March 17, 2008, Dallas, TX -- The ladies of the professional service organization Altrusa Dallas partnered with uniform-specialists Academic Outfitters of Plano to deliver 2,262 items of clothing to the children at Frank Guzick Elementary School in South Dallas in conjunction with Altrusa Dallas’ D.U.N.K. (Dallas Uniforms for Needy Kids) Project.  This is the second year for the project. 

In its first year, the DUNK Project delivered uniforms to over 550 elementary school children in Dallas ISD’s CityParkElementary School and FrankGuzickElementary School.  “This year we were able to increase the number of children we could help by 500%!” says Michelle May O’Neil, Altrusa Dallas’ DUNK project chair of Plano.  “We obtained items in bulk to reduce the cost and therefore increase the number of children we could help.”

Rose Lorenz, owner of Academic Outfitters, worked with suppliers to obtain extras and overruns to increase the number of children that could be helped.  “Our original goal was to provide the school with 500 bottoms and 1,000 tops,” says Ms. Lorenz.  “We blew that goal away by obtaining 2,262 items of bottoms, tops, and even some shoes and jackets.”

Altrusans Ms. O’Neil and Sandy May of Wylie, with the help of Ms. O’Neil’s husband John O’Neil and son Mark O’Neil, loaded 80 boxes of clothing and transported it to the school.  Guzick school’s Volunteer Coordinator Kimberly Runnels gathered several fifth grade boys to assist with unloading the boxes and moving them to the storage room for sorting. “We appreciate the ladies of Altrusa Dallas helping our children again this year with uniforms,” said Ms. Runnels.  “Through their generous donation, we will be able to help many of our kids, not only this school year, but through next year as well.”

Money for the project was raised from the Altrusa Dallas annual shopping bazaar fundraiser Glitterati and from generous contributions of the members of Dallas Area Paralegals Association, Academic Outfitters, as well as individual contributions.

Established in 1928, Altrusa International Inc. of Dallas consists of a group of dynamic professional women committed to community service in the Greater Dallas area.