the Community Partner they were working with, gaining a better understanding of the challenges the community is facing and the ways these organizations are supporting and enriching their neighborhoods.

Student feedback included excitement about working together with their peers, learning about the Community Partners, and helping the organizations in tangible ways. They enjoyed interacting with the employees at each site as well as the individuals who were receiving assistance. It was also an opportunity for students to learn more about the history of South and West Dallas and how that has impacted those who live there.

One student shared that “seeing people from different aspects of life (SMU or community volunteers) come together to achieve a common goal was very impactful. It’s nice to see that we can set aside our differences to work together to achieve more.”

Thank you to all who served with Engage Dallas and made the third annual #1Day4Dallas a success! We invite participants to check back with their Commons to see the upcoming monthly events and continue to serve.

Follow us on Instagram @smu.engage.dallas to stay up to date with Engage Dallas!

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Event News

Engage Dallas Hosts the Second Annual One Night for Dallas Reception

On April 20, 2023, Engage Dallas hosted its second annual One Night for Dallas: a celebration of SMU’s students, staff, faculty, and community partners serving Dallas. The event was held in the ballroom of the Hughes-Trigg Students Center, and guests were treated to a light reception and dinner before the program began.

The evening started with inspiring words from SMU’s Vice President of Student Affairs, K.C. Mmeje, reminding us that while we are celebrating our work this year, there is still plenty to learn and do. His words were followed by our three keynote speakers for the evening: Dr. Crystal Clayton, Executive Director for the SMU Hegi Family Career Development Center, Courtney Cuthbert, Chief Operating Officer for Brother Bills Helping Hand, and Tammy Johnson, Executive Director of Empowering the Masses, who shared their inspiration for service and encouraged the audience to find the source of their own passion.

One Night for Dallas also allowed students to share their service successes. Student leaders from Mustang Heroes, Alternative Breaks, The Big Event, and Engage Dallas provided an overview of their programs and revealed how many hours they spent working with community partners on and off campus this academic year. Together, they hosted over a thousand volunteers and were able to reach out to the broader campus community to encourage service and engagement.

The end of the night concluded with the Service Awards. One Night for Dallas features five unique awards each year, honoring student volunteers, student leaders, and community partners. The final award presented was the Outstanding Community Partner award; it honors two partners who actively participated in SMU’s service programs during the 22-23 school year. We are excited to congratulate For the Love of the Lake and Brother Bill’s Helping Hand for their amazing partnership!

We thank all our volunteers and attendees, congratulate all our award winners, and are ready to see you on April 9, 2024 for One Night for Dallas!