Laura Castillo and Rosie Perez from the City of Garland Neighborhood Vitality along with the Garland Kiwanis helped to make the recent “Try Something New” Volunteer Fair a huge success.
Volunteerism is an ancient concept. Aristotle said it well over 2,000 years ago: “ What is the essence of life? To serve others and to do good.”
Lao Tzo, another ancient wise man, had this to say about giving to others: "The wise man does not lay up his own treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own."
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The “Try Something New” Garland Volunteer Fair hosted by the City of Garland and our local Kiwanis was a huge success. I don’t have an official headcount but from 6 to 8 PM the large area of the Atrium was crowded with Garland residents seeking information regarding all the volunteer opportunities in our community—and there are many: from serving on one of our City Boards and Commission to working with members to help establish one of newest nonprofits in our community, our Garland Area MakerSpace.
Debut for the Garland Area MakerSpace - Next Meeting Tuesday March 13 7PM
We made our public debut as an official organization at this event and I’m happy to report that we had sixteen people sign up to join us in our efforts to bring a makerspace to our community. If you missed this great event, you can still join us. Find out all about makerspaces by stopping in at our next meeting at the North Garland Branch Library—Tuesday, March 13th at 7PM- 3845 North Garland
Many folks including two of our City Council members stopped at our table: Councilman BJ Williams stopped by and signed our sheet to receive more information and Councilman Robert Smith also stopped by to let us know that he also supports our efforts to bring a makerspace to our community.
Mark Bushnell, Garland Area Makerspace board member, chats with Robert Smith and Deborah Morris about makerspaces.
Robert Smith, Garland City Council Representative for 8th District stops by the Garland Area Makerspace table. Shown with him is Deborah Morris, another Garland resident who is interested in the potential that makerspaces offer our community.
Loving Garland Green President, Jane Stroud, shared her joys of our beautiful community garden with visitors.
Jane Stroud, President Loving Garland Green (official stewards of the Garland Community Garden) talks with interested visitors. As one of the founding members of Loving Garland Green, this group is near and dear to my heart. If you are interested, you are invited to attend our next meeting, Monday March 5 at 6:30 at 216 East Kingsbridge 75040 (between Crestone and Naaman School Road).
Mary Ann Zyla and Rose Taylor at the Achievement Center of Texas table.
The Texas Achievement Center is located at 2950 North Shiloh Road in Garland, Texas. This organization is a licensed non-profit day care and day habilitation center for children and adults with special needs. They make every effort to offer families services that support those children wherever possible. In providing a wide range of services in the least restrictive environment, students at the Achievement Center can grow and develop physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially. At the center, they work toward greater independence and a more satisfying way of life. If you want to make a difference in someone’s life, you might want to stop by the Texas Achievement Center. Although our Garland Area MakerSpace is nearly new, I talked with Rose and Mary Ann about the possibilities of connecting with them and their clients in the future.
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So many of my friends from other great Garland volunteer organizations were there as well: Pam Swendig from the Good Samaritans; Ana Maria DeYoung from GAFFA; the folks from Earth X; Preservation Garland; the GISD Family and Community Engagement and many more. I even saw two political hopefuls there: Deborah Morris City Council candidate for Garland’s 2nd District and Mr. Louis Moore, candidate for Mayor. Chalk one up for them. It’s good to see they support volunteerism.