Who said Christmas is long gone? Not the folks at Jubilee Park & Community Center. They just received a nice check . . . no, make that a very nice check ($100,000) from the PlainsCapital Corporation family (PlainsCapital Bank, FirstSouthwest and PrimeLending) to totally renovate Jubilee Park’s Teen Place.
The current building is a converted Habitat for Humanity house for “Jubilee Park’s youth and teen after-school programs that provide a safe and nurturing environment for local students.”
But the building just wasn’t right for kids to “study and learn.” It was a house for living, not learning! Thanks to the check, “a full renovation, both inside and out, will make the space more open, inviting and accessible for neighborhood youth.”
After the check was presented, the first thing that took place was a big old demolition of the building’s outer wall. On hand were all types of VIPs including Pete Villarreal, Latonia Donaldson, Jerry Schaffner, Tom Harbison, Ron Davis, Jay Negerra and PlainsCapital’s mascot Mo the Buffalo.
According to PlainsCapital Bank Dallas Region Chairman George McCleskey, “At PlainsCapital Corporation, we are committed to improving the communities where we live and do business and we are honored to partner with Jubilee Park, an organization that shares this commitment to our local community and youth population. We are proud to sponsor the renovation project, as well as youth financial literacy programs that will provide future generations with the tools they need to make sound financial decisions.”
Any money that is not used for the renovation will be “used to implement financial literacy education programs for middle school student at Jubilee Park, as well as a ‘Pays for A’s’ program that will reward students with $5 for every ‘A’ received on their report card after they complete the financial literacy program.”
For area newbies, Jubilee Park is a 62-block neighborhood near Fair Park in southeast Dallas that has been undergoing revitalization since 1997.
“Jubilee Park is excited to partner with PlainsCapital for the Teen Place renovation,” said Jubilee Park Executive Director Ben Leal. “The original space was a single-family home and did not function well as a space to provide after-school and youth programming. Because of the generosity of PlainsCapital Bank, FirstSouthwest and PrimeLending, the facility will soon become a place where the youth and teens of southeast Dallas can study and learn.”
This six-figure donation will not only renovate a building, it will result in youngsters taking their experiences to classrooms and benefiting for years to come.
Photo provided by PlainsCapital Corporation