News
Wise County
An entire Turning Point USA high school chapter and dozens of homeschool students were among the packed crowd that attended our Wise County Conservatives panel in September. The audience got to hear our speakers’ moving stories about growing up in Poland, Vietnam, Albania and Venezuela.
Scholarship winners announced
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.
Rwandan genocide survivor shares her story
One Southlake speaker Providence Umugwaneza shared her incredible survival story April 23 at AMAC Action’s meeting at the Grapevine Convention Center.
This year marks the 30th Anniversary of the Genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda. In 100 days, nearly 800,000 were killed, representing more than 70 percent of the Tutsis in the country. Providence, who was signing copies of her book “Next Couple Hours,” recounted how she survived by hiding in the bush. She described that Hutu attackers were deeply influenced by propaganda and were known to have a machete in one hand and a radio blasting hateful propaganda in the other. She is a commissioner on the Texas Holocaust, Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission.
"Live to Tell" presents a moving panel
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."
The Living Library Comes to the Library
During spring break we held a special Living Library for the Southlake Public Library at its Parkwood Drive. location.
Families who attended the event got to hear our speakers from Syria, Ukraine, China, Vietnam and Rwanda.
Providence Umugwaneza, a child survivor of the Rwanda Genocide perpetrated against the Tutsis, made her speaking debut at a One Southlake event. Providence is a commissioner on the Texas Holocaust, Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission.
Anna Salton Eisen reaches 4,000 CISD students with her Holocaust Remembrance Presentation
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.
International Potluck launches 2024
One Southlake kicked off the year with an International Potluck to celebrate our speakers and volunteers and share some of the exciting events we have planned for the year.
We had a great crowd and so much amazing food from around the world. Entrees included:: Nalesniki (Polish crepes); Russian potato salad, Syrian tabbouli; Indian samosas; Chinese dumplings, South American Empandas, hummus and veggies and Königsberger Klopse (German meatballs).
Desserts included Salvadorean Semita and homemade German Stollen. We even had organic Rwandan coffee from one of our newest speakers to top it off.
Thank you for everyone who came and not only shared some of their favorite dishes but their personal histories as well.
Biggest Living Library to date
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.
Workshop welcomes new speakers
Welcome Tom Ha (third from the left), who grew up in Vietnam, and Meta Evenbly (fourth from the left) who grew up in the Netherlands. Meta is the author of "Brave Face: The Inspiring WWII Memoir of a Dutch/German Child." They are both new speakers to One Southlake and joined us at last night's speaker workshop. We're getting ready for next week's Living Library in Colleyville.
Celebrate Southlake and Somos Southlake Draw Crowds
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.
One Southlake partners with Holocaust survivor author and speaker
One Southlake is proud to partner with Anna Salton Eisen, author of "Pillar of Salt. a daughter's life in the shadow of the Holocaust." She speaks about her father's experience surviving 10 different concentration camps and her mother's efforts to find Jewish children after the war. She's in the process of a filming a story about her father's life.
We're excited to share her very moving and important stories.
Holy Trinity Catholic School hosts the Living Library
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!
Fundraiser packs the house with Living Books
A big thank you to everyone who came to the Living Library last Friday. We had a packed house with a dozen speakers talking about their experiences growing up outside the United States. We're so appreciate of our sponsor BioStone Animal Health, our hosts the Baker family and all our speakers and volunteers. People said they were moved by the stories. See some of their comments here.
Support us! One Southlake offers its speaker programs for free, and relies on contributions to fund its printing and marketing budget, as well as its scholarship program. Please consider a donation to help us reach more students with our history enrichment program. We bring history to life.
Give through One Southlake's PayPal Giving site or through our non-PayPal option. Checks can also be mailed to: One Southlake
300 State St. #92134 Southlake, TX 76092. Thank you!
Book your tickets today for the Living Library Fundraiser Celebration
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.
Robson Ranch Panel Discussion
A One Southlake panel discussion got a standing ovation on March 1 from the packed crowd at Robson Ranch Retirement Community. One Southlake Vice President Luis Argote moderated the discussion with Al Riera and Alex Parilli discussing their experiences living in Cuba and Venezuela, and how fast those countries changed under communism/socialism.
One Southlake announces two scholarships
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
One Southlake featured in 'Southlake Blvd. Magazine'
We're proud to be featured on page 48. of Southlake Blvd. Magazine. Grab an issue--they're out now! Here's a link to the magazine.
One Southlake puts on its first-ever Living Library
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.
One Southlake at SOMOS Southlake
One Southlake manned a booth at the second annual SOMOS Southlake Fiesta, the Hispanic Heritage Celebration on Oct. 2. It was a beautiful day and we were able to show off our programs to several hundred people who passed by our booth. Thank you to everyone who came out to help!
Champions Rotary welcomes One Southlake
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
One Southlake presents to CISD teachers
One Southlake presented our TEKS-based History Enrichment program at CISD’s Professional Development at Carroll High School in July. Nearly 20 teachers attended over two morning sessions. The feedback was very positive, and we're eager to see how we can share our program.
Launch Party
Launch Party was held on July 15, 2022, celebrating our official incorporation. Thanks to the speakers and many volunteers who make this program possible.
T-Shirts have arrived!
Our beautiful T-shirts (designed by a recent CSHS grad) have arrived! If you pre-ordered a T-Shirt, we'll be reaching out to you. Additional shirts are available. Email us at OneSouthlake@gmail.com