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Making a donation to the United Way has never been easier. You probably saw the Super Bowl ad: But, in case you missed it, you can text FIT to 864833 to make a $5.00 donation and have the charge added to your wireless phone bill. Through an unprecedented partnership of United Way, NFL, Mobile Accord, and the Mobile Giving Foundation, with the support of VeriSign, a minimum of $4.50 for every $5.00 donation sent via text message will go directly to support United Way youth fitness efforts across the country.

We recently paid a visit Capital IDEA, one of the new programs under our Financial Stability focus area. Everyone from United Way who participated in the visit agreed that they are making impressive changes in some Central Texans’ lives. The results of Capital IDEA’s work are clearly demonstrable in this chart that shows the quarterly earnings trajectories of 321 program participants: Brian Hennigton was an experienced IT worker but due to the industry’s downward turn he was laid off five times! As the jobs became less plentiful, Brian knew he would have to get a better education in order to compete. And as a single father of three, this goal was even more important. But how would he go back to school, take care of his family, and pay the bills? That’s when he heard about Capital IDEA. “Capital IDEA paid for my tuition and books, which was great. But what was really helpful was that they helped with childcare,” explains Brian. With this support, he graduated from ACC with an Associate of Science in 2005. But he didn’t stop there. He went back and got his A +/Network + Certifications in March 2006. This exceptional education gave Brian the edge he needed; he now works at Seton Healthcare as an IT Systems Analyst. “I’m now making 50% more than before I started at Capital IDEA,” Brian says. But this isn’t what he’s most proud of. “My kids are proud of me,” he beams. Capital IDEA gave Brian the support […]

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/