27 minute read
Doing good
PHILANTHROPY MISUNDERSTOOD
New book features 100+ stories of neighbors doing good
YOU DON’T HAVE TO WRITE A CHECK big enough to get your name on a building to be a great philanthropist. Swiss Avenue neighbor Bob Hopkins assures us that philanthropy isn’t all about the money in his new book “Philanthropy Misunderstood.”
“The purpose of the book is to redefine what people think of as philanthropy,” Hopkins says. “I had the idea that the richer you were, the greater philanthropist you were. I started a magazine and realized [there were people] not being featured because they didn’t have a lot of money to give, but they did thousands of hours volunteering. They did more than those who wrote the check.”
Hopkins grew up in the world of philanthropy. As a 5-year-old, he remembers delivering groceries to a food-insecure family in his hometown of Garden City, Kansas. But volunteering didn’t become his passion until decades later, after recovering from alcoholism.
He went to work for the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and volunteered to talk about the dangers of alcohol at high schools. He did such a good job, he was named the council’s volunteer of the year and was hired as director of development for the organization. He learned to raise money and became a full-time philanthropist.
“The world of philanthropy, once you get the bug, you know what it feels like to finish a project,” Hopkins says. “You get hugs and kisses and thank yous. They say, ‘Want to do it again?’ and you say, ‘Yeah, I do.’ You get a lot of good feelings.”
Through his work, Hopkins met Don Wilks, founder of The Global Community for Education. After trekking to Everest Base Camp, Wilks partnered with his sherpa to build schools in Nepal. Hopkins started fundraising for the organization and helped build Nepalese schools for more than a decade. His work has also taken him to Mexico, India and Bangladesh, where he served as a visiting professor teaching philanthropy courses.
In 1996, Hopkins started a magazine called Philanthropy in Texas, which evolved into Philanthropy World. The 18-page magazine grew to 120 pages and told stories of volunteers doing good work around the world.
“Philanthropy Misunderstood” is the culmination of Hopkins’ work as a philanthropist and magazine publisher. The 256-page coffee table book highlights 108 tales of people who helped change the world. It includes several East Dallas neighbors, such as the late Dallas preservationist Virginia McAlester, former state Rep. Harryette Ehrhardt and origami artists Isabelle and Katherine Adams.
“It’s an opportunity to pay back all those people who have given to me over the years,” Hopkins says. “It’s to motivate. People tell me all the time that there are so many people doing so much good. You think everyone is volunteering, and that’s not the case. The reason is because they don’t know what to do.”
There is no shortage of need in a world still recovering physically and economically from the coronavirus. Hopkins has remained active locally, fundraising for arts nonprofits and partnering with Dallas ISD to provide students with hotspots for remote learning. He encourages those who are able to get involved by donating to a food pantry, picking up trash in the neighborhood or doing good in some other way.
“I want everybody to know that volunteering is the same thing as philanthropy,” Hopkins says. “A volunteer is a philanthropist — someone who changes the world.”
Purchase the book for $45 at philanthropymisunderstood.org. After production costs, all proceeds will be given to charity. FEATURED NEIGHBORS
Isabelle and Katherine Adams Paper for Water
The sisters have raised $1.6 million by making origami ornaments to build 200 water wells in 20 countries. In 2017, the family traveled the world for eight months to visit their water projects now pumping clean water for the thirsty.
Harryette Ehrhardt Former state representative
The four-term state representative also served as a Dallas ISD teacher, principal and school board trustee. As a trustee, she helped change a DISD policy that would fire all LGBTQ educators. Ehrhardt is still active in political causes, gay rights and public education.
Ruth Altshuler Full-time philanthropist and fundraiser
Altshuler grew up on Swiss Avenue and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. She helped raise millions for charities, including the Salvation Army, Communities Foundation of Texas and Dallas Summer Musicals. One of her defining public service projects was organizing the city’s ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. She died in 2017 at age 93.
Virginia McAlester Dallas preservationist
McAlester led the effort to make Swiss Avenue the city’s first historic district. She later became a founding member of Preservation Dallas and Friends of Fair Park. Her book, “A Field Guide to American Houses,” sold millions of copies and was a valuable resource for preservation groups. She died in 2020.
Anja Woodson Swiss Avenue neighbor
For years, Woodson helped organize the Mother’s Day Home Tour to raise money for the safety and beauty of the neighborhood. She volunteers at Nexus, an in-house facility where women can receive treatment and counseling for substance abuse.
Jackson Price Children’s advocate
Price was born with an extra digit on his hand that had to be removed at Scottish Rite for Children. When he was 7, he wanted to buy a $3,500 prosthetic hand for a child at the hospital. He sold lemonade outside his Swiss Avenue home during the Mother’s Day Home Tour and raised more than $3,650.
By PATTI VINSON Photography by CARLY MAY
Carving with a heart What happens when a neighborhood sculptor carves blindfolded
“I shut my eyes in order to see.” These were the words of French post-Impressionist artist Paul Gaugin, likely referring to his practice of tuning out the world to get in touch with his creativity. But taking this a step further is neighborhood sculptor Kat Warwick, who is engaged in the daunting task of carving a heart out of stone in her front yard while blindfolded. She invites everyone to observe the process — and maybe learn a thing or two about art and themselves.
You may remember Warwick from her previous yard carving sessions in April. While everyone in her household suffered through COVID in March, she noticed an abundance of neighbors taking walks, riding bikes and pushing strollers in the neighborhood. Watch Kat Warwick
“I wondered Carve what I could do When: Mondays, to add interest, Tuesdays, distraction and Wednesdays and education for my Fridays, beginning neighbors,” she says. about 4:30 p.m. “I decided to set up Where: 6000 one of my stone block of Vickery carving stations in Boulevard the front yard and start carving out there as soon as I was well enough.”
Calling it “Art Yard Shenanigans,” Warwick set up a carving station a safe distance from the sidewalk and went to work, eschewing power and pneumatic tools in favor of hand tools, such as hammers and chisels, like Michelangelo. As she worked, she interacted with folks wandering by, teaching through her art a few lessons in math, logic, logistics, physics, creativity and self-confidence.
“It brought joy to them and to myself,” she says.
During a heated political season, Kat Warwick is carving a heart out of stone while blindfolded to remind neighbors to love each other and be kind.
Her finished piece, a heart carved out of limestone, was auctioned, with a large portion of the proceeds going to a charity that provided an ambient tricycle for a limited-mobility teenager. Warwick titled the carving “Loving Kindness,” which was inspired by her observations of sheltering-in-place neighbors: “the love and kindness being shown friend to friend, neighbor to neighbor and stranger to stranger.”
During the summer, Warwick again set up in the front yard, this time carving “Zippy,” the running bunny sculpture. Zippy found a home in Amarillo. Again, a portion of the sale went to charity — a food bank in the Texas panhandle.
“Everything I have created this year has had a charity donation attached to its sale,” Warwick says. “I figured if I’m not paying a gallery commission, I can give a percentage of the sale of each work to charity. I’ve been auctioning my sculptures with a percentage of the winning
bid going to the charity of the winning bidder’s choice.”
Next up: Another heart-shaped carving. But Warwick will be blindfolded. Why a heart? Why blindfolded?
Warwick feels called to the heart shape to remind East Dallas of the outpouring of kindness and goodwill at the beginning of the pandemic.
“Now, it seems so many folks are angry and polarized that all the amazing love and kindness is getting lost and forgotten,” she says. “It seems many folks forgot that the neighbor who voted differently than them in November was also the neighbor who shared a few rolls of toilet paper when they ran out in May. I hope that this heart reminds folks of the kindness shown just a few short months ago and a reminder that most of us are not each other’s enemy just because we have different ideas about how to move forward.”
This heart will be a bit different from her April piece. It will be larger and a bit kinetic.
“If all goes well, it will rock gently,” she says. “This is both simply a playful and aesthetically pleasing thing to do. The gentle rocking mimics the natural rhythms of life.”
So why the blindfold?
“For a fun challenge. For overcoming fear. For education. Not only for myself, but for the neighborhood kids as well,” Warwick says. “Facing your fears and overcoming them is a worthy pursuit. I hope it allows folks to explore their own views about physical and mental limitations.”
Equally meaningful, our neighborhood sculptor wishes to inspire.
“I hope it reminds folks that with love, we can stop fighting and find solutions to our age-old difficulties and differences,” she says. “I hope it encourages others to try something that they want to do but are afraid to do.”
For more information: theartlifeway.com www.instagram.com/theartlifeway/ www.facebook.com/kathy.warwick.39/
PATTI VINSON is a guest writer who has lived in East Dallas for more than 20 years. She’s written for the Advocate and Real Simple magazine.
By GEORGE MASON
Love isn’t a formal code
She was born on Valentine’s Day, which seems more divine providence than coincidence. Valarie Kaur is an advocate for social justice who has created the Revolutionary Love Project.
Kaur’s Sikh faith is the fifth largest world religion. It began in the 15th century in India and has moved around the globe. In the face of an Indian caste system, the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, asserted the oneness of God and the equality of all human beings.
Dallas is blessed with a vibrant Sikh community that lives peaceably and works for justice alongside neighbors of other religions. There are 500,000 Sikhs in the United States. You can tell the men by their turbans, which conceal uncut hair that is a sign of devotion to God and a promise to neighbors that they can be depended upon to fight for right.
Kaur has published a new book, “See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love.” She writes, “Love is more than a feeling. Love is a form of sweet labor: fierce, bloody, imperfect, and life giving — a choice we make over and over again. … This labor engages all our emotions. Joy is the gift of love. Grief is the price of love. Anger protects that which is loved. And when we think we have reached our limit, wonder is the act that returns us to love. … ‘Revolutionary love’ is the choice to enter into wonder and labor for others, for our opponents and for ourselves in order to transform the world around us.”
In our city, state, nation and world, we need to practice revolutionary love that transforms our collective life. The divisions of religions, conflicts of cultures and differences of politics have become all too well known to us and threaten to defeat our union and our Union. They cannot prevail if we want to live together fruitfully on this planet.
We can find our way toward one another by practicing the highest ideals of our own religious traditions and dutifully carrying out our faith convictions. But sometimes the truth that shines through other religions becomes a mirror that allows us to see the truth anew in our own faith.
Sikhs are exotic to most Americans, who forget that most of our religions originated elsewhere. Our country is an experiment in religious pluralism that aspires to welcome the other as if we ourselves are the other too.
Every religion has its own version of the Jewish and Christian foundational formula: Love thy neighbor as thyself. Jews are told: The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens. St. Benedict instructed his monks to welcome all as Christ, by which he meant to receive everyone we meet as if we were welcoming Christ himself. Other religions contain similar commands.
Revolutionary love, Kaur says, “is not a formal code or prescription but an orientation to life that is personal and political and rooted in joy.” More of that this year, please, here and everywhere.
GEORGE MASON is pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church, president of Faith Commons and host of the “Good God” podcast. The Worship section is underwritten by Advocate Publishing and the neighborhood businesses and churches listed here. For information about helping support the Worship section, call 214.560.4202. BAPTIST
PARK CITIES BAPTIST CHURCH / 3933 Northwest Pky / pcbc.org Bible Study 9:15 / Worship Services 10:45 Traditional, Contemporary, Spanish Speaking / 214.860.1500
ROYAL LANE BAPTIST CHURCH / 6707 Royal Lane / 214.361.2809 Christian Education 9:45 a.m. / Worship Service 10:55 a.m. Pastor - Rev. Dr. Michael L. Gregg / www.royallane.org
WILSHIRE BAPTIST / 4316 Abrams / 214.452.3100 Pastor George A. Mason Ph.D. / Worship 8:30 & 11:00am Bible Study 9:40 am / www.wilshirebc.org
DISCIPLES OF CHRIST
EAST DALLAS CHRISTIAN CHURCH / 629 N. Peak Street / 214.824.8185 Sunday School 9:30 am / Worship 8:30 am - Chapel 10:50 am - Sanctuary / Rev. Deborah Morgan-Stokes / edcc.org
LUTHERAN
EMANUEL LUTHERAN CHURCH /corner of Peak & San Jacinto/English Worship 10:00 am/Sunday School 11:00am-Noon/Spanish Worship 12:15pm/ church.emanueldallas.org
CENTRAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, ELCA / 1000 Easton Road A Welcoming and Affirming Church / Rev. K.M. Truhan Sunday School 9:00 am / Worship 10:30 am / CentralLutheran.org
FIRST UNITED LUTHERAN CHURCH (ELCA) / 6202 E Mockingbird Lane Sunday Worship Service 10:30 am / Call for class schedule. 214.821.5929 / www.dallaslutheran.org
METHODIST
LAKE HIGHLANDS UMC / 9015 Plano Rd. / 214.348.6600 / lhumc.com Sunday Morning: 9:30 am Sunday School / 10:30 am Coffee Worship: 8:30 am & 11:00 am Traditional / 11:00 am Contemporary
LAKEWOOD UMC / 2443 Abrams Rd. / 214.823.9623 Sunday Morning Worship 10:30 am / mylakewoodchurch.org Messy Church for Children and Families Sunday 5:00 pm
MUNGER PLACE CHURCH / Come & See Sunday: Morning Worship: 9:30 & 11:00 am Evening Worship 5:00 pm 5200 Bryan Street / mungerplace.org
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PARK CITIES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH/ 4124 Oak Lawn Ave Sunday Worship 9:00 & 11:00 A.M. To all this church opens wide her doors - pcpc.org
UNITY
UNITY ON GREENVILLE / 3425 Greenville Ave. 214-826-5683/dallasunity.org/Sunday 9am Spirit Rising;Alternative Serv. 11am Celebration Service
By JAIME DUNAWAY-SEALE
Premier Martial Arts in Lake Highlands. Photography courtesy of Clint Justice
A mixed martial arts studio is opening in Lakewood, with six more North Texas franchises on the way.
Clint Justice left his job in the finance industry in fall 2019 and started exploring franchise opportunities with Premier Martial Arts, a Tennessee-based company that teaches children and adults techniques from a variety of disciplines, including karate, taekwondo, kickboxing and Krav Maga.
He signed franchise documents for the first location in Lake Highlands in March, “the week before COVID hit the fan,” he says.
“I was like, ‘Have I made the biggest mistake of my life opening in the middle of a pandemic?’” Justice says. “The cards were stacked against us, but I was blown away by the reception.”
Now, Justice has turned his attention to opening the Lakewood branch late this month or early March. It will be located between Ace Hardware and White Rock Alehouse in Arboretum Village near the Garland-Gaston-Grand intersection.
A membership pre-sale period is open now. Students who sign up can begin individual lessons. Group classes will take place in a temporary space in the shopping center once more people have registered. Students must wear masks and stay in 6-foot areas that have been taped out for them on the mats.
“In a short period of time, kids are so fired up about karate,” Justice says. “Kids who were a little shy at first are coming out of their shells. It’s been fun even in the midst of all these challenges. I’m getting to do something in my backyard.”
Find Premier Martial Arts at 7331 Gaston Ave. or premiermartialarts.com/lakewood.
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By MITA HAVLICK
Look up, East Dallas Where to find the best sunsets in our neighborhood
I’ve always had an affinity for the heavens. In middle school, I was the biggest Carl Sagan fan there ever was, and today, I adore his anointed successor, Neil DeGrasseTyson. Both are to be credited with making astrophysics understandable and interesting.
Knowing this, my husband promised clear skies for star gazing and extraordinary sunsets when he was attempting to lure me from Chicago to Texas in the early aughts — that and the assurance of warm weather in the winter. It worked, and he was right on all counts.
If there is a nearby viewing of something special and celestial, I’m there. I witnessed Comet McNaught brighten the Australian sky Jan. 14, 2007, bought my solar eclipse-watching eyewear on Amazon way before they sold out in 2017 and forced my family to endure a frigid, but clear, winter night in 2018 peering through the massive telescopes at the McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis. 2020 was a painful year, for sure, but it was a cosmic dream. Some events were easily viewable from the comfort of our driveway, such as the International Space Station passover July 16 and the infrequent two full moons in one month in October, with a blue moon on Halloween, no less! There were also two excursions, including a 90-minute, 70-mile drive to Era to catch Comet NEOWISE on July 19 and then on to a dirt road in Lancaster to view the Pleaides meteor shower Aug. 12.
The pre-Christmas conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn was a highlight. I could see it from the upstairs landing of our backhouse. Unfortunately for my husband, I had earlier in the day suffered a second-degree ankle sprain, and the sweet man was relegated to carrying me up and down the stairs.
As captivating as all these interstellar sightings are, nothing makes me more in awe of the vast expanse of our skies than a beautiful sunset. My phone carries a fair number of sunset pictures from our travels — from the mountains of Patagonia to the Pacific Ocean in Costa Rica and farmlands in rural India. (Air pollution makes for an incredible evening sky.) In its own special category are the amazing non-sunsets during the White Nights of July in St. Petersburg, Russia.
It’s breathtaking to watch the sun dip in the Hill Country outside Austin or over the gulf in Galveston just before dusk. Yet, there is something magical about witnessing the sun go down while on the shores of White Rock Lake.
What makes a sunset at White Rock Lake especially remarkable is its accessibility and tranquility, not to mention the spectacular colors. We can forget for a few minutes as twilight approaches that we live in a land-locked city, and instead, enjoy the painted clouds in the water’s reflection. It’s a simple solitude of stillness and an orange sky.
When I scroll through Facebook, and occasionally Instagram, I always pause at a friend’s post of a sunset at White Rock. I dissect the different perspectives from which the photos were taken. “Oh, this one is from the Filter Building.” “Hmm…this looks like it was taken at the Boat Club.” “I bet this one is off a kayak on the water.”
White Rock Lake is a reprieve any time of day. I’m sure a sunrise is equally as beautiful, though I will admit to never having witnessed one at White Rock Lake. During these crazy COVIDaffected times, the lake has been a beacon for many and a place where we can walk, bike and safely socialize at a distance.
For our family, White Rock Lake has been a savior. It has saved us from boredom, rescued us from laziness and provided us with the simple pleasure of witnessing a beautiful sunset — an astronomical complexity as a result of our solar system being created billions and billions of years ago. Once a Carl Sagan fan, always a Carl Sagan fan.
MITA HAVLICK is a neighborhood resident and Dallas Education Foundation director. Find her commentary regularly in the back pages of our print edition and online at lakewood. advocatemag.com.
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3 BEDROOMS | 3.1 BATHS | 5,855 SQ. FT. | $1,699,000
Ben Lee
214.205.6231 benlee@daveperrymiller.com
SOLD, Represented Seller
6626 Blue Valley Lane
4 BEDROOMS | 4.1 BATHS | 4,384 SQ. FT. | $1,600,000
Skylar Champion
214.695.8701 skylar@daveperrymiller.com
SOLD, Represented Buyer
4112 Santa Barbara Drive
5 BEDROOMS | 5.1 BATHS | 4,882 SQ. FT. | $1,449,000
Keith Callahan
214.675.6777 keithcallahan@daveperrymiller.com
SOLD, Represented Seller
1825 Euclid Avenue
4 BEDROOMS | 3 BATHS | 2,939 SQ. FT. | $850,000
Kaleigh Walker
310.913.8005 kaleigh@daveperrymiller.com
SOLD, Represented Seller
5515 Morningside Avenue
3 BEDROOMS | 3.1 BATHS | 2,930 SQ. FT. | $799,000
Frada Sandler
214.616.6476 frada@daveperrymiller.com
SOLD, Represented Seller
7012 Clayton Avenue
3 BEDROOMS | 2 BATHS | 1,930 SQ. FT. | $670,000
Rhoni Golden
214.552.5555 rhoni@daveperrymiller.com
7020wakeforrest.daveperrymiller.com
7020 Wake Forrest Drive
4 BEDROOMS | 2 BATHS | 2,850 SQ. FT. | $625,000
Skylar Champion
214.695.8701 skylar@daveperrymiller.com
9744wisterwood.daveperrymiller.com
9744 Wisterwood Drive
3 BEDROOMS | 2.1 BATHS | 2,270 SQ. FT. | $625,000
Lianne Leblanc
972.523.9207 lianne@daveperrymiller.com
