Since 2011, Catherine Morse has shared her passion for early childhood and commitment to community service with the UWATX Board of Directors and Success By 6 Leadership Council. Now, we are proud to announce that Morse, named an ABJ Woman of Influence in 2011, begins an 18-month term as Vice Chair of the Board before taking on the role of Board Chair in 2015. When I’m thinking about my role in all of this, it’s about being an evangelist – an advocate that shares the knowledge I’ve gained to drive solutions. – Catherine Morse What inspired you to get involved with UWATX? Three years ago, Samsung Austin Semiconductor made a $1M gift to Success By 6 to celebrate expanding our business in Austin and to provide support for the community after the recession. It also opened the door for my relationship with United Way for Greater Austin. Before that gift, I didn’t know much about United Way or Success By 6. Since then, I’ve met the inspirational leaders here – Debbie Bresette as President and Sue Carpenter leading the charge for early childhood – and I’ve learned so much about the need in this community. When you look at the data, it’s shocking, and I continue to be involved because those numbers move me to action. How do you see UWATX’s role in the community, now and in the future? Today, United Way is a powerful convener, pulling together nonprofits, businesses, individuals and government on key issues, setting goals and […]
Read MoreTeaching your kids about philanthropy
Posted on by Christa Berry
This week marks Global Youth Service Day – honoring the young individuals that give back to our unique communities in various ways. And while for many the word “philanthropist” implies someone with millions of dollars available to donate, at United Way for Greater Austin we believe that anyone can be a philanthropist – especially the younger generations. So as Global Youth Service Day celebrates and mobilizes millions of young people who improve their communities each day of the year through service, it reminds us to use this as an opportunity to help children learn about giving, the importance about helping others in need and how they can help support their community. The benefits of actively fostering children’s charitable impulses are enormous. Besides helping counter the overdeveloped “I want, I want” impulse, it gives kids a powerful boost in self-esteem to realize they can make a different in someone’s life. To help children recognize how they can be a philanthropist, consider the suggestions below. Be hands on. Most people tend to associate charity with giving money, yet for many children, it’s hard to comprehend the abstract concept of donating money to a charitable cause. Instead, think about having your children join you when you volunteer at the soup kitchen or when you donate clothing to the Goodwill. Also when choosing a project, try to align with your child’s interests. The more your child relates to the process, the more likely they are to have an enjoyable experience and independently consider […]
Read MoreGetting the unbanked banked
Posted on by Christa Berry
Today, United Way for Greater Austin kicks off a strategic outreach campaign to help Austin families save hundreds of dollars each year by opening free or low-cost bank accounts. Through our Bank On Central Texas (BOCT) initiative, we’ve gathered a coalition of eight local banks and two local credit unions to promote the importance of bank accounts and track how many we’ve helped open. “United Way for Greater Austin and our Bank On partners are committed to ensuring Austinites have access to basic banking and other financial services,” said Sarah Janecka, Director of the Financial Opportunity program at UWATX. “By avoiding check-cashing fees, families are able to keep their hard-earned money and use it for basic needs, save for education and build up emergency funds. A bank account is a critical step to long-term financial stability and helping families thrive.” Without a bank account, families pay close to $1,000 a year in fees to cash checks. In Austin, 32,500 households lack a bank account and on top of that, about 70,000 are underbanked – meaning, while they have a bank account they still access high-cost services like payday and auto-title loans because they are not taking advantage of other banking services. Overall, 1 in 3 Austin households lack the financial products to build savings and make the most of their money. The BOCT initiative launched in 2009 and has already helped open 12,000 new bank accounts. Through this outreach campaign, which will run through the end of June, UWATX hopes to educate […]
Read MoreHOW TO: Be one of the helpers
Posted on by Aviva Pinchas
When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ – Mr. Rogers This week, tragic events in West, Texas and Boston, Massachusetts have tested our communities. At the same time, a powerful message has spread – one of hope, kindness and togetherness. At United Way, we are a strong network – a network of local organizations serving our local communities, a network of philanthropists giving our time and resources and a network of people sharing our compassion. If you’re looking to make a difference in this time, here’s how you can get involved: Give to United Ways in affected communities – United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley continues to help Boston To support our neighbors, donate now to the recovery in West, Texas. UWATX will pool these dollars along with United Ways across Texas to ensure this community has the support it needs in the days and months ahead. If you’d like to give in another way, please contact us. Spread the word about how to help – Share this blog post to let others know about their options or this Facebook post Share posts from our sister organizations in Boston and Waco Follow 2-1-1 Texas on Facebook and encourage your friends and family to call our Navigation Center at 2-1-1 for the latest information Let people know how to get help – Call our […]
Read MoreThe power of female philanthropy: 500 givers, $1.2M, nearly 10K lives
Posted on by Aviva Pinchas
This week, our Women’s Leadership Council (WLC) celebrated another successful year of female philanthropy at the home of long-time supporter Anne Smalling. Here are a few highlights from the event: This year’s WLC co-chairs, Jennifer Foster (Dell) and Lauren Hammonds (Blackbaud), welcomed our guests and thanked them for their gifts of time, resource and advocacy. We recognized Betsy Abell and the generosity of the Buena Vista Foundation. We announced the collective impact of our WLC members: $592,000. Thanks to a matching gift from the Buena Vista Foundation, that means a total of $1.2M is being invested in UWATX’s Success By 6 (SB6) program, changing the lives of Austin’s youngest and most vulnerable children. Sue Carpenter, Senior Director of SB6, provided an inside look into this year’s successes – including impacting 9,900 lives and other results listed above – and next year’s exciting initiatives. At the end of the evening, members left with cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes and a renewed passion for Central Texas philanthropy. Get involved: make a gift today, get informed about WLC or learn more about how your company can benefit from sponsoring this inspiring group of dedicated women and reach out to get involved.
Read MoreVolunteer Project Leaders show grown-ups how it’s done
Posted on by Celso Baez
In the early spring days of March and April, classes of Volunteer Project Leaders (VPL) at Decker and Mendez Middle Schools – 30 middle school students making a difference in their community – directed staff, administrators and founding members of the UWATX Young Leaders Society (YLS) in their first campus clean-up projects. The Decker VPL students, using the skills they’d obtained through their VPL training, instructed us through a detailed gardening project to beautify their campus: we raked old flowerbeds, planted fresh seeds and mulched the school garden. Volunteers worked tirelessly on that sunny day and there was never a dull moment as one of our esteemed young leaders, Mr. Juan Wah, hummed and sang his rendition of Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe. The project ended with a student-facilitated recap – allowing us the opportunity to discuss everyone’s favorite part of the day. The VPL class at Mendez Middle School achieved their big milestone just a few days later: organizing and participating in their own campus clean-up project. The VPL class, along with volunteers from YLS, covered a ton of ground as we trekked across campus in search of unwanted, miscellaneous trash. The Mendez VPL students set an incentive for the person who found the most bizarre piece of trash – a gift certificate. Among the many items found the contenders were: a “Will you go out with me?” note a car floor mat a mouse pad a smoke alarm several carpet squares a dismembered sock monkey. The dismembered […]
Read MoreNational Public Health Week
Posted on by Christa Berry
This week is National Public Health Week and this year the American Public Health Association is asking, “Does public health have a return on investment?” Here’s our take on it: A few years ago, Central Health was experiencing an abundance of requests for its health care services. The growing needs presented challenges for the agency and those in need, so Central Health partnered with the UWATX Navigation Center in 2009 to eliminate barriers, increase accessibility and help more people. 200,000 Number of calls answered through this partnership 90,000 Number of appointments scheduled Through this partnership, our in-house call center, made a meaningful commitment to further promote health care. Our call specialists perform over-the-phone eligibility screenings and appointment scheduling for callers to access the Medical Assistance Program (MAP), Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) in just a few minutes. In 2011, we helped 70,000+ callers. In 2012, that number jumped to 110,000+ callers – that’s 40,000 more calls than the year before. Our Navigation Center made 76 percent of all Central Health appointments in 2012. Despite the availability of services, too often, needs are not met because residents are unaware of the support available to them or simply do not have the time to research the best options and book appointments. This partnership seeks to solve that problem by decreasing these barriers and serving the customer directly. So yes, we believe there is a return on investment with public health.
Read MoreFree tax help for just two more weeks
Posted on by Christa Berry
April 15 is rapidly approaching and families across Central Texas are hurrying to submit their federal tax returns. Each year United Way for Greater Austin partners with Foundation Communities through our Financial Opportunity program and our Navigation Center to prepare tax returns at no cost for families making $50,000 or less. Last year, the Community Tax Centers filed more than 16,000 returns, bringing more than $11M in Earned Income Tax Credits back to our community, and more than $27M in total federal refunds. UWATX invests $100,000 in the Community Tax Centers for training, recruiting and managing 500+ IRS-certified volunteers. UWATX also supports the tax centers by providing all the location, time and documentation information over the phone through the UWATX Navigation Center. One of the UWATX Navigation Specialists, Cathy Swan, has helped families find the nearest Community Tax Center for more than three years. Cathy is very familiar with the program since she has had her taxes filed at the center before. “In 2009 I needed help filing my tax return. I went to the Community Tax Centers and they helped me get my full refund. In addition, my daughter was getting ready to apply for college and the Community Tax Centers helped us apply for FAFSA.” Cathy was so pleased with the Community Tax Centers that she enjoys connecting other families through 2-1-1; she says “it’s a great feeling to give back this way.” It’s not too late to get help filing the 2012 federal tax return. Families can call […]
Read MoreHands On makes a $2M impact
Posted on by Aviva Pinchas
Hands On Central Texas makes a $2M impact from United Way for Greater Austin Last year, our Hands On Central Texas program, Austin’s largest volunteer network, made quite a difference, and here are just a few highlights: Our in-house team of two volunteer managers coordinated 13,000 volunteers – that’s 92,000 hours of doing good Through our Hands On database, approximately 10,000 additional volunteers got connected to meaningful projects We worked with more than 500 organizations, businesses and groups We adapted our Volunteer Project Leader program for middle school students and started classes at Webb Middle School. Our first class of students did so much good work, we expanded it to Decker Middle School and Mendez Middle School – the other campuses served by Middle School Matters. We did the math: based on the value of an hour of volunteering, for only the hours we directly managed, Hands On Central Texas made an impact of more than $2 million! We couldn’t have done it with out you: we – our team alongside the companies, individuals and organizations that came out for our Days of Caring and other projects – made Austin greater. Thank you!
Read MorePolicy proposals for Austin children – the full details
Posted on by Aviva Pinchas
In our community, low-income children are our fastest growing demographic – growing two times faster than in the state, which is twice as fast as the national growth rate. Recently, policy proposals from state and national officials have put children in the spotlight, and with growing conversation about how to best serve vulnerable children, our Success By 6 program has compiled some insights on the importance of quality care and different policy suggestions about how to support children and parents. The Research We spoke with a panel of experts (Dr. Elizabeth Gershoff, Dr. Aletha Huston and Dr. Elliot Tucker-Drob)from The University of Texas about nationally-recognized research in the area. Here’s what they had to say: In Oklahoma and Florida (where universal preschool has been adopted), parents are taking advantage of the opportunity (75 and 76 percent adoption, respectively). However, quality and outcomes vary based on funding – Oklahoma is seeing greater results because of a greater investment. Research has shown that preschool provides a $7 return on every dollar invested. Research specifically on Head Start shows early results and then fade-out by first grade. Researchers are working to understand these numbers, but have found that looking at longer-term outcomes – like being employed and staying out of jail versus first grade testing – still show the benefits of Head Start. Preschool helps close the achievement gap: research from UT shows that preschool can make up for differences in the home environment and help children be more successful in school. This effect […]
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