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Meet Our #NeighborhoodHeroes: HP Teens Team Up To Give Back

Recognizing our Neighborhoods’ Nicest

Neighborhoods matter — during good times and during times of crisis. And the kindness of neighbors is what helps us get through times of crisis. This principle — just being nice — is one of the most important Rhodes Rules. And it’s a principle we’ve seen our neighbors of all ages embody over and over this year. 

“Always ask how you can help—and don’t stop until it’s done.” – Tom Rhodes

When we asked our neighbors to nominate their Neighborhood Heroes on social media, we were blown away by two pairs of high school students — Lila, Eleanor, Caleb and Conor — whose selflessness and determination to help those in need greatly inspired us. So we had to find out more about them. 

Meet Eleanor Hughes & Lila DeVega of Bead Co.

When the shelter-in-place orders went into effect in early spring, HPHS seniors and small business owners Eleanor and Lila were inspired to create a jewelry kit product for families looking to entertain kids stuck at home while also raising money to support a local cause.

These life-long neighbors Lila DeVega and Eleanor Hughes have always been adventurous, even from a very young age. Both girls say their passion for innovation, business and community fueled their desire to start and grow their own jewelry company, Bead.co, at the age of 12 and keep it going for the last five years. Their skills landed their products in stores like Saint Bernard — an impressive feat for a couple of high school students. But when asked what their most rewarding accomplishment has been so far, both girls were quick to tell us about their recent jewelry kit project.

Supporting Feed The Frontline with Jewelry Kits

When COVID-19 hit, the teenagers wanted to use their business to help — and they did. Announced in an Instagram post, the girls shared the following: “As a small local business, we want to step up and help as much as we can during this pandemic. So we will be selling the Make Your Own bracelet kits for $15, all proceeds for which will be donated to Feed the Front Line DFW.”

Instagram post by @bead.co on April 20, 2020.

Lila was especially inspired to support Feed the Front Line — whose mission is to help local restaurants by providing meals for those who need it most — because of her family members who work on the front lines as nurses, and her desire to become a nurse herself after graduating from HPHS.

“We are honored to help those on the frontlines doing the most good,” Lila said.

Bead.co was able to raise a total of $ $1,300 for Feed the Front Line, which translated to 85 total kits sold.

Jewelry kits created and delivered by Lila DeVega and Eleanor Hughes, Highland Park High School Students and owners of bead.co.

When asked what they had enjoyed most from the experience, both girls said that being able to help the people that helped others, who put their lives on the line to serve, was the most rewarding part. They were also very impressed with their friends and classmates who asked how they could get involved with the project.

“Young people can have a bigger impact on their community than we realize. All they need to do is act,” Eleanor said.

“Young people can have a bigger impact on their community than we realize. All they need to do is act.” – Eleanor, Neighborhood Hero

Meet Caleb & Conor Molen, Highland Park Students

Conor and Caleb Molen, upcoming HPHS juniors, brothers (and fraternal twins) are, above all else, problem solvers. Amid the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two became inspired to combine their technological skills and passion for problem solving in a way that would help their community deal with a new shortage of medical protection supplies by creating face shields.

“Why not do some good during this time and give back to our community?” said Conor.

Caleb Molen (left) and Conor Molen (right), Highland Park High School Students.

Both Caleb and Conor had just taken a computer science and robotics course the previous semester, and realized that by using an open-source online with a 3D printer, they could produce medical-grade, plastic face shields from their Highland Park home.

Using Technology To Help Medical Workers

By starting a Go Fund Me to help raise money to buy the plastic sheets for the face shields, elastic bands, and plastic filament for printing, the brothers were able to raise over $600 to help them produce the face shields. Their father, a family doctor, helped the boys spread the word about their project, and soon hospital personnel began reaching out to Caleb and Colen directly to inquire about receiving face shields.

Medical-grade face shields created and assembled by Caleb (left) and Conor (right) Molen.

In total, they were able to produce 200 face shields using two 3-D printers — one of which had been donated by their HPHS robotics teacher. The brothers were inspired to donate the shields to local area hospitals — including St. John’s NY, Baylor, and UT Southwestern. They also donated the shields to other individual healthcare workers, doctors, veterinarians, and their father’s associates.

Physicians at St. John’s Hospital in New York wearing face shields
made, assembled and donated by Caleb and Conor Molen.

“Figuring out how to most efficiently print the frames for the masks was difficult.” Caleb said. “It took a lot of trial and error to optimize the modeling in a way that would avoid messing up the printer.” But despite the learning curve, “…every mask assembled was special to us,” Caleb also said.

Showing Gratitude to Our #NeighborhoodHeroes

As a group, our attitude has always been to put our family and community first, and everything else second. It’s what inspired us to begin a search for our community’s nicest — and we couldn’t have done it without the help of our Park Cities, Preston Hollow, and Lakewood neighbors.

We thought these Neighborhood Heroes should be recognized for their outstanding and selfless efforts, so we’ve sent each of them a gift card to the local Dallas restaurant of their choice. So if you happen to see them out and about, be sure to give them a friendly wave and thank them for giving back. Because they’re what make our neighborhood truly special.

Rely on agents who truly know your neighborhood.
Call The Rhodes Group.

We grew up here. We live here. The Rhodes Group has been helping people buy and sell Dallas real estate in and around the Park Cities for two generations, immersed in the ebbs and flows of the local luxury real estate markets. WE KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.