We are so delighted to have Isabel Wilkerson as our 21st Annual Destiny Award Luncheon speaker. This virtual experience will be held on Friday, March 26, 2021 at 11:30 am. We are sure Wilkerson will captivate your attention with her gifted voice. Isabel Wilkerson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Humanities Medal, is the author of The New York Times bestsellers The Warmth of Other Suns and Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. A gifted storyteller, Wilkerson captivates audiences with the universal story of migration and the enduring search for the American dream, the origins of our shared commonality. She draws a direct link between the leaderless revolution known as the Great Migration and the protest movements for social justice today.

Announcing the 1600 Book Club, facilitated by Emma Rodgers, Celebrated Entrepreneur and Book Aficionado, Thursday, February 18 & Thursday, March 11, 6:30- 8:00 PM. As St. Philip’s counts down to its virtual 21st Annual Destiny Award Luncheon, join us for an engaging book club and discussion of our keynote speaker, Isabel Wilkerson’s, award winning book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, an eye-opening story of people and history.

Register for the Book Club by February 17th.

Support our partner and local bookstore Interabang Books by purchasing your copy of Caste here.

Although St. Philip’s celebrates Black History regularly, February is the national recognition of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their role in U.S. history. Celebrate this month with us on social media as we honor, highlight, and cherish the past, present, and future of black history with our ABC’s of Black History Month.

Last month, our country witnessed a historic milestone for all women, and especially women of color. As Joe Biden was sworn into office as the 46th President of the United States, we also bear witness to see the first woman, first African American, and first South Asian Vice President of the United States of America. Our students, faculty, and staff celebrated this momentous occasion by wearing the Vice President’s staple items, Chucks and pearls.

We would like to thank NBC 5 for watching the inauguration with our 6th graders and allowing them to share just how special this day was and the hope it brings them. Watch our story here. New Vice President Makes History and Shows Dallas Elementary Students Future Possibilities – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth (nbcdfw.com)  

YOUR REVIEWS MATTER: Word of mouth from happy students and parents is the best way to spread the good news about St. Philip’s School & Community Center! Reviews on various websites help promote our school. Information and links to share your experience can be found here.

EARN TUITION CREDIT FOR YOUR STUDENT: The highest compliment our parents can pay us is the referral of family or friends. In appreciation, for each new student you refer that enrolls and attends St. Philip’s, your family will be awarded a $200 tuition credit through our referral program!

Take a seat in a classroom or take a virtual tour. Learn more about how we provide an unparalleled experience for students PreK2 thru 6th grade. Share with a friend or family!

More videos about St. Philip's Unparalleled Experience: Why St. Philip’s

Take a peek inside our classrooms and learn about our curriculum: St. Philip's Virtual Tour.

It’s never too late to create goals for yourself. That’s exactly what our girls did last month during Girls Night out. Each young lady made their own vision board and talked about the goals they have for this year. They also participated in a scavenger hunt and watched the Disney movie SOUL. Please join us for our next event on February 12th. This fun-filled virtual mentorship and networking program is for young ladies in 1st - 12th grades. If you are interested in signing up for our next Girls Night Out event, sign up here.

St. Philip’s alum Abeni Phillips, class of 2004, recently released a newsletter called Sunday Forever. The newsletter is a body of stories written by Abeni and other talented writers geared toward empowering readers to have a lifetime of wonderful Sundays. Take a moment to read and subscribe to her body of work by clicking here.

Phillips also received a grant from Facebook to establish a prison reform organization she’s been working on for the last couple of years. She is also producing her first Feature Film this year. Stay tuned for the greatness that lies ahead for Abeni Phillips.

St. Philip's is establishing a Vaccine Registration Center to assist neighbors who want to register for the COVID-19 vaccine. We are one of 5 community partners in South Dallas that our District 7 Councilman, Adam Bazaldua, is working with to set up Vaccine Registration Centers. We will operate this Center from our Doherty Family Fieldhouse. Beginning on Saturday, February 6, the hours of operation will be Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday from 9am -12pm. 

Having a local registration center is only one tool of several, including a new, more robust phone bank being rolled out by Dallas County to help residents with limited access to technology. Data shows only 5% of the initial Dallas County vaccines went to people in South and Southern Dallas. There are many reasons for it, but one is that some residents lack the information, technology, or capacity to register. The Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation created a Vulnerability Index tool to identify subpopulations who are at high risk for complications and mortality from COVID-19 and/or who have factors that place them at greater risk of infection. Our zip code, 75215, was among 11 in the "most vulnerable", and 6 of the remaining 10 were proximate to us, in our City Council District 7. We are hopeful that our new registration center and other important tools being deployed will help change this trajectory.

 

If you are interested in helping out at our Vaccine Registration Center, please visit our website as we will be adding new volunteer opportunities daily, or contact LaSheryl Walker at community@stphilips.com.

The service of AmeriCorps has been extremely beneficial to the ministry of St. Philip’s School and Community Center, both in the Aunt Bette’s Community Pantry and in our After School Program. Felicia and Angela are two of the five AmeriCorps members who serve in our pantry regularly throughout the school year by stocking shelves, building nonperishable food boxes, bagging fresh lettuce and produce, and helping manage the volunteers.

In addition to working in the pantry, AmeriCorps members also work with students in the classroom. Our students are always excited to spend time with Hannah, Tamara and Zuri. The AmeriCorps members help with Arts and Crafts, Reading Time, Robotics, Kids in the Kitchen, and let’s not forget extra time in the gym. They have also assisted our teachers with classroom projects, virtual kits, and bulletin boards! We don’t know what we would do without these wonderful, reliable, creative young ladies! Thank you to AmeriCorps for continuing to serve throughout Dallas!

Aunt Bette’s Community Pantry has a few volunteer slots available on Mondays from 7:45am-11:15 am. All volunteers must wear masks and gloves, maintain safe social distancing, and neighbors are required to wear masks upon arrival. Masks are provided for those without one. If you are interested in helping out, sign up here. Sign up to volunteer.

St. John’s Episcopal School has delivered fresh produce from their community garden to Aunt Bette’s Community Pantry every Monday since the beginning of the school year. The community garden was started 3 years ago after Tony Adler, 6th grade English teacher, was inspired by BonTon Farms where students from St. John’s had been volunteering. St. John’s wanted to do something similar on their grounds to serve the community. Their 12 beds sow the seeds of 1000 pounds of produce annually, all to be donated to Aunt Bette’s Community Pantry.

Additionally, the 8th graders at St. John’s Episcopal School recently organized a canned food drive for St. Philip’s in conjunction with their Christmas Light Tour. One of the houses on the tour served as a drop-off for the donations. The students then organized and loaded 618 pounds of food to be delivered to the pantry. What a blessing for Aunt Bette’s Community Pantry to be the recipient of the produce from the community garden and the large donation of food at Christmas. Thank you St. John’s Episcopal School!

Top Ladies of Distinction, a non-profit, educational, humanitarian organization, adopted Aunt Bette’s Food Pantry for their Annual Day of Service on MLK Day. Lady Loren Gilbert-Smith, President of the Dallas chapter, shared: “We were proud to stock the pantry for a second year in a row, and to partner with the National Council of Negro Women and Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority in this important project.” Through their donation drive on January 18, the Ladies collected 545 pounds of canned goods and non-perishable food items and over 500 plastics bags for the pantry! We want to express our sincere gratitude to Top Ladies of Distinction for their continued support. It is because of organizations like this that we are able to better serve our community.

In related news, we are so proud of our very own LaSheryl Walker, Director of Community Services, who was recently named “Top Lady of the Year” by the Dallas chapter of Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc. Lady Walker has provided effective leadership and “followship" in the chapter and has served as Top Teens of America Dallas Chapter Advisor. As Chairman of the Community Beautification Programmatic Thrust, she coordinated the cleanup of the area around St. Philip’s and led the chapter’s gardening and recycling effort. Congratulations LaSheryl - we are so proud of you!

Helping the community while providing a safe opportunity to exercise, Bent Tree tennis pro, Barbora Vykydalova, organized a COVID-19 tennis competition. Participants donated money weekly for match play raising $3,210. Looking for a worthy cause to receive the funds, Barbora learned about Aunt Bette’s Community Pantry through several Friends of St. Philip’s members who participated in the league. We would like to extend our gratitude to Barbora and the many ladies of Bent Tree Tennis for their compassion and generous support of the pantry.

The Friends of St. Philip’s membership drive continues. Thank you to those who have already renewed, and a warm welcome to new members! Please continue to share the Friends' mission with others. For more information or to join Friends of St. Philip’s click here.

Please save the date for our General Membership Meeting via Zoom on Wednesday, February 10 from 10:30am-11:15am. Our guest speakers will be Ashlee Kleinert (Ruthie’s Rolling Café), Chad Houser (Café Momentum), and Dr. Froswa Booker-Drew (VP of Community Affairs and Strategic Alliances for the State Fair of Texas). Ashlee and Chad will discuss their organizations and a new collaboration for a brick-and-mortar Ruthie’s Rolling Café on MLK Jr Blvd. Dr. Booker-Drew will discuss the exciting community initiatives and programs underway with the State Fair of Texas. Email Friends of St. Philip's for details.

Show your support for Friends of St. Philip’s while volunteering or out and about by wearing these fun shirts designed by Friends’ member Kris Bradford. The shirts are available to purchase online for $25 here. Proceeds benefit FOSP outreach. 

We are currently hiring for a Middle school instructor, Volunteer Coordinator, and a Custodian. We are seeking great talent to join our team. Do they have a Servant Heart? Are they Respectful, Trustworthy, Pursuing Excellence, Collaborative, and Dedicated? If these values stand true, send them to our website to learn more.

We want to hear from you! We now have an anonymous form that can be submitted electronically to offer feedback regarding your experience, suggestions, or compliments.

For those who have asked what you can do to support St. Philip’s – PRAY and DONATE. Our needs and that of those we serve continue and grow daily. You can make an online charitable donation here to support our families.

MAKE A DONATION TO ST. PHILIP'S