Author: Aviva Pinchas

We continue with our profiling of our new programs with an agency and program many of you are probably familiar with because of its long-time, outstanding service to Central Texas. Any Baby Can was also the beneficiary of this year’s 3M 1/2 Marathon, one of the more popular annual events here in Austin. They’ve been kind enough to share with us a wonderful story below, and you’ll no doubt want to read more stories about the impact they are making here. Any Baby Can Child and Family Resource Center has served Austin/Travis County and its surrounding communities for more than 28 years as a premiere, comprehensive family service organization. Any Baby Can’s mission is to ensure that all children reach their potential through education, therapy, and family support services. In 2007, Any Baby Can brought help and hope to over 5,000 of Austin’s youngest, sickest, and poorest children. Most families participating in the Any Baby Can Healthy and Fair Start (HFS) program have multiple risk factors including very low income, unstable housing, low literacy levels, limited job skills, limited English language skills, social isolation, lack of personal transportation, and limited knowledge of community resources. Parents of children birth to five years find support and encouragement in the HFS Program to create a healthy, positive home environment. Participating children consistently display improvements in cognitive skills, emotional adjustment, expressive language, and fine motor abilities, while their moms and dads improve parenting techniques, establish support systems, and secure community resources for their family. […]

Between now and the Super Bowl you and your United Way can help generate $100,000 to support UWA young adult and campus based programs. Click here to participate in “Performance with a Purpose”, and please forward the link to 10 friends so they can help support United Way too! (When you first land on the site, a movie screen will pop-up that you can close to click on the “Support United Way bubble” as in the picture below.) Gatorade will donate $1 to support United Way for each click through. http://drinkg2.com/

These are the words that were conveyed to over 250 volunteers during the United Way and Hands On Central Texas MLK Day of Service celebration on January 19, 2008. The celebration started with a kick-off event at Huston-Tillotson University that reflected on Reverend Martin Luther King’s dream toward racial equality, economic justice and his commitment for nonviolence. Reverend Joseph Parker of David Chapel Missionary Baptist Church delivered the keynote address sharing his personal memories, as a young man in Birmingham, Alabama, of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Others speakers included Yvonne Ortiz-Prince, Dean of Student Affairs, Huston-Tillotson University, State Representative Dawnna Dukes and David Balch, President United Way Capital Area. The program also featured performances by the Huston-Tillotson University Choir, The Cipher Austin’s Hip-Hop Project, DJ Statik and an interactive activity led by the Theatre Action Project. Immediately following the celebration volunteers honored Dr. King’s legacy of service by beautifying the MLK Jr. Blvd, picking up litter and cleaning up, sanitized and cleaned-up the children’s playroom areas at SafePlace, sprucing up and painting a room in an East Austin Church, working on the winter garden at Oak Springs Garden and other similar volunteer projects throughout Austin. Additionally, a large group of volunteers from diverse walks of life came together to work on “Peace Benches” reflecting on the lessons of Dr. King as they choose a quote for imprint on the bench, a messages of peace or inspiring words. A total of nineteen “Peace Benches” were built on Saturday. This is […]

Today, we visited Austin Groups for the Elderly’s Elderhaven Adult Day Care, the only licensed medical-model adult day care program in Travis County. Elderhaven is one of our newly funded programs, and the impact they are making on the quality of so many seniors’ lives is impressive. Many varied activities are planned throughout the day for the participants, and everyone is monitored closely by the activity director. They related to us one recent heartwarming example of a lady whose quality of life was improved remarkably—she was believed to be catatonic and unable to feed herself, but through persistent instruction from the activity director, she “learned” how to eat again after having grown completely sedentary in her apartment, and was even up and dancing after several days of participation in the program. We were delighted to learn that Elderhaven Adult Day Care Center was recently featured in the news, by Andrea Ball at the Austin American Statesman: Staffers make a concerted effort to help newbies feel welcome. They introduce the newcomer to the whole group, reminding everyone how hard it is to be in a strange environment. Say hi to our new friend, staffers say. Make her feel comfortable. And, also on this morning’s Fox News, a great introduction to their work. What was also very impressive about Elderhaven’s work is the number of other non-profit programs in the area that benefit from them, taking advantage of the community space and medical equipment they have on hand. Austin Groups for the […]

What a fantastic evening at the Carver! We had a great turn out and the film was amazing. We began the evening with cookies and hot cider (much needed with the cold weather outside!) and then all gathered in the theater for the screening of “Every Mother’s Son”. This POV film depicted the story of 3 mothers from diverse backgrounds dealing with the aftermath of their sons’ murders at the hands of New York Police. Following the film, Jeremy Solomons led our panel consisting of Police Chief Art Acevedo; Police Monitor, Cliff Brown; Austin NAACP President, Nelson Linder; Cheryl Lee, community member representing the mothers out there; and Sheriff Greg Hamilton. It seemed like we could have gone on for hours as the questions and answers got more in-depth and exciting. The conversation definitely does not have to end. Post your comments- we love to hear your thoughts about the difficult topic, the controversial discussion, and how you felt about it all. I know I had more questions and here’s one to start us off… While Police Chief Acevedo and Police Monitor Cliff Brown told us a myriad of ways for us to get involved (including attending this series and others to learn more about the issues we face in Austin and around the country), I left wondering how the average citizen knows about these ways. Where do we read up on how to get involved? Aside from voting, how do we make sure that our voices are heard and […]

Here’s another way we’re engaging the community to learn about critical community issues and open spaces for meaningful discussions. As part of our MLK activities, we’re kicking off the 2008 Echoes of Color Film Series tonight with Every Mother’s Son. This film tells the story of three victims of police brutality that made headlines around the country: Amadou Diallo, the young West African man whose killing sparked intense public protest; Anthony Baez, killed in an illegal choke-hold; and Gary (Gidone) Busch, a Hasidic Jew shot and killed outside his Brooklyn home. “Every Mother’s Son” tells of the victims’ three mothers who came together to demand justice and accountability. After the screening of the film, Jeremy Solomons will lead a discussion with attendees and panelists including Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton, Nelson Linder, President of the Austin branch of the NAACP and Cheryl Lee, mother and community volunteer. I’m excited about the second part of the screening! I hope we can stimulate meaningful discussion and proactively find solutions to issues we’re dealing with right here in Austin. ECHOES OF COLOR FILM SERIES presentsEvery Mother’s Son6:30 – 8:30pmGeorge Washington Carver Museum & Cultural Center1165 Angelina St.Austin, TX 78702 MandoDirector, Hands On Central Texashttp://www.handsoncentraltexas.org/

So we’re getting ready for the MLK Peace Bench Project as part of this weekend’s MLK Day of Service. We started with the prep last weekend and came up with a couple of prototypes. Muchisimas gracias to our super volunteer leaders, Tom and Eddie! They’ll be helping the volunteers put these benches together. And a big thank you to the City of Austin for supporting this new project. The “Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Bench Project” is one of the most exciting projects taking place as part of the MLK Day of Service! Over the course of 2008, volunteers will construct 100 “peace benches” for placement at community centers in East Austin. The peace benches feature images, quotes and inspirational words related to Dr. King and his legacy. The benches will be places for people at community centers to sit, discuss, learn, inspire, and reflect on the teachings of Dr. King. MLK Peace Bench Prototypes Help us live the dream and sign up for this and many other MLK projects! MandoDirector, Hands On Central Texashttp://www.handsoncentraltexas.org/

Do you have the “ganas” (will) to change the world? Are you an innovative person? Do you have ideas to make our Central Texas community a better place to live? If you answered yes or are intrigued by these questions…keep reading. As part of our Community Engagement strategies, we are hosting the Public Innovators Lab with nationally recognized thought leader, Rich Harwood from the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation. This is a national training that brings civic leaders together to address root cause issues and is intended for people that want to accelerate change and create authentic hope in their communities. Learn what it takes to re-orient yourself in public life, discover new frameworks for working on current challenges, and network with a growing body of public innovators. We only have 12 spaces (out of 50) left and they are filling up fast! We already gave away 20 scholarships too! Public Innovators LabHosted by United Way Capital Area, Hands On Central Texas and the Harwood Institute for Public InnovationFebruary 6-8, 20078:00-5:30pmCost: $995.00Sign up today for the Public Innovator Lab!“If change can happen anywhere in America, it can happen in Central Texas”-Rich Harwood In this video, Rich Harwood talks about his impressions of the Central Texas community and our ability to create change and make hope real… Any Public Innovators out there? Tell us how you want to “create change and make hope real!” MandoDirector, Hands On Central Texasarmando.rayo@unitedwayaustin.org512-225-0360

We will be frequently profiling one of our newly funded programs. This week, we look at Hospital Visitation to the Parents of Newborns, under our Education (Early Childhood) focus area. Our friends at Family Connections have provided us with some great Parent Educator stories about the work they are doing. The Parents of Newborns Project provides parenting education and resources to families within 48 hours after childbirth to help ensure optimal mental and physical health of parents and infants and to encourage positive parent-infant interactions. Parent educators follow up with families to provide further resources and support. Parent Educators with the Parents of Newborns Project are staff, contractors and volunteers who work with families to provide support during the newborn period. Parent Educators come from diverse background and go through extensive training on varied topics that are essential in supporting new families such as: Child development Positive Parenting Health and Safety (car seats, safe sleep guidelines, etc) Infant Feeding Breastfeeding Postpartum Adjustment and Depression Community Resources Hospital Procedures Perhaps the most important skill Parent Educators have is active listening and providing peer support. Parent Educators literally provide a shoulder to cry on and a heart to listen to new parents who are adjusting to life with a new baby. Comments from ParentsFrom a Dad: “I call your notebook of information, the manual, the Baby Manual.” One mom told us that our book had the most useful information she had, that she had 10 other reference books that she had gotten […]