About Us
For the Love of the Lake (FTLOTL) is an enthusiastic, energetic group of volunteers dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of White Rock Lake Park as an urban oasis.
Working together since 1995, For the Love of the Lake has helped enhance the lake and park with hands-on projects such as picking up litter and recyclables during our monthly Second Saturday Shoreline Spruce-Up events, helping to create the White Rock Lake Museum and The Celebration Tree Grove, working to restore the historic Big Thicket building and other park facilities, painting buildings and restroom murals, and generally assisting the Dallas Park and Recreation Department in maintaining White Rock Lake Park as the Jewel of Dallas.
We’ve also raised over one million dollars, and have purchased and installed many amenities throughout the park including more than 550 trash and recycling receptacles, drinking fountains, the children’s playground at TP Hill, outdoor fitness circuits, information marquees and kiosks, the Civilian Conservation Corps bronze statue, historical markers, flower and native plant gardens, benches, bike racks, cool sprays, and many other useful features for public enjoyment throughout the park.
We invite you to find out more about our organization, and to join this fun-loving group in our ongoing mission to improve White Rock Lake Park in many ways, large and small.
We have purchased and donated…
- More than 550 attractive, covered trash receptacles with recycling capabilities
- 22 freeze-proof, handicap accessible drinking fountains along jogging trails
- 2 lighted information marquees surrounded by stonework and landscaping
- 32 benches with bike racks
- The White Rock Workout Centers at Sunset Bay and T.P. Hill
- 5 bicycles for Park Police Patrol
- T.P. Hill “Going Places” Playground
- Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) bronze statue at Sunset Bay
- 24 up-beat anti-litter messages throughout the park
- Scooter for Park Department maintenance
- 8 “Cool Spray” for runners/walkers/cyclists
- Stonework on the Spillway bridge abutments
- 8 benches, 4 picnic tables, and 2 drinking fountains for the White Rock Lake Dog Park
- 300-foot landscaped area around T.P. Hill Playground containing native grasses and shrubs
- 44 beautiful wooden Adopt-A-Shoreline signs
- 2 Texas Historical Commission markers and stonework: Civilian Conservation Corps Co. 2896 and White Rock Dam, Reservoir & Park
Some of the projects implemented by For the Love of the Lake, working in partnership with the Dallas Park and Recreation Department:
- Second Saturday Shoreline Spruce-Up of White Rock Lake since 1996. For over 138 consecutive months, thousands of Volunteers have picked up hundreds of tons of litter and recyclables.
- Co-wrote 3 grants with Dallas Park Dept. and Keep Dallas Beautiful resulting in $114,000 from TNRCC/NCTCOG to implement recycling and continue litter abatement
- Created Adopt-A-Can project for individuals and businesses to sponsor litter & recycling receptacles
- Sponsored “Stash Your Trash” to build & install 450 litter & recycling receptacles
- Coordination of 44 Adopt-A-Shoreline groups around and beyond White Rock Lake
- Painted murals in 6 pairs of restrooms depicting scenes from White Rock Lake
- Built and restored information kiosks that are updated monthly
- Organized “Tours de Baths”: Grand Opening and Restroom Ribbon Cutting
- Organized “Painting in the Park” to paint buildings throughout the park
- Sanded and repainted 360+ foot railing along Garland Road
- Refinished hardwood floors in Dreyfuss Club
- Underwrote the White Rock Lake Museum at the Bath House Cultural Center
- Created duck mascot “Litter-free Louie” and his companion Chuck to educate about keeping the lake clean
- Sponsored “Rock for the Rock” benefit at Smirnoff Music Centre 8 years in a row
- Sponsored “Roofing at the Rock” in partnership with the Cross Country Club of Dallas to reroof Sunset Bay building and with DPARD to re-roof Big Thicket
- Sponsored “Windsurf White Rock” and “Watersports at White Rock” benefit with The North Texas Windriders
- Created “White Rock ‘n Roll Run” with The Cross Country Club of Dallas to benefit lake
- Sponsored “John McCutcheon Concert to Benefit White Rock Lake” seven times
- Renovated historic Big Thicket building with The Home Depot and the Dallas Park and Recreation Department
- Created The Celebration Tree Grove, an on-going reforestation project at White Rock Lake Park
Proclamations from Dallas Mayor Ronald Kirk, acting Mayor Mary Poss, Mayor Laura Miller, Mayor Tom Leppert, and the Dallas City Council:
- “For the Love of the Lake” Day - 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007
- “Recycle at the Rock” Day - September 13, 1997
- “Workout at White Rock” Day - June 6, 1998
- “Bake for the Lake” Day - September 20, 1998 and September 26, 1999
- “John McCutcheon Day” - November 2, 2002
- “CCC Company 2896” Day - October 18, 2003
- “White Rock Lake Museum ” Day - September 18, 2004
- “Big Thicket” Day - December 22, 2005
- “Celebration Tree Grove” Day - September 16, 2006
Other Awards and Recognition:
- Special Recognition for Restroom Mural Painters - January, 1996
- Special Recognition and Appreciation- Dallas Park Board - Dec. 1996
- Special Recognition for White Rock Lake Dredging Project - Dec. 1998
- Certificate of Appreciation at Annual Trash Bash - City of Dallas and Park Board 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002
- Plaque for 10 years of Adopt-A Shoreline Environmental Service - June 2006
- Keep Dallas Beautiful’s Award for Environmental Excellence - 1996, 1998
- Keep Dallas Beautiful’s Ebby Halliday Award - 1997
- Advocate Award from the Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate Magazine - 1997
- White Rock Half Marathon Best Aid Station - 1997, 1998, 1999
- Dallas County Corporate Recycling Council EnvironmentalVision Award - 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2004
- Texas Corporate Recycling Council Environmental Vision Award - 1998, 2000, and 2001
- Certificate of Honor from TNRCC and Governors George W. Bush and Rick Perry Finalist in Texas Environmental Excellence Award - 1999, 2001
- JC Penney “Golden Rule” Award recognized by President Bill Clinton - 2000
- Certificate of Congressional Recognition from Congressman Pete Sessions - 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006
- Certificate of Congressional Recognition from Congressman Jeb Hensarling - 2003, 2005, 2006
- Certificate of Honor from TNRCC and Governor Rick Perry
- Finalist in Texas Environmental Excellence Award – June 2001
- Shaklee Community Caretaker Award - 2001
- Brawny Corporation “Brawny Brigade” award chosen by MayorLaura Miller - 2002
- REI Stewards for the Environment Award - 2003
- Center for Nonprofit Management Excellence in Communication Award - 2003
- Ocean Conservancy Certificate for International Coastal Clean-up - 2005
- Volunteer Center of Dallas Hearts of Hope Award - February 2005
- Dallas Observer “Best of Dallas” Award for The Celebration Tree Grove - 2005
- Preservation Dallas Award and Preservation Texas Award for the Big Thicket building restoration - 2005, 2006
- The Home Depot National Project of the Year Award for Big Thicket building - 2006