Highland Park gift shop St. Michael’s Woman’s Exchange has chosen 70 non-profit beneficiaries to receive grants totaling $500,000 this year, three of which are located in Preston Hollow.

St. Michael’s Woman’s Exchange is a high-end gift shop located in Highland Park Village. The shop is run by 130 volunteers, who work to raise funds that are awarded to DFW area charities every spring by selling items ranging from children’s toys and clothes to books and art.

There have been six decades of families who have volunteered at this shop, with over $11 million dollars given since 1958.

“Dallas is a very philanthropic town, and we are grateful to our loyal shoppers who come purchase gifts, for themselves or others and make a difference,” said Becky Odlozil, current Chair of St. Michael’s Woman’s Exchange. “It’s a place where the profits we make are given back to the greater community through serving the most vulnerable.”

The shop selects nonprofits that service a wide variety of community needs including addiction, human trafficking, family violence, homelessness and other topics.

Several Preston Hollow neighbors are recipients of these grants, including Rainbow Days, Inc., Project Transformation, and Catch Up & Read.

Rainbow Days, Inc. is a curriculum-based support group that aims to help kids with learn to manage their feelings, cope with problems and make healthy choices. The group also hosts family outings, mentored events, and an array of alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) prevention programs.

Project Transformation is a faith-based non-profit that aims to provide leadership development and ministry exploration for college-aged young adults and community-oriented programming for children and youth.

Catch Up & Read is a non-profit, community-funded organization that seeks to equip Dallas ISD students to read on grade level by 3rd grade through research-based literacy and social emotional intervention.

Now that the grants have been awarded, the volunteers start over again, selling items and raising funds for next year’s group of beneficiaries.