News

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Anna Salton Eisen and her son Aaron Eisen (a CISD alum) visited four Carroll ISD campuses for Texas Holocaust Remembrance Week. Here's a clip from Carroll Senior High School, where the students learned about Anna’s father who survived 10 concentration camps and the Eisens’ upcoming film “In My Father’s Words.” 

One Southlake is spreading its message across North Texas.  In November we presented to Parker County Conservatives in Weatherford, Texas. In January we traveled to Mingus on a cold Monday (Inauguration night) to present to the Palo Pinto County Conservative Club. We are so grateful for the warm receptions and encouragement for our programs we've been receiving.  

We are proud to announce our 2024 Scholarship Winners! 🎉 🎓

We awarded $1,500 to Ansh Chouhan from Colleyville Heritage (top picture) High School; $1,000 Hannah Vinas from Southlake Carroll Senior High (left bottom); and Honorable Mentions to Logan Dorner (bottom right) from Colleyville Heritage High School and Henry Huynh from Crowley Collegiate Academy (not pictured). 

A big thanks to our scholarship committee, judges and everyone who took the time to apply.  

What was it like to escape Vietnam in a small boat? Be labeled an ‘enemy the state’ once you declared you wanted to leave your native land? To have your family’s property seized by the state? 

Our panelists laid it all out April 7 at our "Live to Tell: Witnesses to authoritarian regimes share their stories and warnings for America" panel in collaboration with the Forge Room that took place at Birchman Baptist Church in Fort Worth. 

In a discussion moderated by One Southlake Vice President Luis Argote, Andy H. Nguyen described his harrowing escape from Vietnam; Al Riera talked about Cuba under Fidel Castro and the lottery that saved his family; and Dr. James Kogan (Latvia) and Laura Laird (Romania) described life under repressive Soviet rule.  "Hearing their courageous stories was deeply inspiring," one attendee said. "Thank you for your boldness to speak the truth."  

One Southlake speaker Anna Salton Eisen presented the story of her Holocaust survivor  father George Salton to about 4,000 students at Southlake Carroll ISD schools during Holocaust Remembrance Week, which took place Jan. 22-26. 

Anna is the co-author of “The 23rd Psalm: A Holocaust Memoir,” and “Pillar of Salt: A Daughter’s Life in the Shadow of the Holocaust,” She is also the executive producer of the upcoming documentary film “In My Father’s Words” based on both of her books. You can view a teaser of her film here. 

In her 20-minute video presentation which was made available to 7th through 12th graders, Anna tells the story of her father surviving 10 different concentration camps during World War II. 

Anna and her son Aaron, who is the co-author of "Pillar of Salt" and attend Southlake schools, made themselves available all week to do Q&As at the schools. Students at Carroll Senior High packed the library on Jan. 25 during lunch to hear her speak and answer questions. 

Both Anna's book and her video are on the approved list of educational materials from the Texas Holocaust, Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission.  

A record number of seventh through 12th grade students toured the One Southlake Living Library on Nov. 8. The students were from the  Southlake 1st and 2nd ward youth groups from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A huge thank you to the Wade family who hosted our event and all the speakers and volunteers who helped out behind the scenes. 

The One Southlake booths at Celebrate Southlake and Somos Southlake in September were hits! History buffs competed in One Southlake Jeopardy.  We also had crafts for kids and international candy for prizes. We had hundreds of people come by to learn more about our programs. We're looking to do it again next year. 

Seventh and Eighth Grade Students from Holy Trinity Catholic School in Grapevine gave the Living Library a warm reception on May 2. This was our first official event in a school setting. We had 10 speakers representing nine different countries: China, Mexico, the former Yugoslavia, Poland, East Germany, Colombia, Peru, the former U.S.S.R. (Ukraine) and Laos. 

Biggest “learning” takeaway: 

• “It’s a gift to have the opportunities to live with free speech, equal opportunity.” 
• “People have so many fascinating stories; we should listen and learn.”  
• “How difficult life is in communism-controlled countries.” 
• ‘“I learned about socialism.”
• “That everyone has a story to tell, and we’re all human.” 
• “Communism halts economic progress.” 
• “That countries are sometimes very different from the U.S. and we are kind of living in a bubble.” 
• “Everything in life comes from hard work.”

Asked What’s one thing you could change about the Living Library?, responses (which included requests for more snacks) were overall positive. Here are a few: “Nothing; It’s absolutely great in my opinion!” “I wish I would have more time to go to the all the stations.” “Nothing; I loved it.” 

Stay tuned for more Living Library and speaker engagements later this year! 

Book your tickets today for One Southlake's April 14 fundraiser celebration. Come experience the Living Library while you mingle and enjoy food and adult beverages. We'll have a popular taco truck serving on site. 

• Can't make the event and want to donate to our scholarship fund and speaker programs? Click through to our  ticket site to make a donation. 
• Become a 2023 Sponsor and get special VIP ticket package and branding. Visit our sponsorship page for details. 

One Southlake is pleased to announce it will be awarding a one-time $500 scholarship offered to two students in 11th or 12th grade. Scholarships will be awarded to students who plan to attend accredited undergraduate colleges and universities, or vocational/technical and trade schools.

Application Requirements

• Application form required
• Essay required
• One Academic recommendation

We recently presented our first-ever Living Library to a youth group in Trophy Club. Thirteen speakers shared their stories about Chile, Vietnam, Venezuela, India, USSR, Poland, China, Colombia, Latvia, Brazil, Mexico and Cuba.  The students loved the program--they only wished they could go to more speaker tables. Click here to see what they had to say. 

The Champions Rotary members in Justin, Texas, gave One Southlake a warm welcome at their September 7 meeting. The audience was very interested in how they could support us. We're so grateful for all those who came to listen to our presentation and provided feedback. If your organization is interested in learning more about our programs, please email us at OneSouthlake@gmail.com