2014 was a successful year for the Young Leaders Society (YLS), and we hope that it was rewarding for you both personally and professionally. While reflecting on the success of this year, we also have the opportunity to look forward into 2015 and explore what’s in store for the YLS in the new year. As you’ve most likely heard, YLS has an ambitious goal of raising $180,000 this campaign year to fund full-time social workers on each of the three campuses where we work. This approach will allow us to serve even more students in a meaningful way and keep them on the path to graduation. We would love you to be a part of our fundraising campaign to make a difference in the lives of some of our neediest middle schoolers. You can do that by giving directly to United Way or through our YLS peer-to-peer fundraising taking place in February. Keep an eye out for more details on our big online give-a-thon coming in a few weeks. There are a couple of exciting things we have in store to help us get going on our $180K goal. The 2nd annual “State of the YLS” meeting is coming up on January 6 at Speakeasy. You’ll hear speakers from the YLS Committee and staff from the middle school campuses we support. You can expect to hear what we’re all about (“it’s for the kids!”) and how you can get involved in the coming months. This event is for both current members and those interested in […]
Read More ?>What a difference a year makes
A little over a year ago, a group of young professionals began meeting and discussing ways that we could make a positive change in some of Austin’s most vulnerable communities. I’m proud to have been part of that group. We’ve had the chance to get to know each other better, help the community, and have a lot of fun along the way. More importantly, we’ve had the chance to be inspired by an amazing group of kids that are working to make Austin greater. You don’t have to take my word for it: I’m humbled by the accomplishments of the group over the last year and wanted to share a few of our key initiatives. Volunteering at UWATX’s Manor Summer Program – This year, we had the opportunity to help out with UWATX’s Summer Program at Decker Middle School. In this program, 75 plus low income middle schoolers had the chance to participate in a seven-week program designed to combat the effect of “summer slide.” As noted by Target Graduation Director Nichole Lopez- Riley, ““We know that a lack of summer learning contributes substantially to students falling behind academically across many subjects. This initiative is aimed to provide students with the materials, project-based learning opportunities and access to services they need during the summer break to be successful.” A highlight of the program was Summer Learning Day on June 20. The day was a chance for students in the UWATX Manor Summer Program to interact with volunteers and learn more about how to advocate for their […]
Read More ?>Jesse Garcia on giving back: “I owe it to the community to pay it forward.”
Yesterday, Young Leaders Society (YLS) members joined 75 low-income fifth, sixth and seventh grade students from our Manor Summer Program to host the Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering (TAME) “Trailblazer”—the only interactive museum-on-wheels in Texas. YLSers in STEM careers connected to eager middle schoolers learning fundamental concepts in that arena. One of these dedicated YLSers was Jesse Garcia, who is in the Engineering Rotation Program at Freescale, for whom the effort struck home. “I grew up in a low income neighborhood where everyone was expected to find a job after highschool and people didn’t really talk about college,” explained Jesse. “I was lucky to have a 4th grade teacher who pulled me aside one day to talk to me about engineering and how he thought I’d be a good engineer. From that point forward, it became my goal. I want to bring the same experience to other kids so that hopefully they can find their own goal and hopefully spend their days doing something that’s not a “job” because they love it. I guess I feel like I owe it to the community to pay that forward.” Jesse first got involved with YLS because Kara Birge told him it was a group focused on helping middle school students. “When I asked her how, she said I had to come to find out. Seeing the speakers there made me want to come volunteer, so I signeed up for the next project. It was a great experience so I kept coming back.” Here’s more of Jesse’s inspiring story: “YLS is a group […]
Read More ?>Summer Learning Day: Bridging the Access Gap
On June 20, students at Decker Middle School had the opportunity to engage in service learning with the help of a few special volunteers from the UWATX Young Leader Society (YLS). Summer Learning Day, a national initiative that we participated in, this year focused on bridging the access gap for summer learning options between high- and low-income students. “It is encouraging to know we are providing this opportunity for students to learn and engage with their peers.” – Julie Fisher, YLSer & Samsung Austin Semiconductor employee The day was a chance for students in the UWATX Manor Summer Program to interact with volunteers and learn more about how to advocate for their neighborhood. Through interaction and discussion, they also had a chance to learn more about a wide variety of careers. The day began with a financial education program that included four United Way bank-on partners to talk about their work. The students also had the chance to play two games that taught them about finance and budgeting with a little help from Smarties candy. Next, the students participated in an advocacy session. Students and YLS volunteers participated in a letter writing campaign and in a unique photo petition, advocating to the Travis County Government for community change in the Decker area. Later, representatives from the UWATX Navigation Center were on hand to talk about 2-1-1 and its role in the community. The presentation included a competition that encouraged students to learn about the resources available through the Navigation Center. To wrap up […]
Read More ?>We have an obligation to make Austin greater
Like many people, my original exposure to United Way was through an Employee Giving Campaign – when a speaker from one of United Way’s partner agencies came to our staff meeting and talked about the difference that United Way made. The story was compelling, so I became a donor. At that point, I didn’t give a lot of thought to the big picture of United Way in the community. Over the years, I was exposed to more and more stories through our company’s campaign, and I even got involved in our company’s Day of Caring. I began to see some of the direct effects of United Way’s work and that, through UWATX, we were all making a difference in a broad way, but I still wasn’t where I am today. The big change happened about a year ago when I was approached about being involved in the relaunch of the Young Leaders Society. From the start, it was clear that this was going to be a different kind of philanthropic group. It was one that was going to make a difference for a specific group kids during one of the hardest times in their life – middle school. I remembered my own middle school experience, and how awkward and difficult everything seemed. I can’t imagine going through that along with the financial, family and language challenges that some of these kids have. So, I jumped at the opportunity to support the Target Graduation program through financial contributions and volunteer projects. Giving is about more than the money. It […]
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