A Familiar Gym, a Larger Purpose

The Baptist Temple Campus gym has long been a place where neighbors gather and build community. Recently, that space was used for a study connected to assistive technology and rehabilitation, giving researchers and participants a familiar setting in which to observe movement, communication, and access outside a clinic or classroom.

That setting matters. For people living with limb loss, access to care is often shaped by transportation, trust, and relationships. By making the gym available, the Highland Park Community Assistance Network (HP CAN) helped reduce those barriers and supported practical learning that can inform how assistive devices, therapies, and services are designed for everyday use.

The study also reflects a larger effort in South Texas to improve support for people with complex mobility and rehabilitation needs. At UT Health San Antonio, programs such as Project ASPIRE (Advancing Successful Preparation of Interprofessional Related Services in Education Settings) prepare future occupational therapy and speech-language pathology professionals to serve children with high-intensity needs. This work is strongest when it is connected to the places where people live, learn, and participate in community life.

For HP CAN, this connection is mission based. The gym served not only as a place for recreation and fellowship but also as a practical site for study activities tied to mobility and rehabilitation.

Assistive technology is most useful when it works in the normal conditions of daily life: walking across open floors, communicating in busy rooms, managing fatigue, and participating at home, at school, at church, and in the community. A community setting can help researchers see practical barriers and strengths that may not appear in more controlled environments.

The BT Campus gym has been part of the community from its beginning. Basketball and volleyball leagues, summer camps, and open recreation have all used the space for fellowship and physical fitness. Grants from the Baptist Health Foundation and the Charity Ball Association, along with contributions from individual donors, have helped create a community space that serves the spiritual and physical needs of our neighbors. By opening that space for this study, HP CAN used what it had—hospitality, trust, and a familiar gym—to support work aimed at improving mobility, participation, and independence.
 

A Morning of Mulch and Service

Every few years, our inclusive playground needs a fresh layer of mulch—not because the old mulch is completely replaced, but because it settles and compacts over time. What looks like a simple maintenance job is actually an important part of keeping the playground safe, usable, and healthy for the trees around it. The mulch helps with drainage, cushions the play area, and keeps the grounds in good condition for the children who use them every day.

This was not ordinary landscaping mulch. It was International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA)-certified mulch, an engineered wood fiber designed specifically for playground use. The job required shovels, wheelbarrows, buckets, organization, and a great deal of labor.

The work became a community effort. Volunteers from the Community Health Awareness for Adolescents and Teens (C.H.A.A.T.) summer day camp program, children and teachers from the BT Early Learning Center summer camp, and several other adults came together to take on the task. C.H.A.A.T. was involved because the group needed a community service project, they were already on the BT campus, and the playground mulch project gave them a practical way to serve.

The amount of mulch was impressive. Several truckloads were delivered, and future work would bring even more—four trucks carrying seven yards each, for a total of twenty-eight yards, or roughly eighteen tons of mulch. In the past, the job had always been done with volunteer labor, creating tremendous savings while also giving people a chance to work together for a shared purpose.

Steve Grinnell began the day working alone, the morning felt a little slow and uncertain. When the children and other volunteers arrived, however, his attitude changed. The work was no longer his burden alone. What he had expected to be a frustrating morning became, in his words, a blessing. Children, teenagers, teachers, and adults moved together across the playground, filling buckets, pushing wheelbarrows, and spreading mulch into play areas.

The children brought an energy that changed the whole atmosphere. Some wanted to shovel. Others preferred carrying buckets. A few of the younger children wanted to push wheelbarrows. The BT Early Learning Center summer day camp children came with smaller buckets and hurried back and forth with excitement. The adults had to remind them to slow down so no one would get hurt, but their enthusiasm made the hard work feel lighter.

The adults were organized and steady and worked alongside the children, helping them stay focused and safe while allowing them to choose jobs they were excited to do. Music played through a small sound system, adding to the sense that this was more than a chore; it was a shared experience.

By 11 o’clock, the work was finished. The enormous piles of mulch had disappeared, and the playground had been renewed. What had seemed at first like a heavy job became manageable because so many hands joined in. The children were hard workers, the adults provided structure, and everyone contributed to something that would benefit the community.

The most memorable part of the day was not just the amount of mulch moved, or the money saved on labor. It was the way the project brought people together. One adult who had started the morning working alone admitted that he was not happy at first. But when the children and volunteers arrived, his attitude changed completely. What he thought might be a difficult morning became a blessing.

In the end, the mulch project showed how ordinary service can become meaningful when a community works together. Buckets of mulch, shovels, wheelbarrows, and a playground became the setting for teamwork, responsibility, and joy. The children learned that they could contribute, the adults saw the power of organized cooperation, and the playground was renewed through everyone’s effort.

A Hot Meal, a Warm Welcome, and a New Beginning

Linda “Qween” Davis has always worshiped God. “I’m always praying to God, asking him to help me and take care of me,” she said, “but I have a long way to go.”

Her first encounter with the Highland Park Community Assistance Network (HPCAN) came when she and her husband, who died a year ago, attended one of the Tuesday night community meals. He suggested they go out for a hot dinner.

“And I’m like, where?” Qween remembered, “and he said, ‘At the church.’”

She remembers the warm welcome that came with the hot meal, especially from Kathy Lopez.

Later, Qween became part of the Monday ceramics class, where she met Angelina Guajardo, program director for Divine Women, a support ministry for women. At Guajardo’s invitation, Qween participated in the group for a while.

Eventually, she began volunteering in the kitchen for the Tuesday meals, the same ministry through which she first encountered HPCAN. “I’ve always liked to cook, and I like to help people as much as I can,” she said. “I try not to miss. I’m there helping in the community, serving the food and everything.”

Daniel Arredondo, Minister of Outreach, calls her a great worker. “She’s a valued member of our kitchen team,” he said. “Her heart is growing.”

Coworker Bobann Moore agreed. “When we’re in that kitchen, she will do anything, anything at all to help,” Moore said.

Vernon Liverett remarked on Qween’s cheerful attitude and the way she relates to guests. “Qween has a good relationship with the people that come through the line,” Liverett said. “She makes them comfortable. She makes it feel relaxed and kids around with them. And then just makes the whole interaction very positive.”

“When I’m up there serving the food and stuff, I’m always telling them, ‘Welcome. Have a happy Tuesday. Don’t forget to thank the good Lord for this day,’” Queen said. “I know half of the people that come and eat at the church.”

Among the Tuesday night volunteers, Qween has found more than a place to serve. She has found community. “We’re always laughing and joking and playing around with each other,” she said. “And whenever something’s wrong with me or I’m sick or something, they always check up on me.”

That kind of care stood out to her. It was not what she had experienced in churches as a teenager. “That’s what made me give up on churches until I found this one here,” she said.

Arredondo has seen growth in her life. “She’s come a long way,” he said. “She was very unreceptive at first, but over time, she’s learned to take the Word of God and let it discipline her and purify her and conform her.”

Qween eventually started attending worship and Bible study. The Bible study is led by Liverett and Kay Richardson, who coordinates the Tuesday night meals. Qween appreciates the way the teaching is easy to understand and the opportunity to ask questions. “With Miss Kay, I’m learning stuff that I never knew about,” she said. “And she makes it so simple.”

Recently, Qween was baptized and committed herself to a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. For her, baptism marked an opportunity “to let go of all my sins and move forward with the help of the good Lord to do better.”