Friends of Lost Boys Looking For Runners
That headline should really have some quotation marks around “Friends of Lost Boys.” Otherwise, totally different meaning.
Moving on, in last week’s paper I wrote briefly about how University Park will look into whether or not to restrict fun runs throughout the city, in an effort to streamline the application process. Currently, different groups can petition the city to host a run, and, every time, they’re approved.
The folks at Friends of Lost Boys caught up with me on Sunday, to discuss some perceived differences in my interpretation of the event, and theirs. Deanna Charles wrote:
Friends of Lost Boys, DFW (FLB) was surprised to get top billing on the front page of the PCP last week. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the race launch we were looking for! Thus, we would love an opportunity to explain our rationale behind our Thursday evening decision and race’s overall purpose to the community. A LOT of thought and planning has gone into this race and the article raises a lot of questions and concerns.
Here’s what’s missing that the community should know:
Friends of Lost Boys, DFW was created in 2010 by three Park Cities women to assist the 100+ Sudanese Lost Boys living in DFW. Over 90% of funds raised support their tuition expenses to Richland College, UNT, UTD, etc.. aside from emergencies. FLB, a local 501c3 volunteer nonprofit, is also dedicated to mentoring, securing employment, etc… Here’s what is important: these Lost Boys live and work among us at Tom Thumb, Central Market, Home Depot, etc.. They politely help us as we shop in area stores though we do not realize they are young war survivors who need help. As refugees, they have NO American families yet possess a strong desire for education being dubbed the “seeds of Sudan”. They strive for independence and do not rely on government assistance while working minimum wage jobs and juggling community college. Collectively, they want to help their Sudanese villages someday and are men of high values and integrity. FLB hopes to allow them to continue their studies over the next two years but needs to raise significant funds to enable this to happen. This is the purpose of our race.
The three founders of “Friends of Lost Boys”, Dawn West (President), Lois Glasgow (VP) and Deanna Charles (Secretary) live in UP/HP and absolutely DO NOT want to hassle our neighbors and friends. This is why we initially targeted SMU because we knew college was out for summer. Likewise, we felt students fresh out of school would not want to wake up on a Saturday morning. We targeted Luke’s Locker because they are race experts. We learned from Luke’s that due to construction on SMU campus, half of our race would need to take place on a few quiet UP streets. We chose Thursday from Luke’s recommendation that traffic would be lighter than Friday. On every operation-related issue, we have deferred to both SMU police and Luke’s. Since our race is a “fun run” and not chip timed, there won’t be a massive crowd and no streets will be closed. However, FLB has hired SMU police to monitor SMU and UP streets affected by the race. In other words, residents will be able to get in/out of their homes; they will just need to be careful. Notices will be put on doors of all affected neighbors warning them a week in advance and thanking them for their cooperation.
Please note we are extremely grateful to City Council for approving our race, and are sensitive to their concerns.
Like all the fun runs that wind their way through University Park, this is for a good cause. If you want to run, head to FriendsOfLostBoys.org.
I think this is fabulous. They have thoughtfully thought out the details and they are trying to help these men. Kuddos to the women for giving of their time, energy and money to do something very worthy.
Hey Brad, is that writer lingo? I thought those were quotation marks and slanty font was italacized. But then again, I’m out of coffee. I was trying to think of a way to write something witty, but my brain is firing on fumes.
Khakijack- No, not writer lingo, just incompetence. I fixed it. Thanks.
There is no incompetence at the Park Cities People! Get the man some more caffeine!
This run is for a great cause. I recently read another story about the many immigrants in Vickery Meadows area of Dallas. It’s really humbling to know the hardships many of our Dallas neighbors have endured.