Tag: Engage Dallas

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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.

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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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Announcements Event News

2nd Annual Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium a success

The 2nd Annual Place-based Community Engagement Symposium was a success last week. Participants engaged around the theme of “Listening, Learning, and Leading: A Place-based Approach to Promoting Public Responsibility and Community Engagement in a COVID-impacted World.” 114 registered for the two-day symposium.

The conference planning committee chose this theme due to their observation of the challenges posed by COVID-19; our community engagement landscape has evolved significantly, from decreased volunteer participation to heightened community needs.

Conference registrants helped shape this year’s symposium. The planning committee had over 60 questions submitted for our opening session and panel discussion. Plus, questions were arranged as discussion topics at the networking event on Thursday evening.

Audryanna Reed, Associate Director for High-Impact Practices, Co-initiative Manager of Engage Dallas, and Chair of the conference planning committee, shared, “Engage Dallas is grateful for the opportunity to bring together non-profit and civic leaders in Dallas as well as staff and faculty across SMU and Dallas College. Such inspiring words, cultural context, and critical challenges posed by our keynotes Latosha Bruff and Jerry L. Hawkins, M.Ed., as well as our panelists and workshop hosts!”

A copy of the program booklet is included below.

Reed and the conference planning committee are underway with year three planning. Building off the dialogue from this year’s conference, the theme will likely incorporate the concept of “under-championed communities,” which was prevalent in this year’s sessions. Reed says to expect a save the date soon for the November 2024 symposium.

This Engage Dallas symposium collaborated with Residence Life & Student Housing, The Budd Center, The Office of General Education, the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics & Public Responsibility, and The Center for Teaching Excellence.

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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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News Reflections

The Inaugural Engage Dallas Bus Tour

Group picture in front of the Juanita J. Craft Civil Rights House.

The inaugural Engage Dallas Bus tour took place on September 8. A total of 27 students participated and explored several historical sites around Dallas. We are so grateful to have partnered with Dallas Truth, Racial Healing, & Transformation who led the tour. In many ways, the tour highlighted the way that race and race relations in Dallas have impacted the lives of many Dallas natives. The tour also adds clarity to Engage Dallas’ place-based approach to service.

The tour went as follows:

Stop 1: John Neely Bryan Cabin, Old Red Courthouse, and Martyrs Park.

Students reading about John Neely Bryan’s Cabin.

Stop 2: Allen Brooks Marker

Stop 3: Pike Park and Santos Rodriguez Memorial

Students at the Santos Rodriguez Memorial.

Stop 4: Freedman’s Cemetery and Memorial

Stop 5: Booker T. Washington High School, St. Paul United Methodist Church, and Old Moreland YMCA.

Stop 6: Dallas Heritage Village, Millermore Mansion, and Gano House

Stop 7: Juanita J. Craft Civil Rights House

In a post-event assessment, some of the students shared what they learned from the tour. One student shared:

“I learned about how gentrification of towns can affect racial demographics.” Another said: “I learned about important people like Juanita Craft and Santos Rodriguez.”

Other students shared what they liked about the event.

“I liked how we were able to see some landmarks, and information about important people that I didn’t know existed.”

Another student expressed, “I liked to see the women’s representation during that period [of time].”

We’d like to acknowledge that all students who participated earned 4.5 hours of general engagement that go towards their Community Engagement and/or Civics & Individual Ethics Proficiency.

We hope to make this tour an annual event.

Stay connected with us by following @smu.engage.dallas on Instagram!