Doing Good in School: DFW Students Fundraising for Disaster Relief

by Micaela Rosinski, intern contributor 

Big thanks to Curtis Middle School students who
raised money for Red Cross disaster relief!

In the midst of a scary and destructive storm season, youth around the Dallas-Fort Worth area wanted to help those around them in crisis. Students of all ages got creative and found ways to raise money to help the Red Cross bring relief to those in need.

A group of eighth grade students at Curtis Middle School in Allen teamed together to raise money for Red Cross disaster relief. Allison Corona Del Cid, a student at the middle school, headed the fundraising efforts. 

“We started just taking money out of our wallets. In one day we already had around a hundred bucks,” Corona Del Cid said. “We were like, ‘Hey, if we keep doing this, you know, we can really make a difference.’”

She said they began making lists of different events they could host to get as many people as possible involved. The students had a variety of different sales to raise money, such as bake sales and candy sales. Corona Del Cid said they even created incentives to motivate classmates.

“We started giving more and more money, and we made it a little competition between our classes to make people want it more,” Corona Del Cid said.

The efforts of Curtis students were successful as $2,200 was given to the Red Cross.

Fossil Ridge High School students raised more than
$3000 for disaster relief!

At Fossil Ridge High School in Keller, students and faculty collaborated to put a different kind of donation drive into action. The drive was the brain-child of the school’s principal, David Hadley, and Hillary White, a FRHS AVID teacher. The drive was named “Thanks Not Pranks” in an attempt to deter students from committing end-of-year pranks, and help those in need instead.

“We wanted to put the words [Thanks Not Pranks] into action,” White said. “I asked about helping the tornado victims and Mr. Hadley said as long as it is good for kids, we can do it.”

White said she chose the Red Cross to receive the donation because she knows the work of the organization and she has seen them in action.

With the whole school involved, everyone from students, faculty, staff and even school organizations raised money. Spencer Strong, a junior at FRHS, put her musical talents to use and raised funds by playing people songs.

“I’ve seen people on television play and sing,” Strong said. “So, I decided to try it, too.”

Strong’s efforts allowed her to raise $160 to put towards the “Thanks Not Pranks” campaign. As a whole, participants at Fossil Ridge raised over $3,000 for the Red Cross, which goes toward providing food, water, relief supplies, health services and emotional support for disaster victims.

In Arlington, students at Goodman Elementary School collected enough change to purchase a $67 Lowe’s gift card for the Red Cross to purchase relief supplies to assist tornado victims. Students also took time to create cards and drawings in addition to the financial donation.

“I had gone out to speak at the school about the Red Cross,” said Lilly Watson, communications manager at the Dallas Red Cross. “One of their questions was what children could do for the Red Cross.” 

Watson suggested a coin collection or lemonade sale. After receiving a call that $67 had been raised, Watson said the students were excited and had worked very hard to pull their change together.

During these times of disasters in the area, it has become evident that children and adults of all ages can help those in need and make a difference. You can join in Red Cross relief efforts by making a donation at redcross.org, texting REDCROSS to 90999 or calling 1-800-RED-CROSS. Our sincerest thanks for everyone who has already made a difference by donating.

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Putting the Fun in Fundraisers: Special Ways to Support the Red Cross in June

by Micaela Rosinski, intern contributor

As school ends and temperatures begin to rise, it is obvious summer is upon us. Organizations around the area have taken note and have planned various events to benefit the American Red Cross in ways that are just as exciting as summer break. From restaurants to concerts, there is an event for everyone to enjoy in the coming weeks.

Sunday, June 9, a benefit concert, ‘Rockin’ for Moore,’ will be held at Main Stage Live in North Dallas from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Dallas-Fort Worth based variety dance band, Don’t Tell Mama, will be hosting the event. According to their website, the band plays popular hits from the ‘60s through the 2000s. A total of eight bands will be performing at the event. Admission is $10, and raffle prizes will be distributed throughout the day. All proceeds will benefit Moore, Oklahoma relief efforts.

Give me Liberty Burger to help disaster relief!

Throughout the month of June, family-owned restaurant, Liberty Burger, will be donating $1 from every ‘limited time only,’ or LTO, burger to the Red Cross. The current LTO burger is the Carolina BBQ Turkey Burger. According to manger Nancy, the burger features an all-white, natural, ground turkey patty with a Carolina style barbecue sauce, dill pickles and a traditional slaw on a brioche bun. Manager Morgan LeNoir said this will be the fifth month Liberty Burger has done such an event to raise money for a variety of charities. How lucky are we to have such a tasty pick for Red Cross relief?

“We try to pick a charity each month to donate a dollar of our LTO sales,” LeNoir said. “We decided to do this on after the tornado. We thought, you know, close to home, local.”

Liberty Burger currently has two Dallas locations, on Forest Lane and Keller Springs Road. Additional information may be found on www.givemelibertyburger.com.

On Saturday, June 29, Dishcrawl will be hosting a ‘Neighborfood’ event, featuring eight restaurants in the Bishops Arts District. Each $10 entry ticket purchase will include one food ticket for a dish at one restaurant. Additional food tickets will be available for $5 online and at the event. While purchasing a ticket at www.dishcrawl.com/dallas, simply enter code ‘redcross,’ and $5 of the purchase will be given to the Red Cross. Additional information can be found on the website.

For the comedy lovers, look no further than ‘That Show,’ hosted by Oliver Tull. Presented by the weekday morning show, Eye Opener, on CW33, the event can be described as one part late night show, one part comedy short film festival, and one part hip hop concert. A variety of acts including comedians, movie critics and even a magician are scheduled to attend. The event will be held Thursday, June 20 at 7 p.m. at the Four Day Weekend Theatre in Fort Worth. Tickets are available for purchase at eyeopenertv.com/thatshow. All proceeds will be given to the Red Cross.

Whether its date night, a family outing, or spending time with friends, start the summer off right and make a difference in the process! 

To make a donation to the Red Cross, visit us at redcross.org/dfw or call 1-800-RED-CROSS.  

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Donors Get New Advocate in New Chief Development Officer Liz Birlet

Written By Lilly Watson, staff contributor

Since Clara Barton founded the organization in 1881, the American Red Cross has served the country as the leading emergency response organization. After a year of reorganizing chapters into a regional structure, the Red Cross is moving forward to meet the needs of our modern society, and is once again calling on successful and high energy females like Liz Birlet to lead the initiative. Newly appointed as the chief development officer for the American Red Cross North Texas Region, Birlet joins a seasoned senior leadership team dedicated to advancing their fundraising efforts into the future. 

While her resume showcases a successful history in fundraising and senior leadership, it’s Birlet’s passion for people, whether her donors or her staff of 22 employees, that sets her apart. 

“I truly believe that every gift matters, whether it’s one dollar or a large gift from a corporation or foundation,” Birlet explained as she shared her plan to come in focusing on all areas of local fundraising. “I want to make sure that we’re paying attention to all of the Red Cross supporters and working to communicate to them in new and engaging ways.”

With a $12.3 million dollar fundraising goal for the North Texas Region this year, Birlet knows it is going to take willingness from her team to approach fundraising in new and creative ways to make this fiscal year a record breaker. Birlet points to some of the more creative fundraising tactics already in place, such as the “Piper the Puppy” campaign, as examples that show why her team is set up for success. “Piper the Puppy” is a stuffed animal that is given to a child to provide comfort after disasters and is sponsored by a donor for a $100 gift. The donor’s name is written on Piper’s paw pad and a postcard is sent to the donor once Piper has been placed in the arms of a child. 

“When you think that a donor engagement device as innovative and unique as “Piper the Puppy” was imagined by one of our donors and developed right here in Dallas, I know that I have a team that is dedicated and creative enough to take fundraising efforts for the Red Cross to a new level,” Birlet explained. 

Birlet recently relocated to the Dallas area from Chicago where she served the nonprofit sector as a consultant for more than a decade and also held positions at academic research institutes including the University of California, San Diego, the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

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Handmade Guitars Help Heal Japan

Written by Natalie Horn, volunteer contributor 

Guys Building Guitars, a Dallas club consisting of 80 members with a passion for building guitars, recently raised $900 for the American Red Cross by auctioning off a one-of-a-kind custom built guitar.

“We started this club just over a year ago, as fate would have it, the day before the tsunami hit Japan,” said Dan Chenault, the club’s founder. 

Chenault said he felt inclined to help because of the club’s love for Japanese guitars.

“I sent an email out to the club that said we need to do something because Japan has built some great instruments and all of us have owned Japanese guitars at some time,” Chenault added. 

The project was funded by collecting donations from local businesses and friends, and some donations came in from as far as Nashville, TN. 

The custom Stratocaster was built as a group effort and displays a rising sun logo and inlaid mother of pearl Japanese characters that represent healing.

Chenault accepting an appreciation
certificate at the July meeting.

The instrument was auctioned at the Dallas International Guitar Festival. Heritage Galleries ran the auction and took no fee for their services, meaning every penny of the $900 raised went to Red Cross relief efforts. 

The club plans to continue in their philanthropic efforts by building two new guitars to be auctioned off at next year’s festival.  

Who knew a love and talent for making custom guitars could bring so much hope and healing to our Japanese brothers and sisters across the globe? It's stories like this that serve as a great reminder that your unique Red Cross fundraiser is just an idea away! 

To learn more about hosting a third party fundraiser for the Red Cross, visit us online or contact Pat Shannon. To make a one-time donation online today, visit us online or call 1-800-Red-Cross.

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