Your renovation. Our reputation.

For over 15 years, Bella Vista has been dedicated to working in this community because we live in this community. We also live for taking care of every detail of your renovation, right down to the last screw. It’s how we build homes — and it’s how we’ve built our reputation.

Who

WHAT GIVES?

Small Ways That You Can Make A Big Difference

Adopt A Dog

The nonprofit Angie’s Friends will have adoptable dogs of all sizes available to meet at Half Price Books on Saturday, Jan. 27, from 11 a.m.- 3 p.m.

Run A Race

The annual Too Cold To Hold half marathon, 10k and 5k is set for Sunday, Jan. 28, at 8 a.m. in Norbuck Park. The race partners with a slew of charities like Operation Kindness, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the North Texas Food Bank . New this year, the Pat & Emmitt Smith Charities will sponsor team 22, with all donations raised to benefit Hurricane Harvey relief. Register at runproject.org.

Coach A Career

Spend time with a family experiencing homelessness and help improve their resumes, cover letters, interview techniques and other professional tasks at Interfaith Family Services. The coaching happens from Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m – 12 p.m., 5600 Ross Ave.

Knit A Hat

Join the Knit Wit’s club, which meets 2-4 p.m. every Tuesday at the Lakewood Library, and help out with the thousands of baby hats they knit each year for Parkland Hospital. They also make items to benefit the library. Load up your needles and head to 6121 Worth.

Read A Book

Tutor a neighborhood Dallas ISD elementary student in first second or third grade to strengthen students’ reading comprehension and vocabulary. Volunteers are matched with two students and work with them for 30 minutes each. Students are paired with two adult tutors, receiving at least one hour of tutoring a week. Learn more at dallasisd.org.

PAWS & CLAWS

For The Birds

From harrowing escapes to friendships with predators, Abigail is a bird who likes to live on the edge. This Vorens black-capped conure is native to the southern basin of the Amazon, but she is right at home as she rides around on the shoulder of Sunny Platz, only occasionally nipping at her earrings. Abigail is a great friend to her feline housemate Meowy, who is endlessly curious about exploring the bird’s space. Don’t try and sneak up on the Platz home, as Abigail is an effective alarm system, alerting the entire house when anyone approaches. Once, when her cage was being cleaned outside, she escaped, flying up into a tree where she surveyed her options for 45 minutes. The Platz family was worried sick about their pet, but apparently the feathered friend liked her home, because she flew down and landed on the head of a worker who was remodeling, catching him by surprise. “You came back, you must love us,” Sunny Platz told her.

Shopping In Lakewood

While some things change, others stay the same. In 1974, the corner of Abrams and Gaston was home to Harrell’s drug store, Centennial Liquor, a piano store and tax services. Apparently, there were only three colors of car: light, dark and in-between. Today, Abrams has been rerouted around Lakewood Shopping Center, creating Harrell Park, but the Faulkner building still looms above what used to be a 7-Eleven near Paulus and Gaston. The pull-in parking remains, daring drivers to back into oncoming traffic on the busy strip. Craft beer, sushi, remodelers and dentists line the same strip these days, reflecting the gentrification in East Dallas.