“Now let me start from the beginning,” Teresa Martinez, Texas Mutual Project Management, and Analysis Supervisor said. After leaving home at a young age Teresa found herself, a 17-year-old who didn’t finish high-school, working at Target with a young son at home and looking for more. “I happened to notice a sign that read if you’re a youth and you are interested in something more than just your average job, call this number,” Teresa said. “So, I called the number on the sign and after going in and talking with counselors at the program, I called Youth Employment Services and found out that I qualified for help.” Youth Employment Services, at the time, was a funded partner of United Way. The program helped her work towards her GED, obtain a driver’s license and most significantly, helped her get her son into childcare with Any Baby Can – a United Way affiliated partner. “That was my first introduction to United Way,” Teresa said. Change-maker As a 19 year Texas Mutual veteran, Teresa has eight years of United Way campaign coordination under her belt and has once again returned to the campaign as 2017 co-chair. Teresa was the volunteer special events coordinator for the United Way Campaign at Texas Mutual from 2007 – 2013 and during that time, along with the help of passionate coworkers, she organized fundraising events that allowed Texas Mutual Employees to give back to their community in a fun and rewarding way. In […]
Read MoreYLS Member Spotlights
United Way for Greater Austin’s Young Leaders Society (YLS) is a diverse network of young professionals under the age of 40 who are passionate about helping kids and families overcome economic barriers. Through unique networking events, meaningful volunteering and learning opportunities, members leverage their collective power to connect, serve and grow. Membership is open to donors giving $250 or more annually to United Way for Greater Austin. Each month, we’ll help you get to know YLS members through a spotlight! Stay tuned for member interviews each month. January 2018 Member Spotlight: Rose Ann Garza Rose Ann Garza is a longtime supporter of United Way for Greater Austin and and has been a YLS member since 2014. What does your job entail? Ultimately, I take care of our team from start to finish-everything from ensuring we are making our new team members feel welcome to benefits and compensation, incentives, etc. The People Operations team ensures our team feels treated fairly, appreciated and that they have a safe and happy place to work in, something everyone deserves but sadly not everyone gets. Why do you choose to support UWATX? I have always been passionate about giving back to the community in which I reside. Growing up it was part of who we were as a family-I continue to consider volunteerism a part of who I am to this day and am grateful to have been raised with such a focus on others. When I first came to Central Texas for […]
Read MoreKerbey Lane Cafe Celebrates 35 Years In Austin By Donating Proceeds to UWATX
This May marks 35 years that our friends at Kerbey Lane Café have made Austin greater with their delicious pancakes and queso! To commemorate their anniversary, Kerbey Lane Café will donate 100% of net proceeds from ALL Austin-area locations to UWATX on May 4th from 6 a.m. to May 5th at 6 a.m.! Additionally, there will be a festive birthday celebration at all locations from 6-8 p.m. on May 4th, complete with miniature horses, face painting and balloon animals. Kerbey Lane Café is also running a “35 Days Until 35” social media campaign with many exciting giveaways including pancake mix, gift cards and t-shirts. Learn more here. Kerbey Lane Café is currently running their second annual employee campaign with United Way for Greater Austin and their staff embodies the spirit of philanthropy by investing a portion of their paycheck and their time back into our community. Restaurant managers go by the title “Community Ambassador” and make corporate social responsibility a priority. By coordinating volunteer opportunities for their employees with our Hands on Central Texas volunteer center, they’ve been able to log hundreds of volunteer hours in service of Greater Austin! Kerbey Lane Café has been instrumental in supporting our work in early childhood education and dropout prevention by consistently volunteering to participate in beautification projects at our high-quality childcare centers and our target middle school campuses. It’s hard to imagine Austin with out Kerbey Lane Café, and we are so proud to call them community partners and advocates. You may have […]
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