Southlake DPS
In the 14 years they’ve been co-hosting National Night Out with the Southlake Department of Public Safety, the Southlake Rotary Club has donated more than $65,000 total in scholarships for college-bound students of DPS employees. This year, they’re preparing to make that number reach more than $80,000.
National Night Out is an annual event Southlake Rotary puts on for Southlake DPS. Fundraising committee co-chair Phyllis Catton says they started National Night Out years ago to connect the public with the community’s first responders, showing that there’s more to them than just handing out tickets.
“When we started this, we wanted citizens to come to the town square and meet the officers and the firemen in person,” Phyllis says. “They’d bring out the fire engines, their police cars and motorcycles and let the kids play on them. We wanted the community to get to know the officers and the firemen that serve them. That was how all this started.”
But the event has especially taken off in the past two years, according to fundraising committee co-chair John Pichler. Last year, he says their sponsorship donations were up 50% from the previous year, and have jumped another 50% this year. This enables the organization to double its scholarship awards to $16,000 this year.
“We’ve reached the point of critical mass,” John says. “We’ve had sponsors call us before we’ve even had enough time to call them. It’s really exciting to see an event growing like this, and it really speaks to the individuals and businesses wanting to show their support.”
The Southlake Rotary Club was able to raise its record-breaking scholarship numbers thanks to its chief sponsors Pieter Andries Jewelers, Stacy Furniture & Design, TD Ameritrade and Fluff Marketing & Promotional Products, who have each donated $2,500 to the event. In addition to their scholarship awards, the Rotary Club will also recognize Southlake DPS’s firefighter and police officer of the year.
National Night Out will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday at the Rustin Park Pavilion, located at 1400 E. Southlake Blvd. in Southlake Town Square. Food and drinks will be provided, as well as a petting zoo, face painting and other special giveaways.