Record-Breaking Fun

Get your bathing suits out of storage ... It may have snowed just mere days ago, but Great Wolf Lodge is revved up and ready to ring in spring.

This Friday and Saturday (March 26-27) Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine will host a Waterslide-A-Thon benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters from 5pm Fri-4:59pm Sat. The Waterslide-A-Thon is open to the public from 10pm Fri-9am Sat. You and your family can take as many trips down the slide for a mere $5 per person sans hotel stay. While you won't have full access to the park, visitors will be able to slide down the River Canyon Run as many times as desired. Each trip down the slide (for kids 42 inches and taller) counts toward the Great Wolf Lodge's aspiration of breaking the Guinness World Record for "Longest Distance Water Sliding in 24 Hours." Additionally, the water park will boast live entertainment, games and prizes throughout the night.

And, what's better is that this event doesn't have limited tickets like the last benefit hosted by Great Wolf Lodge (which we blogged about here). Unlimited passes are available and open to the public; pick up your tickets upon arrival (they cannot be purchased in advance).

Great Wolf Lodge
Grapevine, 800/693-9653
www.greatwolf.com

—Gretchen

Celebrating Kids Who Give Back

More than two thirds of schools nationwide offer service opportunities for students (according to Corporation for National & Community Service). Is your son or daughter one of the millions of children who give back to his or her community?

If so, take a second to recognize your enthusiastic volunteer's good work: nominate him as a Huggable Hero, a recognition award offered by Build-A-Bear Workshop. Kids age 8-18 (who have notably contributed to their local communities) may be nominated online here through Feb. 26.

Ten winners will be selected nationwide, and the winners will each receive $7,500 in the form of an educational scholarship as well as $2,500 to be donated to the charity of each Huggable Hero's choice.

—Gretchen

Do You Know a Notable Mom?

The Women's Museum in Dallas is in search of a Dallas-area woman who's given back to the Dallas community; the museum needs your help!

If you know of a woman in the greater Dallas area who has contributed to women and children in the community, nominate her for The Maura Award, one of the highest honors given in Dallas for women helping women. The award is a tribute to the passion, spirit and commitment of The Women's Museum to women's issues.

To nominate a fellow Dallas female, go here and fill out a short survey. Voting ends Feb. 1 and the 2010 recipients of the award will be announced on May 20 at the museum's annual celebration.

—Gretchen

Cookie Season!

Girl Scout Cookie Season is right around the corner! Sales start January 8—have your orders ready and your nearest Girl Scout on speed dial! Orders will continue through the end of March.

This year, the girls add a new batch to the bunch: Thank U Berry Munch, a cranberry and white-fudge cookie (sounds delicious!). All the favorites (like Thin Mints, Samoas and more) will remain on the cookie roster.

To learn how to order cookies or support "Project Troop to Troop" (which provides cookies to men and women in the armed forces), go here.

—Gretchen

Run the Rock For a Cause

Get ready to run this weekend (or at least dodge traffic barriers) as the MetroPCS Dallas White Rock Marathon weekend kicks off on Saturday. While the marathon and half-marathon race isn't until Sunday, there are plenty of activities that you and your family can enjoy Saturday morning.

Registration is still rolling for the The Mayor's Race 5K Fun Run and Walk—a non-competitive course starting at 9 a.m. that trails across the Trinity River, through historic Oak Cliff and back to City Hall Plaza (similar to the Turkey Trot course, if you're an ol' pro!). The one-mile run (a great chance for your budding runner to burn off some extra energy!) kicks off shortly after the 5K. Strollers are welcome.

The Mayor's 5K race begins at the corner of S. Griffin Street and Ceremonial Drive. Registration is free (yes, free!) for DISD students; and race-day registration is $20 per person. Online registration has closed, but go here to read more about how to register starting at 7 a.m. on Saturday.

After the Mayor's 5K, take your family to the Kid’s Fit and Fun Pavilion at the Race Expo held in the Dallas Convention center, starting at 10 a.m. Here you'll find games, healthy snacks and fitness advice fit for the whole family.

And, in addition to feeling great from running, know that by registering for any of this weekend's events (the 1-mile, 5K, half marathon or marathon) you are supporting a great cause: Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. For the past 13 years, Scottish Rite has been the primary beneficiary for this mega race which draws thousands of participants every year.

I look forward to seeing kids from Scottish Rite out with signs and awesome costumes on the course this year (I will be running the half marathon). It is so motivating to see them cheering on the runners—their smiling faces always help me carry on! To all race participants: Good luck and happy running!

Note: the half-marathon race and relay races have sold out, but registration for the full marathon is still available on race day.

—Gretchen

"Pink"tober!

Want to shop for a cause during October (better known as Breast Cancer Awareness Month)? Head to Market Street grocery store — in Plano, Frisco, Allen, McKinney, Colleyville or Coppell — and buy a reusable bag ($1). With each purchase, Market Street will donate 50 cents to Susan G. Komen.

So you can help save the planet and give money to research efforts saving thousands of lives every year!

Want to take it one step further? Go to Market Street's Web site and submit a story for the "Who Do You Pink For" contest. With each submission, Market Street will donate $20 to Susan G. Komen — not with a winner, but with each story you share about "who you pink for"! Start your storytelling!

—Gretchen

Take a Hike Ike: What You Can Do to Help Evacuees

Currently, the Dallas Convention Center Shelter is housing more than 900 residents that have been evacuated from Houston and the surrounding areas due to the nearing threat of Hurricane Ike. As we all watch our TV screens to see the most up-to-date path of the hurricane, you might be compelled to help our fellow Texans. Here's how you can help:

Donations to help purchase food can be made to the North Texas Food Bank through their Web site: www.ntfb.org.

Donations to help purchase other essentials can be made to the Salvation Army through their Web site: www.salvationarmydfw.org.

Volunteers may register for assignments with the Volunteer Center of North Texas through their Web site: www.volunteernorthtexas.org or by calling 866/797-8268.

Cash donations to help provide other assistance can be made to the American Red Cross by calling 800/RED-CROSS or at www.redcross.org.

—Gretchen

Batter Up!

Baseball is widely accepted as America's favorite past time — especially during the summer months! Boys and girls of all ages try their swing at the plate, whether it's in an organized tee-ball league or a competitive softball club.

Xavier Polisetty, a Grapevine 7-year-old, has a deep love for the game of baseball — a love that led him to enter into the Diamonds in the Rough youth baseball contest sponsored by Briggs & Stratton, an international producer of gasoline engines. The contest will award $100,000 to youth winners across the country, specifically aimed to help maintain the child's chosen ball park.

Xavier penned an essay for the contest, saying that he would use the $5,000 regional prize to "help Grapevine to improve the Oak Grove ballfield. We have so many teams. The ballfield is too small. We need more batting cages, more restrooms. Also, we need a better water drainage system. When it rains, we can’t play and I miss it a lot."

His essay and obvious dedication to the game won him the $5,000 prize — and now he's batting for the national grand prize: an additional $5,000 for his chosen field (the Oak Grove Park) and a trip for four to New York City to see a game in the final season of Yankee Stadium!

But Xavier needs your help! Go to the Diamonds in the Rough contest Web site and vote (he is competing against 19 other regional winners across the nation).

Online voting ends at at midnight on April 20 — so click and vote for a good cause!

—Gretchen

Baldologists Raise Funds for Pediatric Cancer Research

Pediatric oncologists at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Medical Center Dallas went beyond the call of duty Saturday, Mar 29, by shaving their heads in order to raise money and awareness for childhood cancer research.

Drs. Martha Stegner, Mark Hatley, Naomi Winick and Tim McCavit joined the effort of St. Baldrick's Foundation, which is a non-profit charity that raises money primarily through head-shaving events. Bringing laughs to the crowd of children and adult supporters, the doctors, who call themselves the "Baldologists," each took a seat in the barber chair to undergo the symbolic haircut.

The Baldologists have a fundraising goal of $20,000, which they have yet to surpass. To pledge your support of the cause, go to their team Web site and click "download a donation form."

—Gretchen

Fired Up

If you’ve seen recent news articles about the state of the Dallas Fire Department, you can probably tell that these guys have their hands full. As if fighting fires wasn’t grueling and dangerous enough, a recent surge in citywide 911 calls has demanded that many of them wear the hat of emergency medical technician, as well.

And so, a donation of new workout equipment to the Dallas Fire-Rescue Training Academy this week by the Leary Firefighters Foundation couldn’t have come at a better time.

The foundation’s namesake, Dennis Leary, is not a firefighter, but he plays a good one on FX Network’s Rescue Me. He also has no apparent ties to North Texas, just a passion and respect for the job and an organization that takes care of firefighters nationwide.

You can read more about the Leary Firefighters Foundation at www.learyfirefighters.org, including what inspired Leary to start it back in 2000. There are ways to help, funds to contribute to, and a strong message of support for those who come to our rescue at a moment’s notice - something that is easy to appreciate when it hits close to home.