DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF)- On the eve of the one year anniversary of the North Dallas tornadoes, the Dallas Education Foundation receives a $1 million gift from HEB/Central Market for the direct benefit of Dallas ISD as it continues with the rebuilding process.
The tornadoes on Oct. 20, 2019, changed the entire landscape of a 15-mile stretch in North Dallas, including 10 Dallas ISD schools, three of which experienced significant damage and were not able to reopen at their original campuses.
“My staff knows that I’m in pursuit of ‘wow,’ and this is a ‘wow’ moment,” Superintendent Michael Hinojosa said. “We need these kinds of events to know this is possible and that we will deliver on this promise…a vision is a dream with a deadline and we gotta get it done,” he said.
Hinojosa said they have a lot of ideas for the rebuild but they also want to get input from students who have dealt with so much, from the tornadoes and the pandemic.
Mita Havlick, executive director of the Dallas Education Foundation said she was shaking after hearing about this donation.
“H-E-B/Central Market understands, through their many years of supporting public education, that it takes a community to educate a child. We are beyond grateful to H-E-B/Central Market and Mr. Butt for this incredibly generous gift. Even more so, we appreciate their commitment to community and our Dallas ISD students, teachers and schools, especially those whose lives have been forever impacted by the October 2019 tornadoes.”
In addition to the $1 million gift, Central Market is gifting 50 new trees to the neighborhood through the RETREET organization. One of the signatures of this well-established Dallas community is the beautiful mature canopy of trees throughout – most of which were destroyed during the storm. The trees will be replanted to help bring the area back to its original beauty.
