Photo Friday + Calling All Volunteers!

This Photo Friday's photos come from the Thriving Minds Afterschool program at McShan Elementary.  Volunteers from Bank of America helped students with their art projects and showed off the site of the flower garden they plan to plant.

We couldn't do what we do without the support of our volunteers!  Interested in helping out?  We have volunteer opportunities in the following areas:

Read Out Program

Thriving Minds Afterschool program is looking for enthusiastic, caring volunteers to read to school-age children in your local neighborhood school. Volunteers are asked to read to children and lead hands-on activities such as making bookmarks and creating storybooks. Books and hands on activities are provided for you.

When: Volunteers are needed Fridays from 3-5 p.m.
Age: Must be 18 years or older

 Thriving Minds Afterschool Program
Volunteers are needed to assist with arts and crafts activities, promote reading to children and assist with homework. This program is ongoing in 31 Dallas ISD schools with the Big Thoughts vision of improving the quality of education. Volunteers are asked to bring their creativity and materials. Basic reading skills are required.
When: Monday through Friday from 3-6 p.m.
Age: Must be 18 years or older

For more information on volunteering, please visit our website.

We’re excited to be part of One Man Dallas and Cadillac Cares Contest!

One Man Dallas is designed to encourage more men to volunteer with charitable organizations and engage in community projects that make our communities a better place to live and work. Held previously in Chicago and Minneapolis, One Man has come to Dallas to put the spotlight on men who can provide the inspiration for others to get involved.

One of our board members, Mark Melton, has been selected as Big Thought’s nominee. We are fortunate to have Mark as an advocate and supporter of Big Thought and the children we serve. Please help recognize Mark’s efforts by voting for him on the One Man Dallas website through May 19.

You can also support One Man Dallas by attending one of the free ‘Meet the Men’ happy hours:Tickets to the final event on May 19, where the winner will be announced, are available for purchase. Visit onemandallas.com for more information.

Thursday, April 21 at 6 p.m. at Park Place Mercedes Benz
Wednesday, April 27 at 6 p.m. at Nest on McKinney Avenue
Wednesday, May 4 at 6 p.m. at the Boardroom Salon
Thursday, May 12 at 6 p.m. at the Aloft Hotel 

Big Thought is also participating in the Cadillac Cares Contest, which runs through May 9. By ‘liking’ the Metroplex Cadillac Dealers’ Facebook page and casting a vote for Big Thought on their page, you can help us win a $50,000 advertising campaign to help us raise awareness about Big Thought’s mission. You can vote once a day every day between today and May 9!

Please share this information with your friends and encourage them to get involved! Thank you for your support as we strive to provide 100% of kids with the opportunity to think creatively, achieve academically, make healthy choices and become productive, forward-thinking and engaged citizens.

Get Involved

Looking for things to do this holiday season? Try giving back to your favorite nonprofits! Donate, Volunteer, get Hired - the possibilities are endless. These links will take you to places where you can do those things for us, but be sure to check out our 70+ arts & cultural partners, too. Every nonprofit is in need of help for the holidays and we truly appreciate the generosity and support of our community!

New Website Feature: "5 Things"

If you've been to our new website recently, you may have noticed a fun new gadget at the bottom of our homepage. Our staff, board, artists and providers are all residents, parents and students just like you, so we thought we'd get our heads together and try to help you find fun, creative ways to spend your days. Rather than throw ALL that information into one big list, we decided to break it up into smaller lists of "5 Things" - 5 Things to DO, 5 Things to TRY...you get the picture.

Then we decided to take it one step further and add some unique content. To that end, we've had our staff collaborate on a how-to guide for museum visiting; had several Board members help us make a list of ways to advocate for the arts; and created a primer for the new SLANT 45 program. You can check all of those lists out in our Archive.

This week's topic is 5 Things To Do This Weekend in Dallas - including visiting the State Fair (we even found deals to make it cheaper!), riding on the McKinney Streetcars through uptown and checking out programs and classes as well as books at the Dallas Public Library. We're sure you've found plenty of fun (& free!) things to do in Dallas, so we want to open this one up to collaboration from YOU: what are YOUR weekend family plans? Got anything free or low-cost that you're attending? Let us know - and stay tuned for next week's topic: 5 Things To Write, featuring writing activities and exercises used by Big Thought artist Will Richey!