March Featured Partner

Are you outgrowing your home or is your home outgrowing you? Well maybe it's time to find new roots. Our March Featured Partner, our very own Marissa Fontanez, with Ellen Terry Realtors, can help you find your new Home Sweet Home.

A native of Dallas and graduate of SMU Cox School of Business, Marissa has extensive sales and negotiation knowledge. She is committed to making Home Buying or Selling as simple as possible. She is honest and passionate about what she does which makes buying or selling a home easy for you.

Don't have time to get your home ready to sell, well she can help you with that as well with a professional home stager. You can contact Marissa at 214.789.9187 or visit her website at www.marissa.ellenterry.com.

So say "Sold" or "Let's Make an Offer" and Thank you to our March Featured Partner Marissa Fontanez.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

It's February, and that means Love is in the Air..well the Love of Handbags that is…and just in time for Valentine's Day thanks to our February Featured Partner Classic Clutches.

Our very own Lakewood Service League member, Lacey Stevenson, started her own vintage handbag company, Classic Clutches, this past November. Lacey collected clutches for her own personal use and has decided to share these fabulous pieces with you. Lucky you!!

Classic Clutches offers a variety of beautiful vintage clutches each with its own history. Now how fabulous is that? You can see all the beautiful colors, designs and styles by logging on to our website, www.lakewoodserviceleague.org or go directly to www.classicclutches.com. You can also contact Lacey at lacey.stevenson@sbcglobal.net

And to give you a little something extra to put in your new clutch, Lacey is waiving the shipping fee to all members during the month of February. Just make sure to enter code "LSLFEB" when you checkout on the Classic Clutches website in order to get the free shipping promotion.

So come on ladies, get to shopping I know you would love to show off your beautiful vintage handbag at the Mad Hatter's Ball. Just say "I'll take that one" and Thank You to our February Featured Partner Classic Clutches for supporting the Lakewood Service League.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011 has been busy already!

Well we’ve been very busy this League year. We had a successful Walk, Wag, and Run in October raising $33k for our beneficiaries at the YMCA at White Rock, For the Love of the Lake, and the Dog Park at White Rock.

Thank you to all our sponsors for supporting us in putting together another wonderful event, without you this would not have been possible. A special thank you to our presenting sponsors, Doctors Hospital, Innova, and Advocate Magazine.

During November and December we were busy volunteering at the various local charities, including a fun caroling and Bingo event for the residents of Juliette Fowler.

We are now preparing for our spring benefit: Mad Hatter’s Ball!! Our ball will raise funds that will benefit each of our partner charities in our local East Dallas community. The event will be held on May 21, 2011 at 7pm at Lofty Spaces. Pre-purchase your tickets by emailing springbenefit@lakewoodserviceleague.org.

Sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting springbenefit@lakewoodserviceleague.org.

Our January Featured Partner, Vicky Little a Health Coach and owner of "Your Fabulous Health" is here to help get you back on track and meet your health and wellness goals.

Vicky is passionate about supporting individual needs having difficulty implementing or sustaining special needs and gluten free diets. She also works with families helping make tasty nutritious meals for those picky eaters. So whether you need support with slimming down or just getting motivated for a healthier you, Vicky can help!

For more information you can log on to our website www.lakewoodserviceleague.org or to schedule a free consultation check out Vicky's website at www.yourfabuloushealth.com or contact Vicky at 214.766.9526.

Lakewood Service League to recognize alley’s house board president at “All in White” event this Saturday

By Jennifer Browning (this is an excerpt from the alley's house blog)

The Lakewood Service League presents its Spring Benefit, "All in White" this Saturday, April 17, at Marc Events in the Dallas Design District.

The event will include an open bar, dinner, dancing, signature cocktails, live and silent auctions, hand-rolled cigars, and casino tables. Attendees are encouraged to embrace the "All in White" theme with all white, casual-chic dress attire!

During the event, the Lakewood Service League is honoring alley's house Board President, Toni Patterson, as one of Dallas' Volunteer Service Heroes.

This year alley's house was the recipient of a $500 grant provided by the Lakewood Service League. In January, the Lakewood Service League made baby blankets for alley’s house's teen mothers as part of their monthly service project.

alley's house is so appreciative to have the Lakewood Service Leagues' support by helping us accomplish our mission to empower our teen mothers through education and support services.

Ticket reservations are $100/person; reserved tables with special amenities are available for $2,000 and seat 10. Contact Chairperson Jennifer Poynor at lslallinwhite@live.com with questions about this great event!

Alley's House and the League!

Hey, Blog Lady! Check this out! Go to http://www.alleyshouse.org/ and click on their Blog to see Nikki Gill, three weeks after having her twins, making baby blankets for Alley's House in our Hour of Service. We had a great January General Meeting. We welcomed Allison Whitehead and Simone, who is a teen mom benefiting from the great things offered to her and other teen moms at Alley's House. I had the opportunity to take all of the diapers, wipes and new baby blankets to their center. They were ever so grateful! They are making a difference in the lives of teen moms here in East Dallas. Pictured here: Felicia McClinton (intern), Allison Whitehead (Executive Director), Diana Munoz (Resource Room Manager/Administrative Assistant) and Sierra Sintic (intern). Many thanks to our League members for contributing diapers and wipes, and for staying and making baby blankets in the Hour of Service! Thanks to LK Pierotti as well for hosting our meeting! See you all at the February General Meeting!

Amy

The SoupMan

The email below is from Lon Ricker, from the SoupMobile. Just to let you all know, many more great ladies played a part in making the sandwiches that evening. This photo was taken of those who were able to stay until the end. Thanks to all who participated! And read below for information on great opportunities for volunteering this Christmas with the SoupMan!

Amy To Amy and the Lakewood Service League Members,

Thank you for inviting myself and The SoupMan (a.k.a, David Timothy) to speak about the SoupMobile at your November membership meeting. What a fun and enthusiastic group you are!

The SoupMobile is a mobile soup kitchen that feeds, clothes and shelters the homeless right here in the Dallas area. The mission statement of the SoupMobile are three simple words spoken by Jesus himself--Feed MY Sheep.

You helped us do just that on Tuesday night with the 1,000 sandwiches you made for us! Okay, maybe there were only 983, but its the thought that counts. By the laughter and enthusiasm that went into making those sandwiches, it was obvious that they were made with the secret ingredient that goes into all of our meals - LOVE! (see attached picture)

Every year at Christmas the SoupMobile does something very special. This December will mark its 5th Annual Christmas Angel Project. We are taking 500 homeless men and women right off the streets of Dallas and putting them up at the downtown Dallas Hyatt Regency Hotel for Christmas. Yes THE Hyatt Regency. All the homeless guests receive new clothes, fabulous gifts, lots of love and a huge banquet in their honor. Most important is that when they wake up on Christmas morning it will be in a warm safe bed at the Hyatt---not in a cardboard box under some bridge. 2,000 years ago there was no 'room at the inn' for the one we call baby Jesus. With your help the SoupMobile will make sure there is 'room at the inn' for 500 of the ones Jesus called the least of these.

There are many opportunities for the Lakewood Service League as a whole, and its members as individuals to contribute and volunteer. Corporations, groups and even individuals can sponsor a table at the banquet. Or perhaps members would like to join Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert as one of our FAB 50 Maitre'Ds? And if you are not going to be in Dallas at Christmas, not to worry, as you can sponsor a homeless person's stay at the Hyatt!

All of the details for volunteering, sponsorship and donations can be found on our website www.SoupMobile.org by following the link to the personal video from the SoupMan himself! But hurry, as slots are filling fast and many will be closed when we have enough volunteers.

Again, thank you all for you support!

God bless,
Lon Ricker

Praise for the 2009 Walk Wag and Run

Ladies,

I wanted to share this email with all of you. This is just one of the many acknowledgements that we received for a job well done. Thanks to all of you who helped make this year's Walk Wag and Run so successful.

Amy

Dear Amy,

“Hats off” to all of the donors, organizers and volunteers who made the Walk, Wag and Run such a spectacular event! This was our first year to attend and what a wonderful experience it turned out to be. The beautiful weather certainly made it that much better. Lauren and I had so much fun just being together and watching Molly enjoy herself. She was in “dog heaven” and loved each and every agility station, especially when she received treats for completing the task! I think she had enough to last her the next month. The bag that we received at the beginning of the race to fill with extra goodies that Molly was given at every station was also a special touch!

The whole event was so well organized and all of the volunteers were very, very pleasant and helpful. Additionally, as mentioned before, the website for this event was one of the best I have seen. It was appealing to the eye, and most importantly, full of helpful information…especially, “the most frequent asked questions” section.

I have already told other neighborhood dog owners that they need to put this event on their calendar for next year! It is so nice to know that we have such a great event to look forward to on beautiful White Rock Lake! Thanks again to all of the volunteers, donors and organizers for all of their time and effort involved in making the Walk, Wag and Run a success.

Warmest regards,
Kathy Stewart

Katrina: Getting revved for Walk, Wag & Run

Check out Katrina Benedict's post about Walk Wag and Run on the Dallas Moms Blog. Post a comment!

Here are some other pictures that Katrina shared.



Ethan Benedict GENTLY pets the baby goat at the Walk, Wag & Run petting zoo. Good boy.



Kate Benedict's mom is from Wisconsin, so she naturally loves cows. What a treat for this city girl!



Gabi Cortez is proud of the baby chick perched on her arm at the Walk, Wag & Run petting zoo. Awwww.

Happy Monday to all of you Lakewood Service League followers!

The Blog Lady suggested I add something to our new blog and I would just love to! I wanted to let you all know that I went by to drop off the canned goods and Wall of Recognition cards and met some great people at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas. I met Jesse Moreno and Carolyn Jordan. Jesse, their Program Coordinator, gave me a tour of the facility and told me more about the programs offered to their kids. Carolyn Jordan was fun to visit with as well. She is pumped up about her kids and the services they provide them. She and Jesse were very appreciative and happy to receive the donations made by the members of the Lakewood Service League. Great work ladies! Our small individual efforts made a big impact for this organization (we collected well over 100 cans!). If you were moved to tears by Anna, who spoke at our meeting, and if you feel compelled to volunteer your time at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas, then go for it! (www.bgcdallas.org)

Have a wonderful week and I am looking forward to our October meeting!

Amy

Putting the Service back in Lakewood Service League

Well, ladies if you weren’t able to attend the first meeting then you missed a very special night. Our current president, Amy Kulas, announced at the board retreat this year we were going to put the “service” back in the Lakewood Service League. This vision has been overwhelmingly embraced by the membership and last night we saw one way in which that vision will be realized.

Justin Hensley, East Dallas branch manager of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas attended our meeting and brought with him a very special young lady named, Anna. Anna was not your ordinary 17 year old. She was articulate and bright and very courageous as she stood up in front of the room full of adults to explain how the club has changed her life. Anna and her brother did not have a father in the home growing up. But they do have a very loving and strong mother who got them involved in the Boys and Girls Club. Anna told us how her mother started taking her brother to the club when she was only five. The membership age is from six to eighteen they had to sneak her in, she joked. Apparently, the family became a fixture around the place because her brother grew up in the club and now attends Texas State University and her mother is now on the staff at the club. Anna was just elected president of her key club. It was hard not to get choked up when Anna, standing at the front of the room like a soldier at attention, declared, “I am proud to say that I am college bound!” The Boys and Girls Club changed this young lady’s reality. What was not possible for her from where she sat in her apartment complex and what was not shown to her in school became a possibility when she walked through the doors of that club on Worth Street. There she was treated as though college was an inevitable conclusion, not an unrealistic dream.

The Boys and Girls Club is not just a building that people walk into and are magically transformed. It is the people that gather in under that roof that changed Anna’s entire future. It is the women like you and me that volunteer with these children. Every time an adult shows up with the desire to teach and mentor a child, that child realizes their significance. Your mere presence enhances their sense of worth. So now for Blog Lady’s call to action! Can you cook? Are you an artist or musician? Is drama your thing (now I know we have some drama queens out there but here I believe they need “theater people”)? Do you play golf or do you miss your cheerleading days in high school? Are you known for your wise counsel… or perhaps you’ve just made enough mistakes that you are qualified to counsel others on “what not to do”? The Boys and Girls Club needs adults to teach and mentor East Dallas’ kids in those and many other areas. Ladies, it truly does take a village. If you are interested in volunteering you can visit the Boys and Girls Club off Greater Dallas through their website which you can access from the Community Service page of the LSL site… more on the Lakewood Service League’s new website in my next blog.

Yours truly,
Blog Lady