• Home
  • popular
  • Events
  • Submit New Event
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • News
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Home + Design
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • Innovation
  • Sports
  • Charity Guide
  • children
  • education
  • health
  • veterans
  • SOCIAL SERVICES
  • ARTS + CULTURE
  • animals
  • lgbtq
  • New Charity
  • Series
  • Delivery Limited
  • DTX Giveaway 2012
  • DTX Ski Magic
  • dtx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Your Home in the Sky
  • DTX Best of 2013
  • DTX Trailblazers
  • Tastemakers Dallas 2017
  • Healthy Perspectives
  • Neighborhood Eats 2015
  • The Art of Making Whiskey
  • DTX International Film Festival
  • DTX Tatum Brown
  • Tastemaker Awards 2016 Dallas
  • DTX McCurley 2014
  • DTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • DTX Beyond presents Party Perfect
  • DTX Texas Health Resources
  • DART 2018
  • Alexan Central
  • State Fair 2018
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Zatar
  • CityLine
  • Vision Veritas
  • Okay to Say
  • Hearts on the Trinity
  • DFW Auto Show 2015
  • Northpark 50
  • Anteks Curated
  • Red Bull Cliff Diving
  • Maggie Louise Confections Dallas
  • Gaia
  • Red Bull Global Rally Cross
  • NorthPark Holiday 2015
  • Ethan's View Dallas
  • DTX City Centre 2013
  • Galleria Dallas
  • Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Homes in Dallas Texas
  • DTX Island Time
  • Simpson Property Group SkyHouse
  • DIFFA
  • Lotus Shop
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Dallas
  • Clothes Circuit
  • DTX Tastemakers 2014
  • Elite Dental
  • Elan City Lights
  • Dallas Charity Guide
  • DTX Music Scene 2013
  • One Arts Party at the Plaza
  • J.R. Ewing
  • AMLI Design District Vibrant Living
  • Crest at Oak Park
  • Braun Enterprises Dallas
  • NorthPark
  • Victory Park
  • DTX Common Desk
  • DTX Osborne Advisors
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • DFW Showcase Tour of Homes
  • DTX Neighborhood Eats
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • DTX Auto Awards
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2017
  • Nasher Store
  • Guardian of The Glenlivet
  • Zyn22
  • Dallas Rx
  • Yellow Rose Gala
  • Opendoor
  • DTX Sun and Ski
  • Crow Collection
  • DTX Tastes of the Season
  • Skye of Turtle Creek Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival
  • DTX Charity Challenge
  • DTX Culture Motive
  • DTX Good Eats 2012
  • DTX_15Winks
  • St. Bernard Sports
  • Jose
  • DTX SMU 2014
  • DTX Up to Speed
  • st bernard
  • Ardan West Village
  • DTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Taste the Difference
  • Parktoberfest 2016
  • Bob's Steak and Chop House
  • DTX Smart Luxury
  • DTX Earth Day
  • DTX_Gaylord_Promoted_Series
  • IIDA Lavish
  • Huffhines Art Trails 2017
  • Red Bull Flying Bach Dallas
  • Y+A Real Estate
  • Beauty Basics
  • DTX Pet of the Week
  • Long Cove
  • Charity Challenge 2014
  • Legacy West
  • Wildflower
  • Stillwater Capital
  • Tulum
  • DTX Texas Traveler
  • Dallas DART
  • Soldiers' Angels
  • Alexan Riveredge
  • Ebby Halliday Realtors
  • Zephyr Gin
  • Sixty Five Hundred Scene
  • Christy Berry
  • Entertainment Destination
  • Dallas Art Fair 2015
  • St. Bernard Sports Duck Head
  • Jameson DTX
  • Alara Uptown Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival fall 2017
  • DTX Tastemakers 2015
  • Cottonwood Arts Festival
  • The Taylor
  • Decks in the Park
  • Alexan Henderson
  • Gallery at Turtle Creek
  • Omni Hotel DTX
  • Red on the Runway
  • Whole Foods Dallas 2018
  • Artizone Essential Eats
  • Galleria Dallas Runway Revue
  • State Fair 2016 Promoted
  • Trigger's Toys Ultimate Cocktail Experience
  • Dean's Texas Cuisine
  • Real Weddings Dallas
  • Real Housewives of Dallas
  • Jan Barboglio
  • Wildflower Arts and Music Festival
  • Hearts for Hounds
  • Okay to Say Dallas
  • Indochino Dallas
  • Old Forester Dallas
  • Dallas Apartment Locators
  • Dallas Summer Musicals
  • PSW Real Estate Dallas
  • Paintzen
  • DTX Dave Perry-Miller
  • DTX Reliant
  • Get in the Spirit
  • Bachendorf's
  • Holiday Wonder
  • Village on the Parkway
  • City Lifestyle
  • opportunity knox villa-o restaurant
  • Nasher Summer Sale
  • Simpson Property Group
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2017 Dallas
  • Carlisle & Vine
  • DTX New Beginnings
  • Get in the Game
  • Red Bull Air Race
  • Dallas DanceFest
  • 2015 Dallas Stylemaker
  • Youth With Faces
  • Energy Ogre
  • DTX Renewable You
  • Galleria Dallas Decadence
  • Bella MD
  • Tractorbeam
  • Young Texans Against Cancer
  • Fresh Start Dallas
  • Dallas Farmers Market
  • Soldier's Angels Dallas
  • Shipt
  • Elite Dental
  • Texas Restaurant Association 2017
  • State Fair 2017
  • Scottish Rite
  • Brooklyn Brewery
  • DTX_Stylemakers
  • Alexan Crossings
  • Ascent Victory Park
  • Top Texans Under 30 Dallas
  • Discover Downtown Dallas
  • San Luis Resort Dallas
  • Greystar The Collection
  • FIG Finale
  • Greystar M Line Tower
  • Lincoln Motor Company
  • The Shelby
  • Jonathan Goldwater Events
  • Windrose Tower
  • Gift Guide 2016
  • State Fair of Texas 2016
  • Choctaw Dallas
  • TodayTix Dallas promoted
  • Whole Foods
  • Unbranded 2014
  • Frisco Square
  • Unbranded 2016
  • Circuit of the Americas 2018
  • The Katy
  • Snap Kitchen
  • Partners Card
  • Omni Hotels Dallas
  • Landmark on Lovers
  • Harwood Herd
  • Galveston.com Dallas
  • Holiday Happenings Dallas 2018
  • TenantBase
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2018
  • Hawkins-Welwood Homes
  • The Inner Circle Dallas
  • Eating in Season Dallas
  • ATTPAC Behind the Curtain
  • TodayTix Dallas
  • The Alexan
  • Toyota Music Factory
  • Nosh Box Eatery
  • Wildflower 2018
  • Society Style Dallas 2018
  • Texas Scottish Rite Hospital 2018
  • 5 Mockingbird
  • 4110 Fairmount
  • Visit Taos
  • Allegro Addison
  • Dallas Tastemakers 2018
  • The Village apartments
  • City of Burleson Dallas

    Charity Spotlight

    Texas-sized charity embarks on milestone mission this Thanksgiving

    Maile Elton
    Nov 8, 2019 | 3:42 pm
    Operation Turkey kid Happy Thanksgiving
    Operation Turkey hopes to serve 75,000 Thanksgiving meals in 2019.
    Photo courtesy of Operation Turkey

    "Have you had a chance to eat yet?" This question has been asked thousands of times by volunteers of Texas-based organization Operation Turkey.

    The grassroots organization, established almost two decades ago, has a simple, yet significant, mission: ensure those in need receive a warm meal on Thanksgiving Day.

    It all started in 2000, when Richard Bagdonas, the organization’s founder, handed out a single plate of food to a homeless man on Sixth Street in Austin.

    “I had never felt such a rush of emotion come over me. I slowly walked back to my car, sat in the driver’s seat, put my head down into the steering wheel, and cried,” Bagdonas says in a blog post. “I made a difference in someone else’s life. Success in my life was marginalized because it was always for me. This was something different. It was for a complete stranger who needed help and doing so felt so good.”

    That single plate grew to 60,000 meals served last year across 22 cities in seven states. This year, the organization's goal is to serve 75,000 meals, while also providing care packages and clothing to those in need.

    In Texas, Operation Turkey has expanded to encompass the greater Austin metro area, as well as Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Houston. Nationwide, over 30,000 people participate in this volunteer-only organization.

    “Just through word of mouth alone we’ve been able to reach all of these people and organically grow this organization to other cities,” Brian Tolbert, executive director and chairman, says. “Those people that do it love it, [and] they go out and tell their friends and just bring more people with them.”

    Volunteers can register online to participate on Thanksgiving Day. After that, Tolbert says, they “just simply show up. We tell everybody they are leaders that day.”

    What makes it such a unique and satisfying service opportunity is that the experience itself is very fluid, with many responsibilities for volunteers to fulfill.

    “[I] step back and enjoy watching the community do their thing,” he says. “They get one day to do it, and this is really their event. I’m just the fortunate one to be able to coordinate it throughout the year.”

    The Operation Turkey shift runs from 8 am to noon. Jobs range from cooking, cleaning, and plating to packaging and delivering goods. Operation Turkey not only provides recipients with a plate full of turkey and fixin's; a delicious slice of pie is also included.

    Cassandra Fairbanks, a first-time volunteer and a member of Capital Confectioners in Austin, first heard about the organization at a club meeting. She says the club is planning on baking 400 pies to donate to the Thanksgiving meals. These pies will be added to the 600 Bake a Wish will be donating this year.

    “I wanted to help others who may not have the family or means to get a warm meal on Thanksgiving,” she says. “I wanted them to know that someone remembered them.”

    This year, Operation Turkey volunteer centers will be located at two spots in Dallas on Thanksgiving Day — P.F. Chang’s in Addison and P.F. Chang’s at NorthPark Center.

    Those who can't volunteer on Thanksgiving Day have other ways to get involved. There's an opportunity to volunteer at the Turkey Tailgate at United Christian Church in Garland on November 27, when turkeys are cooked, donations are sorted, and preparations for the next day are made.

    Monetary donations are also accepted. Every $5 feeds two people, and donations can be made here.

    charityholidayscharity-guide
    news/city-life
    series/dallas-charity-guide

    Animal News

    Advocates find false info being fed to Texas legislators on pet store law

    Teresa Gubbins
    May 8, 2025 | 10:30 am
    Puppy mill dogs do not have a great life.
    Puppy mill dogs do not have a great life.
    undefined

    A national pet store chain has been implicated in a dishonest campaign to try and influence Texas lawmakers on an upcoming bill making its way through the legislature.

    The pet store chain is Petland, and they're engaged in a battle against The Ethical Pet Sale Bill (SB 1652 / HB 3458), which would encourage pet stores to stop selling at-risk animals from puppy mills and support shelters and rescue groups instead.

    The Ethical Pet Sale bill has support from rescue and animal groups across Texas, who are all grappling with a glut of animals on the streets and in overcrowded shelters. That pet overpopulation problem gets even worse when pet stores import more animals from puppy mills in states like Missouri and Ohio.

    If Texas passes the bill, it will join a growing number of states and cities who've already passed similar laws including Dallas, Austin, Bryan, College Station, El Paso, Euless, Fort Worth, Houston, New Braunfels, Pasadena, San Antonio, The Colony, Sherman, and Waco.

    Most reputable pet store chains such as PetSmart and PetCo do not sell cats and dogs. Petland does. The company operates 84 stores in the U.S., and fights bills like this by hiring lobbyists to discourage legislators from supporting these bills.

    Phony list
    In this case, a two-page summary was distributed to some Texas state senators listing reasons why they should oppose SB ("The evidence from other states, especially California, demonstrates that these types of bans do more harm than good"), plus a list of organizations that are opposed.

    Most of the organizations opposed to the bill profit directly from animals, such as Petland and Puppy Dreams, a North Texas chain that also sells animals.

    But the list also had surprising names including PetSmart, PetCo, and Pet Supplies Plus — the three largest pet store chains who all have a history of supporting adoption of shelter animals.

    Their presence on the list caught the eye of animal advocacy groups such as Texas Humane Legislation Network and Humane World For Animals, who've worked with the big three in the past.

    "We became aware of Petland Inc.’s lobbyist apparently sharing the attached document with legislators, claiming the listed pet and pet product industry leaders are opposing this legislation," said a spokesperson from Humane World of Animals (HWA). "We checked in with contacts at Petco, Petsmart, and the American Pet Products Association, and all of them deny opposing this legislation or giving Petland permission to list them on this opposition letter. It’s very possible others listed in this letter also did not give their permission to be included — we only connected with the those listed above at this stage."

    CultureMap also contacted the three major pet store chains and received similar responses that they had not been consulted nor did they issue a rejection of the bill, although none wanted to be quoted.

    The misrepresentation is concerning because it muddies the water with false information at a time when the bill is still under consideration:

    HB 3458 — the version going through the Texas House — passed a House Committee with a 10-1 vote and has been moved up the chain towards passage.

    SB 1652 — the version going through the Senate — still needs to get through the Senate Committee, Calendars, and a floor vote.

    "By creating a false narrative about the position of the above industry leaders, this letter has the potential to sway lawmakers at a critical juncture in the legislation’s journey," the HWA spokesperson says.

    Two Petland stores in the Dallas area — in Frisco and Tyler — have been the subject of undercover investigations. Petland Webster recently settled a lawsuit with several families that the store allegedly sold sick puppies to, and several lawsuits have been filed against Petland Woodlands in Texas, claiming the store sold sick puppies. One pet owner told the House Committee that he'd spent $20,000 on medical care of a puppy he bought at a pet store.

    "Banning the retail sale of puppies and kittens is a common-sense solution to protect both animals and Texas consumers," said Dean Senator Judith Zaffirini of Laredo, who filed the bill. "My SB 1652 would help reduce pet overpopulation, promote responsible breeding practices and prevent families from unknowingly purchasing sick animals. With varying local ordinances in place and further action at the city level now restricted, it is important for the state to provide a clear and consistent approach that prioritizes both animal welfare and consumer protection."

    politicsanimals
    news/city-life
    series/dallas-charity-guide

    most read posts

    Vending machine cafe with artsy collectible toys debuts in Lewisville

    Dallas professional soccer team chooses new name and team colors

    Celebrate Cinco de Mayo 2025 at these Dallas bars and restaurants

    Loading...