Elvia Flores, one of Garland’s busiest volunteers, as well as founder of the Girls with Goals program, will soon hand over the reins of the girls’ group to fellow Kiwanis Club members.
“I still cry when I think about not being in the program,” Flores said. “But I just don’t feel like I can do this anymore. I will still be doing some kind of service work, though.”
Flores was born in Edinburg, Texas, third in a family of 10 children. She enjoyed a happy childhood despite financial hardships and graduated from Edinburg High School in 1965. She, her friends and cousins picked cotton in the summer heat, and although it was hard work, Flores said they made it fun. She learned about community service from an aunt who lived in Matamoros, Mexico and sometimes accompanied her aunt to visit sick folks or to help at church.
At 17, Flores became head of the household with six siblings and her mother to care for. After high school graduation, she worked during the day and attended college at night but had to drop out because the family needed more income. So instead of college, she attended business school.
She married Manuel Flores and moved to Garland where the couple started a family. Flores was a stay-at-home mom and volunteered at her church. She then volunteered at her children’s schools as a tutor and in the clinic. She later became PTA president.
Through the years, she has been involved in numerous community groups. A few of those include Good Samaritans, Kiwanis Club, Citizens Firefighters Club, Citizens Police Alumni Association and Garland Association for Hispanic Affairs. Flores served nine years on the Baylor Medical Center of Garland board and is currently a board member of Region 10 Service Education Center.
She was the first Hispanic person to sit on the Garland ISD Board of Trustees and served two terms.
“This was intimidating because I was not very comfortable with my Spanish accent,” Flores said. “I felt that people might not understand me. I finally decided to give it a try and was very pleased and surprised to win.”
She started an after-school tutoring program at a low-income apartment complex where she worked with students of all ages. She and her husband provided kids with other experiences like going to the zoo, the library and Surf and Swim. They even took a group of middle school students to Austin to learn about Texas history and tour the capitol.
While volunteering at a middle school clinic, Flores heard a disturbing comment that helped in her decision to start Girls with Goals.
“Two girls came in and one was excited because her boyfriend, who was 17, was visiting from California,” Flores said. “I asked her what she was doing with a 17-year-old boyfriend at her age. She answered by saying that her cousin was 15-years-old and already had a baby.”
It was at that moment that Flores knew she had to do something. In 1999, she started the ‘Girls with Goals’ program in 1999.
Girls with Goals starts at Golden Meadows Elementary School in 5th grade and goes through 8th grade at Bussey Middle School. Girls from other schools may attend if they have transportation.
The girls visit companies owned by women and companies where women hold important positions. They have had the opportunity to meet a woman NASA engineer, a female Black Hawk engineer and the first female cavalry commander. Women from various careers are also invited as speakers.
They learn how to set short- and long-term goals, how to speak to an audience and how to shake hands when meeting people. They visit a college every year and visit the financial aid office to see what it’s like.
The girls learn about appropriate dress and appearance and when out as a group, they cannot wear torn jeans, flip flops or tank tops.
There is also a session on table etiquette during their Christmas dinner.
“I tell them that they never know when a job interview might be over lunch and employers will not want them to represent their companies if they are lacking in proper etiquette.” Flores said.
She also teaches the girls about giving back. They volunteer at events, have participated in Relay for Life and made quilts 
for preemies. This year the Bussey MS girls learned to crochet so they could help with the Linus Blanket project.
Flores has won various awards. She was honored by Mike Moses, Commissioner of Education, with the Texas Hero for Children award and received the Athena Award from the Garland Chamber of Commerce. She also got to carry the Olympic Torch as it was on its way to Atlanta.
President George W. Bush, while Texas Governor, gave her the “Government Volunteer Award” for the State of Texas in 1999. In 2008, the Garland Chamber of Commerce gave her the Tall Texan Award.
“Awards and accomplishments are nice, but seeing the children succeed was more fulfilling than the awards,” Flores said.