The aroma of warm, cooked food and the sound of chatter filled the lobby of Arlington Park Recreation Center as the local community joined forces with the UT Southwestern Police Department to observe National Night Out.

Community members stop by UT Police Department tables for safety information and giveaways.

National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that encourages positive relationships between neighbors and area safety groups, including law enforcement, civic organizations, and neighborhood watch. While communities in other states celebrate on the first Tuesday in August, Texas festivities are on the first Tuesday in October. At Arlington Park Rec, the gymnasium was transformed on Oct. 2 into a hub for food, games, and a variety of giveaways and safety information.

“It’s amazing to have the officers and everyone come in with the community to fellowship and play with the kids,” said Diane Ware, Community Recreation Program Coordinator for the center. Ms. Ware, who warmly welcomed everyone into the building, is the backbone of the recreation center. Daily she ushers kids off the school bus and into the rec center for after-school snacks and activities.

Vice President for Community and Corporate Relations Ruben E. Esquivel (right) receives a lesson on fire safety.

Located on Record Crossing, the recreation center is a 2-minute drive from William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital and serves as a bridge between the medical community of UTSW and the historical black neighborhood that surrounds it. The UTSW Police Department is active throughout the year at the recreation center, and National Night Out was another chance to provide service.

“I love giving back to the community,” said Lt. Adam Jones, commander of the UTSW Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division and Crime Prevention Unit. “These are opportunities to show our local neighborhoods what we have to offer within the University and hopefully inspire some kids who will come back and maybe go to medical school to become doctors or become police officers or anything else they want to be.”

Lt. Adam Jones (left) of the UTSW Police Department watches as officers provide safety information.

Participants worked through several interactive stations set up by UTSW and other organizations, such as the City of Dallas Code Compliance Department. The stations were designed to educate community members about health and general safety. Melissa Budicini, a first-year graduate student in UTSW’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, helped facilitate an activity to demonstrate the importance of hand-washing and another based on taste receptors. Attendees old and young gathered around to see if their taste buds were unique enough to pick up the flavor of a harmless chemical compound placed on test strips.

“I think it’s really cool to give people a look into what we’re doing at UT Southwestern and especially to give kids a feel for the importance of science,” Ms. Budicini said. “Sometimes kids get detached from science in school, but they don’t realize how cool and practical it is.”