EAGLE LAKE — Recent speakers at Eagle Lake Noon Lions Club were Dulce Mendoza, recreational and vocational coordinator, and Maria Viera, the recruiting and on-boarding assistant for Endeavors Eagle Lake Children’s Center, a permanent shelter program that opened in 2023 with a capacity for 50 teenage boys.
Endeavors provides unaccompanied migrant children with a safe, nurturing and supportive environment that is centered on the child’s well-being as they await reunification with fami ly. During their transition, each child is assigned a case manager. At this time, Endeavors at Eagle Lake serves 32 minor boys between the ages of 13-17. The entire staff who work on various shifts is approximately 90 adults who serve the residents with education, transportation, recreation, medical, mental health, dental and vision care, food service, laundry service, social workers, case managers and other professionals.
The boys have a routine schedule they follow each day.
They wake up, make their beds, clean their rooms, and get organized for the day—breakfast, then school from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The school has a curriculum that meets the needs of students at various levels between middle and high school. English is taught along with a variety of academic subjects. Two snacks are served along with a nutritious lunch.
After school, outdoor sports are enjoyed, especially soccer, until about 5 p.m. Then clean-up before dinner, followed by leisure time from 8 to 9 p.m., reading books, playing board games or watching TV. Lights out is at 9:30 p.m.
On weekends, enrichment ac- tivities are provided, such as field trips, visits to the library and volunteering in the city where help is needed.
The goal is to provide experiences to help the kids get used to the community and the American culture. Service projects and community outreach are planned. During the summer, a group of guys and their leaders helped resurface the Eagle Lake Community Swimming Pool.
Last Christmas, the students participated in the City Christmas Tree Decorating Competition.
They won first place for their tree!
Students are usually present at Endeavors for two to three weeks before they are reunited with their parents or guardians.
They are immigrants from many countries and are eager to learn all they can while at the center.
They have all been vetted before entering the program, and none have criminal records.
The staff reports that there have not been any problems and that the students appreciate all they are learning and are thankful for all who care for them.
They desire to have a safe life here and a good education. Many express their dreams of going to college and becoming professional businessmen, teachers, doctors or lawyers.
