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Last May, we wrote about the Financial Stability advocacy efforts of our friends at Austin Interfaith. They worked this legislative session to get bills passed and signed that will help keep our economy here in Central Texas strong. Now the three bills that would create the “Jobs for Education for Texas” (JET) Fund are awaiting Gov. Perry’s signature. From the Statesman’s POSTCARDS blog: Capital IDEA, the Austin branch, has seen a surge in activity during the past 10 months, organizers said. At a program orientation last month, some 150 of the city’s jobless crammed into the auditorium of an East Austin church. About 650 use the highly selective program a year to obtain a job in nursing, technology or green energy, said Doug Greco, lead organizer for Austin Interfaith. If Perry approves the fund, Capital IDEA could handle about 300 more students a year, he said.

As we gear up for our VIVIR UNIDOS event next week, we’ll be highlighting Latinos doing good in Central Texas. There are lots of Latinos active in our community and we know they many talents to contribute! Thanks to Alex Valdez for championing Latino leadership and United Way!

I was able to capture some magic this week! I did a video shoot with Hispanic professionals & asked them why they have the ganas to VIVIR UNIDOS. A big thank you to Linda Medina with the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation for telling us how she LIVES UNITED! Check out what she has to say… How I LIVE UNITED: Linda Medina from elmundodemando on Vimeo. Don’t forget to RSVP for next Thursday’s VIVIR UNIDOS! Mando

We’re less than 2 weeks away from VIVIR UNIDOS (June 18), our community engagement event that will connect Hispanic communities with nonprofits and doing good in Central Texas! In order for any nonprofit, initiative or community event to be successful, it needs community support and buy-in; they have to believe in the goals and mission. Well, we did our homework and that’s exactly who we have on our Hispanic Community Engagement Advisory Board. I tell you, it is one of the most diverse groups coming from the Hispanic community. We were able to recruit the usual suspects to the non-usual to the ones that don’t necessarily get asked to serve. And really, that’s the main focus of the board – To VIVIR UNIDOS – LIVE UNITED. The (40 member strong) board is chaired by Austin City Council Member Mike Martinez and the board’s role is to provide guidance, counsel, feedback & direction to Hands On Central Texas & United Way on engagement strategies as it pertains to the Hispanic communities. I for one, am excited about our engagement with this board and even more on the work that is ahead of us. As my abuelita used to say, “Siempre para adelante, nunca para atras!” 2009 Hispanic Community Engagement Advisory Board RosterMike Martinez, Austin City Council (Chair)Art Acevedo, Austin Police DepartmentJanis Guerrero, Executive Director for Planning and Community Relations, AISDDavid Escamilla, Travis County District AttorneyLinda Medina, Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation & Founder, Young Hispanic Professional Austin AssociationSandy […]

From Community Action Network‘s newsletter:On Friday, June 12, 2009, all full-power television stations will cease “analog” transmissions and broadcast only a “digital” television signal. This affects all households that receive over-the-air television via rabbit ears or rooftop antenna. Recent Nielsen statistics show that Austin is the third least prepared city in the nation. This means over 30,000 Central Texas households could be at risk to lose television reception. The risk is most concentrated in low-income, senior, and non-English-speaking households. This is a serious public safety matter. Television remains the most widely used resource for important news and information, such as current weather conditions. You can help by informing the public of their options and the need to take action. Older televisions can receive digital signals with the addition of a low-cost digital converter box. Coupons are available from the federal government to offset most of the cost of the converter box. Click here for coupon information. The City of Austin is sponsoring a free DTV Walk-In Help Clinic through June 12 at the DeWitty Job Training and Employment Center, 2209 Rosewood Avenue, Suite 210. Clinic hours and additional information are available here. Additional resources to help people with the DTV transition: – Information on the DTV transition: http://www.dtv.gov/ – FCC hotline for questions & assistance: 1-888-225-5322 – Local Spanish-language assistance: 1-877-625-2591 For further information, please contact Chip Rosenthal at chip@unicom.com or 512-573-5174.

From GivingCity Magazine’s blog: Collaborations like Success By 6, which brings together more than 30 local nonprofits, community leaders, and concerned businesses to build more quality into the network of early childhood centers. SB6 has helped more than double the number of early childhood centers with a quality rating in two years. Their 24×7 helpline 2-1-1 Texas, which fielded almost 200,000 calls last year from Central Texans in need of assistance, connecting them with help, whether with utility bills, finding a local food bank to escaping Hurricane Ike. Click here to read the rest.

From INSITE Magazine: Film festival lights the way for nonprofit and grassroots films On Thursday, April 30, the Reel-to-Reality opening event officially began the festival’s submissions process. Representatives from the American Cancer Society, United Way, Capital Area Food Bank and Best Friends Animal Sanctuary discussed the value of film and video in today’s nonprofit community, showed trailers of their films and formally submitted them to the festival. “As the saying goes, a picture speaks 1,000 words, so we really believe that video is the way of the future,” said United Way representative John Turner before showing his film that advocates the importance of volunteering. Click here to read the entire story.

  The 211 United Way Capital Area Helpline participated in the 2009 Texas Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (TXVOAD) training conference.  It was held at the AT&T Conference Center and Hotel in Austin, Texas, June 1st &2nd. The workshops and training programs focused on increasing the level of preparedness, response, and recovery operations in Texas.  There were voluntary organizations, civic and community service groups, state agencies, and emergency management officials in attendance. The goal was to improve the coordination and communication between voluntary disaster relief organizations, not only during the 2009 hurricane season, but for other disaster events in Texas. 211 Co-Presented with Mary Mays, Emergency Management Coordinator from the Health and Human Service Commissions‘ (HHSC) Texas Information Referral Network (TIRN) on 211’s role state wide during disaster.  211 also participated in other workshops.  Such as, 2008 Hurricane Season Lessons learned presented by Michael Harmon, Field response Administrator Governor’s Division of Emergency Management, and Pandemic Flu: Preparing Your Organization for Potential Impact This Fall presented by Cynthia Morgan PhD, RN, Community Preparedness Section Department of State Health Services, to name a few. If you would like to see how you can become involved in disaster preparedness please contact Jerry Ronquillo, Community Outreach Coordinator with the 211 Texas United Way Capital Area Helpline at 512-323-5566 x55029.