It’s not quite May but the staff is already busy with springtime events and preparing for the coming summer. Although this spring was filled with unanticipated challenges as the Jubilee Team worked overtime to help families recover from the pandemic and the winter storm, the past few months have also been filled with many blessings. Here are just a few highlights from April:
Easter at Jubilee
When Pastor Hannah Buchanan of Highland Park United Methodist Church approached Jubilee about creating a volunteer project for HPUMC’s Day of Service, the idea was to make just a few Easter baskets for Jubilee’s afterschool students. But after hearing more about Jubilee’s work and how Winter Storm Uri had recently devastated the resilient neighborhood, Hannah had a new proposal; “Let’s blow this up!”
The congregation at HPUMC wanted to not only provide Easter baskets for every child in the community, but ensure that families could celebrate Easter worry-free by providing a full grocery bag of pantry items, a bag of produce, and a box of perishables. With a new goal of 300 bags and boxes of food and 350 Easter baskets, the team went straight to work. HPUMC’s Day of Service was only a few days away, and without the usual egg hunt in the park, the team knew it was critical that this event came together in time.
Working through the morning, volunteers stuffed the brightly-colored Easter baskets with candy and goodies, and assembled grocery bags with pantry staples like peanut butter, canned chicken, and vegetables. By the time the community arrived, spirits were high as volunteers donned bunny ears and waved happily at cars. Over the course of only two hours, Jubilee and HPUMC served over 900 individuals from 200 families!
Babies and Blooms: Springtime at Head Start
This March, Jubilee’s Early Head Start and daycare program, Jeanie’s Place, welcomed eight new mothers. Mothers received new parent education, resources, and support during their pregnancy, as well as guaranteed spring enrollment in Early Head Start for their infants. Now that April has arrived, the baby room at Jeanie’s Place is abuzz with the gurgles and laughs of Jubilee’s newest residents!
When our friends at St. Mark’s heard that Jeanie’s Place was accepting a new class of infants, they wanted to ensure that our Jubilee children were properly welcomed into the world. Teacher Jorge Correra came together with his students to gather bottles, diapers, pacifiers, clothes, blankets and more to create eight newborn baskets just in time for Easter!
2021 Health and Prevention Expo
Last April, Jubilee made the difficult decision to cancel the Health and Prevention Expo. Only days into Dallas’s stay-at-home order, the team knew that cancelling the beloved community event was necessary to keep our neighbors safe. Now, a year later, we are thrilled to revive our annual health event hosted in partnership with United Way and East Dallas Church of Christ!
Under the leadership of Health and Wellness Manager Alejandra Saldaña, Jubilee was able to pivot to a drive-thru model for the Health Expo. Although our event looked a little different than in years past, our volunteers kept the festive spirit alive, dancing to DJ Astronaut’s music, holding up handmade signs, and waving energetically to passing cars. Nearly 700 community members received board games and stuffed animals for the kids, boxes of perishables, and bags of resources with information about how to access healthcare.
Spring is a special time at Jubilee as our neighbors celebrate the end of winter and anticipate the excitement of summer. We cannot thank our Jubilee Family enough for helping make spring a special time at Jubilee. For more information about how to get involved, visit jubileecenter.org/volunteer.