AT&T External Affairs employees came by the United Way for Greater Austin office to present their 2014 employee campaign corporate gift check for $70,000. AT&T invited several leaders from their Employee Resource Groups to attend the check presentation and learn more about our work in the Austin community.
UWATX runs employee campaigns in more than 400 Austin-based businesses, and AT&T’s employee campaign ranks #5 in terms of how much they raise.
City Council member Ora Houston stopped by to thank AT&T employees and UWATX for providing more opportunities to working poor families in Austin. Kevin Rogel, one of our former VPL students and now UWATX donor, thanked AT&T employees for their generosity and spoke about how he has benefitted from UWATX services and why he decided to become a donor after getting hired at his first job.
After the check presentation and hearing from Kevin and Ora, the AT&T employees toured our Navigation Center and received an overview of the work done through 2-1-1 calls and Central Health. They learned about the biggest needs in our community, as seen from data from the more than 330,000 calls that are taken every year by our call specialists, and heard firsthand from the specialists about the importance of this call center.
Randy Clawson, who leads the Veterans Employee Resource Group at AT&T, was especially inspired by Kevin’s story and the Navigation Center’s work. “I am looking forward to our 2015 campaign and continued partnership with United Way in hopes we can create a community of ‘Kevin Rogels.’”
Booker H. Tyrone, who leads the AT&T Community Network, said, “As we encounter the unique and sometimes challenging environment of the less fortunate Austin community members, Community Network will continue supporting the United Way’s efforts to make a difference.”
The continued support and generosity of AT&T employees is critical to the impact that UWATX has in the Central Texas community, and we want to thank you for continuing to give to further our mission of creating a greater Austin for all!