Meet the Maldonado Family – they live in the Manor area in Austin, Far East on 290. Benito, Sr. and Leonor are parents to Benito, Jr. (15,) Brenda (12) and Blue Emmy (1 mo.) Like the Salazar Family, they face a unique set of economic challenges and rely on their community for support. Benito, Sr. works two jobs to make ends meet for the family, but it can still be a struggle to manage everyday expenses in addition to the cost of housing and utilities. It takes about fifty thousand dollars for just a family of four to break even in Austin, so the Maldonados rarely have enough money at the end of the month after covering their rent, food, childcare, car insurance, bills and more. The Maldonados aren’t alone – half of all people in the Manor neighborhood spend 1/3 or more of their income on housing. And as temperatures rise during the blistering Texas summer, it can be tricky to keep up with high utility bills. Luckily, the Maldonado family is able to utilize our Navigation Center, where dialing 2-1-1 will connect them to local resources that can help them pay these high bills so that their utilities are not disconnected. $50K For a family of four to break even in Austin 50% Renters in Manor who spend 1/3 or more of income on housing The Maldonados have considered using payday loans when they’re behind on bills, but this can cost them $1,000’s in annual fees to predatory […]
Read MoreWOW – YLSers sure did make Austin greater the past two weeks!
We just wrapped up the YLS Virtual Giveathon – and I for one couldn’t be more excited about the results: These efforts directly support our Target Graduation program and help low-income students stay on the path to graduation. I am so proud to be involved in a group that not only volunteers their time, but also leverages their giving and their connections to make our community greater for ALL Austinites. A huge THANK YOU to everyone who participated – donors, fundraisers & all! And among all the amazing results, one individual particularly blew me away: going into this process, Ward Hoffman was nervous about asking his friends for support and unsure he’d reach his goal. Today, he’s the fundraiser who inspired the highest number of donors – congrats and thank you, Ward! All in all, the Young Leaders Society members had lots of clever and heart-warming appeals that show why they were inspired to take this on: And if that wasn’t enough, here’s what a few more things YLS fundraisers had to say: These types of experiences led me to one unavoidable conclusion: we only have each other. Life absolutely isn’t fair. The kindness of every day people is one of the only tools we have to at least make life…livable. — Andrew Castillo, 3M You know middle school can be crazy, incredibly awkward, and just no fun. Luckily YLS has people here to help. The money YOU donate goes to help these kids and in the spirit […]
Read MoreIt’s for the kids!
A year ago, we relaunched the Young Leaders Society with a few big changes – an increased focus on volunteerism, a strong connection to UWATX’s Target Graduation program and the opportunity to give or raise $1,000 per year to make Austin greater. Today, YLS members are kicking off the YLS Virtual Giveathon to help keep students on the path to graduation. Since then, YLS members have planted trees, done campus clean ups, chaperoned dances and supported student volunteer leaders – and we enjoyed a lot of football. We’ve also worked with the students at Decker Middle School to advocate – and the state awarded $1.5 million to build them a sidewalk! All of that has led up to this two-week period where we start truly advocating for the students we’ve worked alongside – in their own words, a lack of funds is often what keeps them from accomplishing all that they want to. I’m sure you can remember how hard (and let’s be honest, so very, VERY awkward) middle school can be. And for many of us, that was without the added challenges poverty brings. I’ve volunteered directly on the three middle school campuses we support (Decker, Mendez and Webb) and alongside the students UWATX empowers to make change in their communities and seen the impact of our work directly. Seeing the impact UWATX’s work makes in these students’ lives makes it easy for me to ask for support and help other YLSers make their requests as well. In the last few weeks, […]
Read MoreFree tax prep is “the best thing I’ve ever come across”
In my work with UWATX, I’ve had the pleasure of helping thousands of Central Texans take a meaningful step towards financial security by opening bank accounts, encouraging savings and taking advantage of free tax prep. Recently, I got to speak with Sarah in La Grange who used myfreetaxes.com/uwatx (which is powered by H&R Block) to file her taxes for FREE. Sarah had just gotten back in town from Brenham where she works at the State Supported Living Center. Sarah has been living in La Grange with her husband and three kids (10,4, and 2) for the last ten years. She grew up in the city and always knew she wanted to raise her kids in a rural setting with good schools. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever come across – I’ve encouraged all of my friends and family to prepare their taxes this way” – Sarah on myfreetaxes.com/uwatx How were you getting your taxes done before this? What changed? I had been getting them done at retail tax preparers for years. Last year, I paid $290 for my return. This year, they whipped it up in what seemed like no time at all and then asked for $315 plus a $35 fee for direct deposit. I can’t afford that, I have a husband and three kids, so I got up and walked out. What did you do then? I reached out to Workforce Solutions in La Grange, TX and they connected me to the United Way service. I sat down at a computer and […]
Read MoreNow that’s service: 60K State employees engage in philanthropy!
“I love that monthly payroll deductions allow me to easily budget my charitable giving for the year. I can always give more outside of SECC if I wish to, but can still feel confident I’m doing my small part to make Austin and the world a little bit better.” – Mark Moore, Texas Real Estate Commission As part of our work to build philanthropy in Austin, we are privileged to serve as the Employee Giving Campaign manager for the State campaign. We work with 60 thousand State employees in Greater Austin to invest in our community. This past year, State employees in the Greater Austin area invested $2.1 million in their community through the annual State Employee Charitable Campaign (SECC), making 2013 the seventh consecutive year they have given more than $2 million. “SECC is an easy and effective way to help state employees connect to nonprofits working on important issues that they care about,” said Janette Gibreal, Chair of the Capital Area SECC Local Employee Committee. “Through personal contributions, state employees can continue the wonderful work they do every day by investing in charities that are working hard to make Texas a great place to live and work.” Each year, we’re happy to celebrate the success of these amazing givers by recognizing agencies with outstanding results: State Agencies that made Austin greater in 2013: Highest Per Capita Gift 1,500 and more employees – Comptroller of Public Accounts ($49.47) 500-1,500 employees – Teacher Retirement System ($223.97) – The Teacher Retirement System increased their per […]
Read MoreAnyone can be a philanthropist
Look up ‘philanthropist’ on Wikipedia and you get a pretty narrow view of who gives back – generally wealthy, famous people. But philanthropy originally meant “the love of mankind,” and we see everyday that it’s not limited to major gifts, that the backbone of giving is often less flashy – investments in our community come from everyday people giving a little bit, and knowing that it adds up to a whole lot. At United Way for Greater Austin, we believe that anyone can be a philanthropist – because we’ve seen it, because any gift is meaningful and because we know the difference it can make for our community and for companies. Since 1924, we’ve worked with companies to provide Employee Giving Campaigns where employees can choose to invest a portion of their paycheck in our community – and the most successful campaigns aren’t necessarily the ones where employees make the most. One of our most giving partners is H-E-B. The company itself gives back generously, but it’s the donations from cashiers and baggers that add up to a whole lot for us – specifically, to more than $1M each year for the last three years in Greater Austin. These gifts come from people like Jackie – she knows the value of giving back first hand. When Jackie was 15, she was in foster care. She then got into a difficult marriage, and needed help getting out of it. At that point she became a single mom who worked and needed […]
Read MoreWhat scarcity means for families we serve & each of us as well
A few months ago, economists and researchers Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir published Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much – a fresh perspective on the causes of poverty that suggests scarcity, a lack of resources like time or money, drastically changes the way people think. Since January is Poverty Awareness Month, this seems like a perfect time to reflect on the psychology of scarcity. Basically, the authors found that scarcity taxes the mind reducing cognitive capacity (IQ) and executive control (willpower). They call this the “bandwidth tax” and it could be experienced in a momentary situation, such as after a long day at the office, or daily and with no end in sight, as is typical when living in poverty. Scarcity also contributes to “tunneling,” an effect where individuals focus exclusively on immediate deadlines, like that the rent is due today or the car needs a repair. That happens because families don’t have a cushion, so there is no slack to cover unexpected financial shocks we all inevitably face and putting out financial fires becomes you primary focus. This explains why a payday loan can look attractive today when a car repair has captured your absolute attention. While putting out the fire, there is no bandwidth to foresee the additional problems that could arise in two weeks when the loan is due. Unfortunately, this creates a cycle – borrowing creates a deeper hole in the future. The psychology of scarcity is true for people who lack financial resources AND those who lack time resources. The same […]
Read MoreUWATX kicks off service year with 5 new AmeriCorps VISTAs
After wrapping up a banner year with two Success By 6 VISTAs, we are welcoming five new AmeriCorps VISTAs to the Strategic Programs team. As one of several high-performing projects across Texas, we gained the opportunity to bring on two additional VISTA members to support Financial Opportunity and the Navigation Center‘s outreach work, while continuing to support Success By 6. The addition of new VISTA members means that UWATX will have capacity to take on new projects and the staffing to support increased systems building. Continuing support for Success By 6: VISTAs have been crucial to building capacity in early care and family support systems. In order to continue and expand this work the Success By 6 VISTAs, Jeffrey King and Rebecca Nawls-Walker, will support data collection and analysis for the School Readiness Action Plan 2-year update, create and facilitate processes to incorporate parent input into the SRAP, coordinate programs for the Success By 6 Center Project, and manage our digital outreach programs, Text4Baby and Ready Rosie. New efforts in Financial Opportunity: Building upon the early care and education work, the Financial Opportunity VISTA, Willy Raedy, will play a pivotal role focusing on 2-Generation strategies: an approach to early interventions that combines workforce training with high quality child care. Building capacity around 2-Generation efforts improves outcomes for the whole family by focusing on improving parent’s job readiness while providing early interventions for their children. Additionally, Willy will facilitate the blending of financial literacy into workforce development services and manage the […]
Read MoreLet’s help Decker Middle School get a sidewalk!
UPDATE on 7.25.2013: As of today, TXDOT approved priority funding for the Decker sidewalk project, saying the Decker Middle School students that led this charge are “an inspiration.” TXDOT will provide $1.5M in funding to build the sidewalk. Local advocates will work to fundraise an additional $600K to support the project. Special thanks to Mark Marek for his help today! Almost a year ago, UWATX started a Volunteer Project Leader (VPL) class at Decker Middle School – bringing together 6th, 7th and 8th grade students to learn about their community, assess needs and create and manage projects to make real changes at their school. One of the most pressing needs they identified was a sidewalk to make getting to school safer, and over the past year, the students worked hard to make that a reality. The road in front of Decker Middle School is a four-lane highway and the speed limit only drops to 50 mph in the school zone. In the past year, one student was killed crossing the road to get to school. Another saw a person be hit by a car. To date, there has been a third death. In speaking with fellow students, teachers, administrators, business leaders and local advocates, safety was a top concern and the lack of a safe way to cross the street hit the top of the list. The VPL class at Decker led a letter writing campaign to let Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) and Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) officials know about […]
Read MoreSuccess By 6 Play To Learn Kicks Off into a Semester
We’re off and running with the second installment of Play To Learn, a project of our Success By 6 program that works to bring engagement through early education to low-income families at accessible neighborhood locations. Over the course of four installments, the Play To Learn project will impact more than 200 families in Austin’s low-income communities. Play To Learn is an eight-week parent education course that teaches parents of 2- and 3-year-olds how to help their children become school ready through interactive play that fosters brain development. UWATX created an enriching curriculum that allows children to interact with others and teaches parents about developmental milestones and age-appropriate expectations. “One student wouldn’t speak at all when he was first introduced to Play To Learn. He was shy and didn’t want to participate in any of the programming,” said Kaley Horton, Success By 6 VISTA, who manages the project. “At the end of the first group, he stood in front of the class and counted to ten.” The project is the latest effort funded by a generous million-dollar grant from Samsung Austin Semiconductor. The grant initially allowed UWATX to create a first-of-its-kind baseline that showed only 13 percent of children in Austin’s low-income communities were ready to start school, far lower than the 52 percent who are ready in Central Texas overall. “Play To Learn encourages my daughter Jaelizza to step outside of her comfort zone,” said Esmeralda Martinez, parent participant. “Ever since she’s been in the program she wakes up excited to […]
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