DALLAS – With four of her 12 grandkids in tow, Audrey Alexander waited patiently Thursday morning to receive some much-needed school supplies and accompanying posters from the Dallas Mavericks Dancers and ManiAAcs.
For Alexander, this was worth more than the wait. Especially with school set the start right around the corner.
“I thank y’all for what y’all do give us,” Alexander said. “This helps a lot with their school supplies and letting them meet different vendors like the Dallas Mavs Dancers.
“It’s a good thing for the kids in this community.”
Over 500 kids made the trip to Elouise Lundy Rec Center as part of the Mayor’s Grow South Back 2 School Bash. It’s the 15th year for this event, which provides school supplies, dental work, haircuts and various other services for kids in this South Oak Cliff community.
Patricia Williams, the executive director of American Care Foundation and the point person for this event, lauded the numerous organizations who pitched in and turned this into a successful day.
“This is our 15th year of having this back to school celebration,” Williams said. “It started out as a small event and then we actually partnered with the Dallas Police Department, and then we partnered with the City of Dallas.
“So it has formed into one of the main events for the community before school starts. And despite the rain, you see that the kids are pouring in and we’re just excited that they still are coming through the doors.”
Williams acknowledged the financial hardship some of the parents may be experiencing during these difficult times, which is why this event is tailored to help fill in the holes where money may be a bit short.
“Most of the kids would not have all of the adequate school supplies before school starts, so we thought within our vision that we would start to try and help out as much as possible prior to school starting,” Williams said.
“We’ve got food, we’ve got entertainment, we have vendors. . .”
And they also had a few Mavs Dancers and ManiAACs to help the day go super smoothly.
“I’m super excited to be here,” said Tori Skillings, one of the Mavs Dancers. “We’re just helping kids get ready for school, get excited about school, get excited about learning and get ready for the year.
“They come by and they’re wanting a poster, they’re so excited to meet us, and they’re just really happy that we got to come and spend some time with them today. So it’s really cool seeing these kids so excited to see us.”
With the enthusiasm he was showing as the kids approached him, it was difficult to tell if Chris McJimson was more excited to see the kids than vice versa.
“We’re always ecstatic to come to back to school bashes because we get to see the beautiful smiles on these kid’s faces, and we get to give back to the community,” said McJimson, a ManiAAC who goes by the moniker One Love. “It’s very important to give back because some people forget where they came from.
“No matter where you go in life you always have to reach back and hand back and give back to the people in your own community to make everybody smile. It’s the decent thing to do.”
The Dallas Police Department is one of the sponsors of the event, and representatives were on hand enjoying the entertainment and festive atmosphere. Even Pearl McDonnell, a senior corporal with the DPD, was seen doing the Twist to a song that was blaring over the speakers.
“This is 2018 and all the young kids, the millennials, they’re looking at us like, ‘What are they doing?,’ “ McDonnell said. “But you know the Twist helps keep that waistline down, so I really enjoy it. It gives me some good exercise.”
McDonnell is appreciative of all the vendors and the Mavs for reaching out to lend a helping hand to the less fortunate.
“This is an event that supports our kids and schools and day cares in this area,” she said. “This is our 15th year doing this, and I think I’ve been aboard for maybe the last seven years, and we just bring everybody together.
“It helps people to have camaraderie in the area, it gets people to meet people who would never meet each other, and they just come out and they eat. The kids get a chance to run around and get to get different resources to learn some things, to get exposed to some things and just enjoy themselves.”
Danielle Conley, an administrative assistant with the mayor’s office, said one of the keys to this event was making sure the kids have their school supplies on the first day of school so they can walk proudly to their classroom. Conley also said:
“I think it gives the kids a great opportunity to see all of the resources that they have available. We have the Dallas Police Department here, we have dental offices, the Dallas Mavericks.
“So they get a chance to interact with individuals that they probably wouldn’t interact with on a daily basis. I believe some of the children, they may see the Mavs Dancers on TV, and then to see them here in person it gives them a surreal affect.”
A disc jockey was on hand to provide music for the event. And several kids provided the entertainment, including one kid performing the Riverdance that nearly brought McJimson completely out of his seat.
“All the kids make me smile,” McJimson said. “I love kids, I’m a people person and when I see kids I know that the world continues to go around. That means that somebody is doing something right.
“We’ve got to be able to teach our young folk to be able to lead us one day, so I love to see the babies.”
As she patiently moved the four grandkids – ages five, seven, nine and 10 – she had on hand from one vendor to another, Alexander wanted to give a shout out to her favorite sports team.
“I love the Dallas Mavericks — that’s my team,” she said. “And I love the dancers.
“And I want to thank y’all so much for helping out the community and the children. God bless you.”
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