Live Love Appreciate

Dallas nonprofit showers city's hardest workers with gratitude

The Dallas nonprofit Love in Motion was created with one simple goal: to make others feel appreciated. Studies show that humans excel and tend to become more engaged when they are recognized for their work, and when educators and first responders are doing their best work, it can only impact our community in a positive way.

Pollo Corral built on this idea when he founded Love In Motion in 2012. The volunteer-led nonprofit is dedicated to providing tangible, recurring appreciation to teachers, police, and firefighters in the Dallas community.

Since its inception, the organization's impact has been felt by some of Dallas' most dedicated. More than 22,500 "live LOVE Appreciation" gifts — which include handwritten thank-you notes, snacks, drinks, and scratch-off lottery tickets — have been distributed across town as part of the 3,100 volunteer hours that the group has already logged.

"Whether it is by providing warm breakfast or by providing tokens of appreciation, it makes a difference," says Joli Angel Robinson, a manager at the Dallas Police Department. "Knowing that we are appreciated inspires a 'better together' mentality which overflows to our daily work."

Projects now reach over 1,000 educators and hundreds of first responders every month.

"As a principal, it means a lot to me to know that there are organizations like [Love in Motion] in the community who care about our profession and for what we do for our students," says Yazmine Cruz, principal of Kiest Elementary School. "It is recognition like this that truly makes a difference in our school and the community we serve."

Located in Deep Ellum at 2546 Elm St., Love in Motion hosts "live LOVE Appreciation" projects on the fourth Saturday of each month from 10 am-noon. Anyone can volunteer by coming out to prepare and package appreciation gifts, and as a bonus you'll also get to hang out with the group's mascot, Lola the llama (Lola loves selfies).

Other ways to be a part of this important work include donating items for the gift packages, such as $1 scratch-off tickets, snacks, or even instant coffee packs. Because Love in Motion is 100 percent donation sustained, you can also choose to set up an ongoing gift of at least $20 per month (all of which is tax deductible) at its website www.loveinmotion.info.

Police and firefighters feel the love from the group too.

Photo courtesy of Love in Motion

Police and firefighters feel the love from the group too.

charity promoted

rich population migration

Magnetic Texas pulls in ranking as No. 2 state for wealthy new residents

Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

Texas has no shortage of places for rich people to shop.

Not only has Texas' population exploded with new residents in recent years, but it's been a hot spot for high-income households on the move. A new report says Texas has added more wealthy new residents than any other state but Florida.

According to SmartAsset's 2023 study "Where High Earners Are Moving," 22,751 households who moved into Texas between 2020 and 2021 filed tax returns with a minimum adjusted gross income of $200,000 (the figure defined as "high earner" in the report). In that same time frame, 13,743 high-earning taxpayers moved out of state.

This resulted in Texas seeing the second-highest influx of wealthy newcomers in the U.S., totaling 9,008.

It's worth noting that 2020-2021 were the years most impacted by the pandemic and its economic, health, and lifestyle after-effects.

"Despite cost of living challenges, the number of high-earning American households continues to grow," the report's author said. "In 2021, 8.68 million tax returns indicated annual earnings exceeding $200,000 – up from 8.57 million returns just a year earlier. The migration of these high-earning households can have significant effects on a state’s tax base and finances."

Texas hung on to its No. 2 rank for the second consecutive year from SmartAsset's 2022 report, which accounted for the tax year between 2019 and 2020. At the time, the state had an inflow of more than 18,400 high-earning households, and an outflow of over 13,000.

Florida was the only state to outrank Texas for two years in a row with the highest migration of wealthy new taxpayers. Florida's 2023 net migration amounted to 27,567 households that earn over $200,000 a year.

Meanwhile, California and New York lost the most high-earning households in 2021.

"While these states had the largest net outflows of high earners in 2021, they still maintain some of the nation’s highest percentages of high-earning households," the report said. "In fact, at least 7.2 percent of the tax base in each of these states earn $200,000 or more per year."

With its lower housing, rent, and living costs - and no state income tax - Texas continues to attract new residents from out of state. All indications are that the population of Texas, and Dallas-Fort Worth, will continue to swell.

The top 10 states with the highest net migration of high-earning households are:

No. 1 – Florida (27,567)
No. 2 – Texas (9,008)
No. 3 – North Carolina (5,446)
No. 4 – Arizona (4,563)
No. 5 – South Carolina (4,510)
No. 6 – Tennessee (3,917)
No. 7 – Nevada (2,785)
No. 8 – Idaho (2,315)
No. 9 – Colorado (2,052)
No. 10 – Utah (1,752)

SmartAsset determined their rankings using IRS data from 2020 to 2021 from tax-filers reporting an adjusted gross income of $200,000 or more and moved in or out of a state.

The full report can be found on smartasset.com.

texas SmartAsset reports population growth