What gives?

Small ways that you can make a big di erence for nonprofits

Do dinner out … and support Troop 64 Lakewood during its 47th annual spaghetti dinner on Oct. 27. For more than 50 years, Troop 64 has provided boys in the Lakewood area with opportunities to grow, achieve and have fun. More than a thousand young men in Lakewood have recited the Scout Oath. They have assisted victims of storms, enhanced local schools, planted gardens and helped build homes. The dinner, which will feature spaghetti, garlic bread, salad and homemade desserts, is at Northridge Presbyterian Church, located at 6920 Bob-O-Link. Continuous serving is from 6-8 p.m. A drivethrough is available starting at 5:30 p.m.

Run your heart out … in the fourth annual 5k on the Santa Fe Oct. 9. The run supports the Friends of Santa Fe Trail, which raises money for improvements to the Santa Fe Hike/Bike Trail between White Rock Lake and downtown. After the run, there will be food trucks and music by East Dallas neighbor Ronnie Fauss. The non-runner pass is $10, and the runner admission is $40. Plus, your pooch is more than welcome to join the fun. Meet at Randall Park, located at 100 N. Glasgow. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m.

Go Long … at the Long Run on Oct. 16 to support J. L. Long Middle School in Lakewood. The fundraiser helps pay for extra materials not supplied by Dallas ISD. Registration and festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. The race is a onemile fun run at 6 p.m., followed by the certified 5k run at 6:30. There also will be food, music and entertainment. The race takes place at J. L. Long, located at 6116 Reiger.

KNOW OF WAYS that neighbors can spend time, attend an event, or purchase or donate something to benefit a neighborhood nonprofit? Email your suggestion to launch@advocatemag.com.

Hard knock life

Passing the baton

Sweat, tears and sequins. That’s what the lives of Lakewood neighbors Shirley Payne and Sheila Rigelsky revolve around.

The mother-daughter duo teaches competitive baton twirling, and if you don’t think baton twirling is a sport, then you’ve never met their students.

Their students put in hours of practice every day, and some of them have been taking classes from one or both of the teachers for several years.

When most people think of twirling, they think of twirlers marching along with the band during halftime, spinning, dancing and flipping a shiny baton. Although that’s an important part of twirling, many serious twirlers aim to win trophies in local, state, regional and national twirling competitions. and personal presentation, and it’s good physical activity.”

“It’s all about competition,” Payne says.

“It’s a lot of fun, too,” Rigelsky says.

Shirley Payne began twirling at 10 years old. Her father loved football, but he didn’t want her to be involved in cheerleading or drill team, and she was already taking dance. She began competing around the time she was in high school, and she began coaching around 18.

“Fifty years later, I’m still coaching,” Payne says. “I’ve retired twice, and here I am again.”

“I keep pulling her back,” Rigelsky jokes.

“We always say that twirling teaches so much more than how to spin a shiny stick.

It’s time management, it’s self-confidence

Rigelsky grew up around the world of twirling, but originally Payne didn’t want her to twirl. Payne had a twirling studio and a core of 50 twirlers. Plus, Rigelsky’s older sister was a competitive twirler, so Payne simply didn’t have the time to train another one. But some of Payne’s students took Rigelsky aside, taught her the basics, and put her in front of Payne to showcase her newly acquired twirling skills.

When Rigelsky was 15, Payne turned over one of her teams to Rigelsky for her to coach.

“I’ve been teaching ever since,” Rigelsky says. “We have our own students, and we have students together. We have students who are the same ages and in the same divisions.”

The pair is very competitive — not just with others, but also with each other. Both agree that the competitive spirit is what fuels them — or rather, winning over and over again.

—Brittany Nunn

Keeping it clean

Many East Dallasites enjoy the pleasures that White Rock Lake has to offer — walking and biking, birding, boating and beautiful nature trails through the underbrush.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget it takes a lot of time and money to keep the lake looking so beautiful, which is exactly why groups like the White Rock Lake Foundation are so important.

White Rock Lake Foundation is a nonprofit organization that partners with the City of Dallas to raise awareness and monetary support for White Rock Lake, and it’s celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

When founder Jeannie Terilli moved back to Dallas more than 25 years ago, after a stint in Colorado, she began making frequent visits to White Rock Lake.

“And when I saw what a mess it was — trees over the dam just hanging, and trash and stuff growing out of the lake,” she remembers. “The hike and bike trails, everything needed to be fixed.”

She met with the City of Dallas and began asking them what she could do to help. The city told her about the master plan for the lake, completed in the late-’80s.

The master plan is an all-encompassing approach to the lake that includes beautification efforts such as reforestation or amenities such as hike and bike trails or lighting, as well as dredging, which needs to be done every 15 to 20 years.

After forming an organization, Terilli says she immediately began raising awareness for plan’s highest priority, which was the dredging of White Rock Lake.

It would need to come from bond projects, because a non-profit like White Rock Lake Foundation couldn’t raise as much money as the lake needs.

For 25 years, the White Rock Lake Foundation has continued to campaign for bond issues and raise money to beautify the lake through events such as its annual golf tournament.

Coming up on Nov. 2, White Rock Lake Foundation hosts its second annual Praise the Lake event at the White Rock Lake Filter Building from noon-3 p.m., which includes brunch, a bloody mary bar, a cash bar and a silent auction. For more details, visit whiterocklakefoundation.org.

—Brittany Nunn