UWATX will focus on the St. John’s neighborhood during this year’s 24-hour session of community-wide giving through Amplify Austin in hopes we can expand our work in this community, as well as our other target neighborhoods including Manor and Dove Springs.
Take a look at some of the projects volunteers completed in the St. John’s community within the last year!
Webb students who participate in our Volunteer Project Leaders class have been busy improving their own neighborhood. For Valentine’s Day, they created cards and banners to show their appreciation for teachers at their school.
VPL students also participated in our annual MLK Day of Service by working with members of the Young Leaders Society to create giant jenga and other games for the Big Game – Super Bowl XLIX watch party. Funds generated from the watch party will go toward the YLS $180K Challenge, raising money for full-time coordinators at Webb, Decker and Mendez Middle Schools.
Last December, the neighborhood came together for our Community Tree Lighting held at Webb Middle School. UWATX volunteers gathered more than 1,600 books to give out to kids of all ages who attended the event. Many of the kids walked away with more books than they could carry.
Our valued business partners have also been busy making St. John’s greater in the last year.
Texas Mutual spent the day at Webb Middle School volunteering as part of the Insurance Challenge. Some volunteers worked to beautify the grounds, while others decorated and put together welcome boxes to inspire students for the upcoming school year.
As part of the Ricoh employee campaign, volunteers worked in the Webb Middle School gardens, led by Webb VPL students. Dr. Pepper Snapple Group cleaned up nearby Pickle Elementary and repainted and touched up the Born Learning Trail.
Employees from the Austin American-Statesman also spent time at Pickle Elementary in its numerous gardens, pulling weeds, refreshing water in the pond and trimming flower bushes for our Fall Day of Caring 2014.
And we don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. In March, Webb VPL students will carry out a volunteer project they have planned benefitting families at the Ronald McDonald House. CLS Partners have planned their entire campaign around “Amplify St. John’s,” including a corporate gift made on Amplify Austin and volunteer projects at Pickle Elementary–watch this space for more details coming soon!