Over 60 volunteers made up of parents, children, grandparents and friends came together to volunteer their time at JJ Pickle Elementary/St. John’s Community Center on Saturday, November 21, 2009. Volunteers cleaned up a trail along Buttermilk Creek and outside the entire school yard picking up over 200 bags of trash. They also built four garden beds and cleaned and weeded an existing flower bed. Volunteers talked about how much fun they had volunteering as a family and the impact they had made in the St. John Community. After picking up trash a youth quoted: “I love picking up trash and I hope there is more to pick up next year!” The event kicked-off with a continental breakfast and a brief program. The speakers included Joel De La Garza, Principal of JJ Pickle Elementary, Allen Weeks, President of St. John’s Neighborhood Association and Debbie Bresette, Interim President of United Way Capital Area. Children enjoyed faced painting and arts and crafts projects. Thanks to all of the volunteers who participated to make “Family Day of Service” a success! Please share your volunteer experience by posting a comment! Thank You,Diana SantosCorporate and Volunteer Relations, Director
Read MoreHEB Feast of Sharing Holiday Dinner: Volunteering to help feed thousands of Central Texans
Our very own Hands On Central Texas Advisory Council member & super HEB community relations extraordinaire, Tamra Jones provides a great personal reflection on why the HEB Feast of Sharing Holiday Dinner is important to this community; not only on this blog but on Ahora Si, Austin American-Statesman’s newspaper en Español. But you don’t have to take my word for it, read for yourself in English or Spanish! Volunteering to help feed thousands of Central Texans Tamra Jones H-E-B Public Affairs, Central Texas RegionAs a 10-year volunteer of the annual Feast of Sharing celebration in Austin, and an H-E-B employee, I am truly looking forward to this year’s event. H-E-B will celebrate its 20th annual Feast of Sharing dinner in Austin on Tuesday, November 24 from 4 – 8 p.m. in the Palmer Events Center located at 900 Barton Springs Rd. Each year, hundreds of H-E-B and community volunteers in Austin work together to prepare and serve more than twelve thousand meals to the community while attendees enjoy live entertainment with performances by local schools, choirs and groups. We’re so grateful to our many community partners who work with us to make the event a success, especially United Way Capital Area & Hands on Central Texas, which help recruit & coordinate our volunteers. Feast of Sharing is part of H-E-B’s Helping Here commitment and supports the company’s continuous effort to serve our community and combat hunger. This special gathering gives us an opportunity to serve a healthy meal, share a […]
Read MoreThe 2009 Pioneer Award
United Way’s Emily DeMaria and PeopleFund’s Tanya Ladha receive the 2009 Pioneer Award from the FDIC’s Alliance for Economic Inclusion (AEI) for their work on moving Bank On Central Texas forward. Bank On Central Texas is a community initiative led by United Way and PeopleFund to bring together banks, credit unions, financial services providers, government, private sector, community organizations, and nonprofits to bring more people into the financial mainstream. Click here to learn more about Bank On Central Texas. The South Texas AEI presented five awards this year to members who through their actions and career work exemplify the group and individual goals of the AEI. The efforts of these individuals were recognized by previous Pioneer Award winners. The Pioneer Award is given to active AEI members who are committed to helping people make better financial decisions and enter the financial mainstream. AEI is the FDIC’s national initiative to establish broad-based coalitions of financial institutions, community-based organizations and other partners in several markets across the country to bring all unbanked and underserved populations into the financial mainstream. Their focus is on expanding basic retail financial services for underserved populations, including savings accounts, affordable remittance products, small-dollar loan programs, targeted financial education programs, alternative delivery channels and other asset-building programs.
Read MoreFamily Volunteer Day: Making a Child's Happiness Last His Whole Life
We’re getting ready for our Family Volunteer Day this Saturday, November 21. We’ll be helping the St. John’s Neighborhood and J.J. Pickle Elementary with some beautification projects, entertain the kiddos with Mr. Steve’s Silly Sing-a-long Extravaganza, kids arts and crafts and learn how the St. John’s community is creating change. It’s not too late to volunteer, you can still bring your kids and join us! Family Volunteer DaySaturday, November 219:00am – 1:00pmSt. John’s Neighborhood Center7500 Blessing AvenueAustin, TX 78752 To inspire you, we had one of our Hispanic Engagement Advisory Board members & GivingCity editor, Monica Williams write up a short piece on her experience with family volunteering. Read it here or you can also read it en Español on Ahora Si! Making a Child’s Happiness Last His Whole LifeMonica Maldonado WilliamsEditor, GivingCity Austin My five-year-old son, Samuel, loves to run. He’s been challenging me to races since he was able to walk, and some of his first words were “hurry” and “turbo.” So when he heard about Marathon Kids two years ago, the annual health and fitness program for school-aged children in Austin, he asked me to sign him up immediately. But Sam wasn’t in Kindergarten yet. He would have to wait until next year to participate. We were not deterred. I found out that the “final mile” event would be held at Burger Stadium near our house. So I asked Sam if he wanted to be a volunteer with me. “Does that mean I get to run?” “No, […]
Read More1 Hour for Kids Video!
We are very excited to premiere an new short video about 1 Hour for Kids with you: Please pass this along to friends and family that you believe might be interested in mentoring or tutoring a middle school student here in Central Texas. Thank you for being an advocate for youth!
Read MoreUnited Way's 1 Hour for Kids & State Campaign on Giving City Magazine
Do you know about GivingCity Magazine: Austin’s only volunteerism & philanthropy magazine? The magazine was started by Monica Williams and Torquil Dewar from October Custom Publishing. In their words, “GivingCity Austin offers content you won’t find anywhere else, in a modern format that’s easy to use. Inside you’ll find information that will help you … Find your causeStep up your community serviceBecome a community leaderCollaborate effortMaximize impact” And they do an amazing job! In this quarter’s issue, they cover over 20 nonprofits, causes and people including our 1 Hour For Kids initiative which helps connect more mentors and tutors to kids that need them and our work with the State Campaign. The magazine is free and download-able on their website. So if you want to learn more about doing good and the nonprofit sector, go download it now! Adelante,Mando
Read MorePresidential Forum on Service: Service is integral to achieving our national priorities
Last week I attended the Presidential Forum on Service in College Station, TX. I was very excited to attend this event because not only was our President, Barack Obama was scheduled to speak but Service was the main theme of the event. It brought together both sides of the isle to celebrate former President George H.W. Bush and the 20 year anniversary of the thousand Points of Light initiative. Our national partner, Points of Light Institute and Hands On Network hosted the event that included people working in the service field, nonprofits, businesses and regular people who volunteer. Both Presidents discussed the value of service & volunteerism at the national level to the local level. President Obama emphasized how real change can happen by citizens doing their part in their communities and that government can not do it alone. I believe that to be true; change happens at the local level with people, in neighborhoods, connecting and making change happen. As the director of Community Engagement at United Way Capital Area and Hands On Central Texas I see first hand – people are changing communities, they are volunteering, giving back, taking on leadership roles and making sure their communities are connected. Taking this conversation to the national level is a great step for communities because “service and volunteering is not just a nice thing to do, but a necessity to achieving our national priorities” and tacking our communities most pressing issues. While I was there I was able to take […]
Read MoreFrom Birth, Engage Your Child With Talk
A recent article in the NY Times reinforces much of the educational information provided by United Way’s Success By 6 and Born Learning initiatives. Lowe’s recently sponsored and installed the first Born Learning Trail in Central Texas–and there will be many more to come! Not only does the trail beautify Bartholomew Park, it offers parents many opportunities to engage their young children in communication to help them develop properly. From the NY Times article: Communication begins as soon as a baby is born. The way you touch, hold, look at and talk to babies help them learn your language, and the different ways babies cry help you learn their language — “I’m wet,” “I’m hungry,” “I’m tired,” “I hurt,” “I’m overwhelmed” and so forth. “Talk to your baby whenever you have the chance,” the American Medical Association advises parents. “Even though he doesn’t understand what you’re saying, your calm, reassuring voice is what he needs to feel safe. Always respond to your newborn’s cries — he cannot be spoiled with too much attention.” The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association urges parents to reinforce communication efforts by looking at the baby and imitating vocalizations, laughter and facial expressions. Stay tuned for more information about Born Learning activities and trails that will be appearing in Central Texas!
Read MoreIt all goes back to middle school
Today’s Statesman editorial says it all: “If you want to fix high school, start with middle school.” Middle school, says University of Texas researcher Ed Fuller, is the gatekeeper for student success in high school and college. Students who do poorly in middle school — particularly on the eighth-grade math portion of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills — are the ones most likely to fail ninth grade and eventually drop out. And low performers who do graduate from high school are less likely to be prepared for college work. So it all goes back to middle school. The Legislature and school superintendents should pay attention to this. Fortunately for Central Texas, 1 Hour For Kids and its partners are paying attention to this!
Read MoreDay of Caring — Pictures and Thank You!
On Friday, September 11, 2009 United Way’s Day of Caring was truly one of the most memorable United Way Days of Caring ever in the history of Central Texas. We kicked-off not only United Way’s Day of Caring event, but also the 2009 community-wide giving campaign. We started the day with a volunteer breakfast, followed by a tribute to those whose lives were lost on September 11, 2001; turning remembrance of a day of tragedy into a day of hope and caring. The presentation of colors by the Civil Air Patrol Pegasus Squadron Elite Color Guard and the National Anthem sung by Tanya Winch, a local artist who brought tears to the eyes of many of the volunteers. Guest speakers spoke about the importance of volunteering in Central Texas and rallied hundreds of volunteers who gathered at the kick-off breakfast event. Will Matthews, representing the Athletes for Hope Organization, shared his passion for philanthropy and talked about the importance of improving lives and strengthening communities through volunteer service. Throughout the day more than 1,000 volunteers worked at over 50- project sites throughout Central Texas, helping local nonprofits. Volunteers upgraded childcare facilities, trained for disaster response, beautified community gardens, improved parks and much more. The estimated dollar value of the volunteer time on this single day was $111,172! See more pictures from the event here: Share your United Way Day of Caring volunteer experience by posting your pictures and comments! Thank you, Diana A. SantosCorporate and Volunteer Relations Director
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