Author: Ricky Deakyne

Students Spend Spring Break Volunteering at Ronald McDonald House

While some of their classmates laid on a beach or drove cross-country, some students from Webb Middle School chose to spend part of their Spring Break giving back to others. The VPL program is a UWATX initiative and a collaboration between the organization’s efforts to support three area middle schools—Webb, Mendez and Decker Middle Schools. Students participating in the afterschool VPL program learn how to take a leading role in changing their community each week. VPL students from Webb Middle School were charged with developing, planning, coordinating and executing a volunteer project on their own terms. The Webb students chose to support the Ronald McDonald House because they wanted to support families staying at the “home-away-from-home” while their children are being treated at Austin-area hospitals. Past graduates from the VPL program who are now in high school or beyond, members of UWATX’s Young Leaders Society, F.O.R.C.E. dance team members and Kerbey Lane Cafe volunteers assisted the Webb students in making breakfast for the 20 families who are staying at the Ronald McDonald House. The menu included green pancakes made with Kerbey Lane Cafe’s famous pancake batter, as well other traditional breakfast foods, such as hash browns, oatmeal and fruit skewers. The students also made St. Patrick’s Day cards for the families and passed them around after the breakfast. The students and volunteers took a tour of the Ronald McDonald House after the breakfast to learn more about the organization. Shoutout to these exceptional future leaders of Austin for spending their […]

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UWATX Appoints David C. Smith As New CEO

We are excited to announced that the UWATX Board of Directors has appointed David C. Smith, founder of Hill Country Ride for AIDS, as Chief Executive Officer effective immediately today. David has been in executive nonprofit leadership for more than 20 years in Austin, leading mission-focused and results-driven organizations to substantial growth. While serving as the founder and Executive Director of Hill Country Ride for AIDS from 2001-2012, he was concurrently the founder and Executive Director of Mamma Jamma Ride for Breast Cancer, making both rides two of the largest in the country. “As we face a rapidly changing city, I am very enthusiastic about what the future holds for us, and look forward to engaging and collaborating with other community organizations, individuals, corporations, and our elected officials to come together around a common dream for a stronger, more vibrant community for all. It’s going to take all of us to ensure that everyone has access to the same opportunities to fully enjoy the promise of Austin, and together, we can get there.” –David C. Smith In 2011, David started his own consulting firm with an emphasis on nonprofit clients with services including fundraising, strategic planning, executive coaching and collaborative projects. Most recently, David served as the Interim Executive Director of Conspirare from September 2012 to August 2013 and Interim Executive Director of The Thinkery from October 2014 to September 2015. “The board of directors was beyond impressed with David’s extensive nonprofit experience, outstanding leadership skills and enthusiasm for our […]

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Americorps, Literacy Coaches Make a Difference for Young Children

In Travis County, only about 42% of children from low-income families enter Kindergarten ready to learn. Research also tells us that there is a large vocabulary gap at age four between children from low-income families and children from high-income families. These are striking statistics because children who start school behind, are more likely to stay behind, and many never catch up. They are also more likely to need special education services and by adulthood, many drop out of high school and become part of the juvenile justice system. In order to support language development and improve school readiness among children in our Center Project centers, Success By 6 brought six AmeriCorps members and five Classroom Coaches on board this past fall to provide literacy and math support in early learning centers throughout Austin. The cadre of educators spends between 10 and 40 hours per week working directly with low-income children, building oral language skills, providing engaging research-based math and literacy curriculum, and supporting social-emotional development. This work is done in large groups, small groups and sometimes one-on-one. The supplemental one-on-one and small group instruction is incredibly important as it provides children with individualized instruction that is appropriate for their skill level. After analyzing last year’s interventions, UWATX saw tremendously positive results from this focus on literacy and math development. During the seven-month intervention period, children in our program saw more than 17 months of growth in their receptive language development. Furthermore, nearly 90% of the children from low-income families were developmentally on-target in […]

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UWATX Launches CommunityTHRIVE

United Way for Greater Austin recently launched a new initiative within our Financial Stability work called CommunityTHRIVE. CommunityTHRIVE provides financial education classes, coaching and community resources in partnership with the City of Austin Neighborhood Centers and Goodwill. Connie is an engaged community member at the Rosewood-Zaragosa Neighborhood Center who participated in the first CommunityTHRIVE class series we just wrapped up. She also volunteers at R-Z food distributions and serves on the advisory board at the Conley-Guerrero Senior Activity Center next door, advocating for programs and trips for her peers. She is a recent retiree adjusting to living on a fixed income, adding new financial difficulties to her life. CommunityTHRIVE is a four class series on budgets, debt, credit and saving open to community members at the City of Austin’s Rosewood-Zaragosa Neighborhood Center. Participants are also supported with one-0n-one financial coaching and incentives from the food bank for participation. In partnership with the Capital Area Food Bank, we are able to offer participants completing the CommunityTHRIVE classes a “food scholarship.” Participants earn a certificate in class which they can redeem for an extra basket of fresh food at several local pantries. We asked Connie about her experience in the CommunityTHRIVE classes. What was your experience like with CommunityTHRIVE? What did you learn? “It was a positive experience overall. It gave me a lot of validation. I got lots of tips on how what I’m doing could work better.” Connie really liked the handouts she received in the class, including sample budget sheets, how […]

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UWATX’s Scavenger Hunt Encourages Team-Building and Philanthropy

Looking for an innovative way to encourage philanthropy and team-bonding with your employees? Sign up for a UWATX Scavenger Hunt!   The purpose of the UWATX Scavenger Hunt is to highlight the work United Way does in throughout the community through its own programs and the work of its funded partners. This interactive, team-building exercise serves dual purposes by allowing participants to engage in community service while seeing firsthand what their donor dollars support, and even generate revenue for our organization. Over the course of four hours, teams of 4-5 people will have the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the areas we serve and the needs in our community. We believe that giving of one’s time is a valuable way to connect to local causes. Organized team-building activities have also been shown to increase employee morale and loyalty to an organization. The scavenger hunt takes teams on four different adventures throughout Austin: a trivia challenge, a photo challenge, scavenger items and a mystery clue. Mystery Clue: Teams receive an envelope that contains a clue about a mystery location. They are given a small window of time to arrive at the location and are tasked with completing a short activity, usually a small volunteer project. Photo Challenge: Teams are given a list of 20-25 local people, places and things. They must successfully photograph their entire team with as many of these items as possible to earn points. Trivia Challenge: While hustling from place to place in the car, teams will be […]

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SXSW 2016 Preview

It’s either the most wonderful time of the year, or the least wonderful time of the year, depending on which type of Austinite you are–it’s SXSW time. Like it or not, we are mere days away from 320,000 visitors who will flood the streets and venues of our city to check out live music, preview films and learn about the newest innovative ideas at the Interactive convention. We’ve compiled a list of the things we’re most excited to see at SXSW this year: POTUS and FLOTUS make a few appearances This is the first time a U.S. president has stopped at SXSW and he is making it count. On March 11th, President Obama will sit down with Evan Smith, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Texas Tribune, to discuss civic engagement in the 21st Century and to ask the audience to apply their ideas and talents to “make technology work for us – especially when it comes to tackling big challenges like increasing participation in the political process and fighting climate change.” First Lady Michelle Obama will speak on March 16th about the Let Girls Learn initiative, which aims to break barriers for the 62 million girls around the world who are not in school today. No matter your political alliances, how many times will you have the chance to hear a president speak at SXSW? Panel: Building a Philanthropic Fashion Empire: Do Good Local fashion designer and philanthropist, Kendra Scott, will share her views of the importance of corporate social responsibility in a […]

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Webb Students Visit Alternative College

Webb Middle School VPL students took a field trip across the street from their campus to Peloton University inside the For the City Center. The students met with a group of staff and PelotonU students to learn more about the a college advancement organization that provides targeted support to non-traditional students pursuing online education.At PelotonU, students enroll in high-quality online degree programs and are provided with a space where they can study and receive additional tutoring and mentorship as needed. Students completed an ice-breaker activity, higher education myth-busting, interview speed-dating about community needs and education and a college Q&&A session. PelotonU staff and students learned about the Webb students through interview questions on their strengths, proudest accomplishments and what inspires them to serve others. This opened a forum for Webb students to vocalize their dreams of going to business school and their achievements such as learning sign language, as well as learn from PelotonU students about their own experiences. PelotonU staff led a round of trivia about college completion and affordability. Students earned popsicles based on their knowledge of the reality of higher education, including barriers to access and completion. A few things they learned through trivia include: – If 6 in 10 high school graduates enrolled in college, ½ of those students will graduate. -True or false: If you earn a college degree, you will make 1 million dollars over the span of a 40 year career vs if you only have a high school degree. (True) -An average […]

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Five Reasons to Amplify United Way

Amplify Austin Day 2016 is right around the corner. The citywide day of giving takes place on March 8th starting at 6 p.m. and ends on March 9th at 6 p.m. With more than 600 nonprofits participating, check out five reasons you should make a donation to UWATX on Amplify Austin Day.   We are research-based and results-driven. We say this a lot–because it is so important to us! We are not simply creating programs randomly and hoping for results; everything we implement is based off of our own or collaborative research, and we are constantly monitoring and tweaking our programs each year based on previous results. We also collaborate with other organizations to create a bigger impact. It is important to us to be able to prove that what we’re doing is making a tangible difference in the lives of struggling families and individuals…and we can. Check out some of our success stories to see this in action. We focus on the areas of Austin that need us most. Our Middle School Matters program serves students on three campuses where the number of students living in low-income households is 87% or more on each campus. These campuses sit in Dove Springs, St. John’s and Manor, three of Austin’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods. Our Financial Stability program provides free CommunityTHRIVE financial classes to low-income adults. These classes are held in neighborhood centers in low-income neighborhoods, making it easy for attendees to access the classes in their own neighborhoods even if they don’t have […]

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#GoodNews

The Internet can be such a drag these days. It seems multiple times per day there is a negative or heart-breaking story trending, and you can’t seem escape it on your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram feed. Replace the negativity–or at least balance it out–by following these accounts that post positive stories that will remind you that there is still so much good in the world. The Good News Network This news site is dedicated to combatting negativity in the media by providing daily dosages of “news to enthuse.” The site has been around since 1997 and has more than half a million followers. You can even submit your own “good news” story for consideration on the site. Hands On Network This Twitter feed focuses on volunteerism, including opportunities near you, tips for organizing your own projects and inspirational quotes. Humans of New York Photographer Brandon Stanton started Humans of New York as a passion project after quitting his job in the corporate world. The idea is simple: he stops passerbys in New York City and encourages them to share bits of their lives with him. Since the project started as a simple blog in 2010, the popularity of Humans of New York has surged, mostly due to the simple reminder within each post that we are all part of one human race. Brandon now has two books and has raised millions of dollars from social media followers for low-income schools in Brooklyn, Syrian refugees and more. Smart Girls Amy Poehler started Smart Girls […]

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Decker Students Lead Literacy Night Project

Decker Middle School students in our VPL program volunteered at Decker Literacy Night on February 11th. The students in the UWATX VPL (Volunteer Project Leader) program work together to learn to become the next community leaders through afterschool and out-of-school volunteer projects they coordinate and run. Decker Literacy Night was coordinated by the literacy specialist at the middle school, and UWATX’s VPL students designed a booth where they led activities for other students. Last semester, Decker’s VPL students self-selected into project teams after a discussion about social issues that resulted in identifying four need areas that the students wanted to learn more about and support. These areas include: homelessness and hunger, environmental justice, children and literacy, and food and nutrition. Each issue area then chose a name for their project team and have undertaken project planning and leadership activities to help them build their team’s experience. The Big Read team, which focuses on children and literacy, led the Literacy Night booth project. While all VPL students supported the Literacy Night booth, Big Read came up with the ideas, led the activities and served as the project spokespeople. Decker VPL students were in charge of coming up with a theme and creating their booth. They designed a creative and colorful “Critics’ Corner” to give book recommendations and generate excitement about reading among their peers. Popular titles included “The Fault In Our Stars,” “Wonder,” “Girl In a Box” and “The Hunger Games.” Two Young Leaders Society executive members, Frances Jordan and Ward Hoffman, volunteered at […]

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