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Youth CAN Make a DIFFERENCE!
Thirty "Mission Possible" youth volunteers and leaders from Prince of Peace Church in Plano, TX selflessly donated 132 hours to help the Rainbow Days' Family Connection program. Mission Possible is a four-day volunteer project for middle and high school students to serve different non-profit agencies to give the youth exposure to the wide variety of needs in the community. Rainbow Days was selected as one of their service sites, and in addition to volunteering, the group raised money, collected food for summer camps, and collected backpacks and school supplies for the Back-to School Party in August. Their "mission" for Rainbow Days was to create motivational and inspirational posters for the Back-to-School Party to help the children get excited about the upcoming school year. Their hard work, dedication and willingness to make a difference proved they are each community leaders in the making. One poster they created read, "Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the stars"! ANYTHING IS Possible and Youth CAN make a DIFFERENCE!
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Annual Back-to-School Celebration coming soon!
In partnership with the Dallas Market Center and Captain Hope's Kids, Rainbow Days will host the 21st annual Back-to-School Celebration on August 15th. Over 600 children are anticipated to attend this year's event. Each school age child attending the celebration, including kindergartners, will receive a backpack filled with school supplies and a new school uniform to help them start the school year with a smile. We invite the parents to attend this family event and we celebrate education and the value of learning. School Supplies are needed to make this event a success. For just $60 you can help provide a child all the supplies he or she needs to head back to school with success. Your financial support and in-kind donations are appreciated. To learn more about how you can help click here.
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Help Enrich the Life of a Homeless Child this Summer - Adopt a Tummy!
When some of us think about summer time we think of playing outside, long summer nights, drinking lemonade, friends and summer camps. For some children they might not have anywhere to go. This is where Rainbow Days comes in. Family Connection provides 5 summer camps: two weeks of Kids' University, held at the University of Texas at Dallas to promote the merits of higher education; two weeks of Camp Bravo!, a performing arts camp; and, Outdoor Adventure Camp, a traditional day camp. These camps are a lot of fun but require nutritious meals including breakfast, lunch, and a snack. We need your help! Help enrich a homeless child's summer camp experience by adopting a tummy and donating snacks or providing lunch or breakfast.
Your help is needed for breakfast, lunch and snacks for our hungry campers!
IT COSTS:
- $7 to fee one camper for one day of camp
- $70 to feed ten campers for one day of camp
- $35 to feed one child for one week of camp
- $350 to feed 10 campers for one week of camp
- $4,800 to feed all campers for one week of camp
- $24,000 to feed all campers for all five weeks of camp
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Leadership Connection
Teaching Teens to Lead
The most important thing I learned at Leadership Connection camp is to keep going in life even if I have obstacles and fulfill my dreams.  Rainbow Days Leadership Connection camps gave a meaningful summer experience to over 61 middle and high school students living in a variety of high-risk situations in the Dallas area. A partnership with Mountain View College the week of June 4th-7th, and Richland College the week of June 11th-14th, provided youth with exposure to college life at two distinct, separate camp locations. Teens enjoyed educational classes that help them discover their own personal capacity, the value of teamwork and responsibility toward school and community by learning that they each have the ability to lead themselves and to achieve personal success. Leadership topics included the value of culture, behaviors and perceptions, communication, Drucker for Future Leaders, community service and giving back to one's community, computerized vocational assessments, and a college tour. Students' minds and horizons were expanded through these two camps. Much appreciation and many thanks go to Arthur Vasquez, Gang Unit Advisor for Dallas and Grand Prairie ISDs, Justin Lookado of Just Say YES, Beat Breakerz, Heart of Texas Therapy Dogs, Joe Dawg's Hot Dogs, Evelio Flores of Communities In Schools, Rainbow Days' Board Member Carriea Flowers and Price Waterhouse Coopers, Raul Magdaleno of SMU, Ericka Hightower of Collin County Community College District, Molly Bewley and Mary Norman of Dallas County Community College District, Liliana Ponce of Mountain View College, Bethany Wright and Warren Osby of Richland College, and Melinda Weaver, Dean of Continuing Education at Richland College. |
Drug Facts
Though the name may sound harmless, bath salts are a dangerous synthetic stimulant that carry the risk of easy overdose, hallucinations and even death. Among its other names bath salts are also called Blizzard, Blue Silk, Ivory Snow, and White Lightening. Between January and February 2011, there were over 250 calls to U.S. poison centers related to bath salts. This is well over the 236 calls received for all of 2010. Visit Above the Influence for more information about bath salts. |
| Fred Halfpap receives United Way Award
United Way of Metropolitan Dallas honored its outstanding volunteers at the third annual Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon held June 12th at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas. The event celebrated volunteers who are creating lasting community change through their collective service to United Way. The luncheon was generously sponsored by Trinity Industries, Inc. and Target.
The LIVE UNITED Volunteer Award, honoring a volunteer who embodies the LIVE UNITED calls to action, Give, Advocate and Volunteer, was given to Rainbow Days Board President, Fred Halfpap, Citi.
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Grant Received from the Holloway Family Foundation
Rainbow Days is pleased to announce a $5,000 grant from the Holloway Family Foundation in support of the Family Connection program. By focusing on the needs of the homelessness, the Holloway Family Foundation makes a difference in thousands of lives in our community through support of homeless-serving, non-profit organizations in Dallas. Thank you Holloway Family Foundation for your generosity and continued partnership.
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Frito Lay Supply Chain Finance - Procurement Team and PepsiCo - Fundraiser
On June, 2012, Frito Lay held their Annual Spring Crawfish Boil and adopted Rainbow Days as their Employee Community Service Opportunity. Teams were creative in their various fundraising events: a raffle for Cowboys tickets, selling BBQ brisket sandwiches for lunch, a silent auction for local restaurants, a raffle for Hilton Honors Points, and selling personal services -technical advice, making coffee runs, car repair advice, etc. The Frito Lay employees and PepsiCo raised a total of $4,446. We are appreciative of the support and generosity from the employees at Frito Lay!
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PwC - In-Kind Donation for Summer Camps & Back-to-School
PwC's North Texas Affinity Groups' Family Fun Day was June 2nd. Affinity Groups from American Airlines, Raytheon and PepsiCo were invited to attend and enjoy an afternoon of bowling, food and fun. PwC requested that families attending the event consider making a donation to support Rainbow Days, Inc. PwC collected a wonderful in-kind assortment of swimsuits, flip-flops, beach towels, bug repellant, sunscreen, back-to-school supplies and snacks, all of which will benefit our summer camps and Back-to-School Celebration. We are grateful to PwC and the families who generously donated!
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| A Yummy Thank You - i Fratelli
On June 4th, i Fratelli sponsored a Pizza DoughNation day with 15% of every purchase benefiting Rainbow Days. Customers were able to enjoy a pizza or other meal from i Fratelli and have 15% of their purchase donated to Rainbow Days. We are excited to have been the benefactors of this event and look forward to future ones.
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Our Children's Future Lunch
 We had a wonderful turnout at Our Children's Future Lunch held on June 7th where new Rainbow Days friends enjoyed a delicious lunch and learned about our history and programs. A special thank you to Michele Danches and Rosie, her therapy golden retriever! Together, Michele and Rosie volunteer at summer camps and our annual Back-to-School Celebration. Michele shared a heartfelt testimonial about her volunteer experiences with Rosie and the impact Rainbow Days events have made on her . If you are interested in attending the next Our Children's Future Luncheon, please e-mail Saunders Grommesh for details. |
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