IT UP

HEALTH, WELLNESS, FITNESS

Healing Hands Ministries

SERVES: Un- and under-insured Lake Highlands and greater Dallas County residents in need of medical and dental care

Lake Highlands resident Glen Thomas, in a past interview, credited the volunteer doctor at Healing Hands Ministries in Lake Highlands with saving his life; Dr. Natalia Gutierrez caught a cancerous tumor in Thomas’ stomach, thankfully during its early stages, and helped him acquire essential treatment. Healing Hands recently relocated to an expansive facility at Greenville and Royal, doubling its medical capacity and increasing patient load. In addition to general health, pediatrics, women’s and dental clinics, the facility offers on-site healthcare education, group support for chronic illnesses such as diabetes, and extensive referral services. In 2013, Healing Hands treated some 4,000 patients; clients pay $10 to see a doctor and $15 to see a dentist. No one is turned away for inability to pay. There also is an unquantifiable societal value as one patient notes, folks who formerly clogged up emergency room waiting areas are now treated in the clinic, freeing hospitals for true emergencies. That, plus preventive care, makes the success of Healing Hands a public-health win for the whole community.

VOLUNTEER: Medical professionals — physicians, dentists, hygienists and nurses — donate services.

Work in the office as an administrator or interpreter.

Volunteers undergo a background check and attend an orientation session.

ATTEND: Each spring, the Hearts and Hands Tablescape Luncheon garners thousands of dollars to support the clinic.

Each October, golfers can support the nonprofit by entering Healing Hands Ministries Golf Classic, which usually runs $150 per player. Details about the 2015 events will be available on the website.

TEXAS ARCHERY ACADEMY (TXAA) AND TEXAS ARCHERY CLUB (TAC)

SERVES: Through its new indoor facility in the Lake Highlands area, residents of all ages and levels who want convenient, safe and affordable access to archery and its beneficial byproducts

GIVE: Cash donations are taxdeductible. Financial and audit reports are available on the Healing Hands website — donate there via PayPal or credit card, or mail a check to the post office box.

CONTACT:

Janna Gardner, executive director, jannagardner@hhmtx.org

8515 Greenville Suite

N-108 (at Royal) P.O. Box 741524, Dallas, TX, 75374-1524 214.221.0855 healinghandsdallas.org

Formed as a nonprofit in 2011, the TXAA provides instruction, hosts tournaments, and operates indoor training facilities around the state — the newest such facility is a 13,000-square-foot space near Central and Walnut Hill. The TXAA is a sub-organization of the TAC, which was started in the 1960s as a benefit for Texas Instruments employees. Archery provides physical and mental recreation that can be enjoyed by almost anyone, even many with disabilities that would prevent participation in other sports. However, notes archery club director Clint Montgomery, the sport has not historically been accessible to the average person. The TXAA intends to increase outreach and accessibility for all who are drawn to the activity. And who wouldn’t be, Montgomery queries rhetorically: “I’ve never met anybody who didn’t want to shoot a bow.”

GIVE: Annual membership is $120. Student memberships are $60, and family discounts are available. Members are asked to contribute one hour of volunteer service per calendar year. Or donate to the On Target fund, which helps introduce archery to a wider audience, via PayPal or credit card on the TXAA website.

CONTACT: Clint Montgomery, director 9500 N. Central 214.799.0940 texasarcheryacademy.org

Grief And Loss Center Of North Texas

SERVES: Grieving adults, teens and children in the White Rock area and greater Dallas through group gatherings and other supportive activities

Sitting at the table with the Grief and Loss Center group — a nonreligious organization that meets at Wilshire Baptist Church in the White Rock area — is at once heartbreaking and life affirming. A 90-year-old cries openly as he discusses the death of his wife of 75 years. A young mother who lost her child to Sudden

Infant Death Syndrome comforts him. Before Jennifer Hibdon helped found this group, her own parents committed suicide. The faces at the table change some, session by session, but there always is a mingling of sorrow and hope. This is just as it should be, says Laurie Taylor, co-founder, along with Hibdon, of the Grief and Loss Center of North Texas.

“Agony and joy can live in the heart at the same time,” says Taylor, a grief and loss specialist certified in thanatology, the study of death, dying and bereavement.

“You don’t get over it. Time does not heal it. Instead you learn to live with the loss, and it becomes part of the fabric of your life.”

VOLUNTEER: Serve as a helper in a children’s grief group at a local elementary school, prepare a cake or cookies for an event, make heart pillows for children and teen groups or assist with office duties.

ATTEND: Each November, the Grief and Loss Center hosts a dinner and silent auction. Details related to the 2015 event will be announced on the website.

GIVE: Donate amazon.com gift cards for research books, postage stamps, copy paper, arts and crafts supplies and bottled water. Give cash or a check via the website or mail.

CONTACT: Laurie Taylor, executive director, info@mygriefandloss.org

4316 Abrams

214.452.3105 mygriefandloss.org