As students and their families filled the Decker Middle School cafeteria last Thursday for an end-of-camp celebratory dinner, the camp’s English teacher welcomed families by giving a speech about the enduring memories of his summers spent at his Boy Scouts camp. The events that followed left our campers with their own bank of fond memories of a summer spent learning, building new skills and making new friends. Throughout the course of the night, students presented their summer work to their peers and families, showed younger siblings the collages they made and the personal stories they recorded, and stepped forward to receive awards and recognition for their hard work and leadership. Awards given to the students included the “Change Maker Award,” “Force for Good Award” and “Spirit of Service Award.” The final and most coveted award of the night carried much anticipation; students worked for weeks on creative projects for the chance to win a brand new bike. Texas Mutual Insurance Co. built 14 new bikes to give away to selected students at Decker, complete with encouraging cards, helmets and locks, all to support the summer learning initiatives of UWATX and the students who made the choice to return to school during the summer to continue their education. At Decker Middle School, camp staff saw the bike giveaway as an opportunity for the students to display their leadership and creativity by opting in to a bike contest. Students could either give an oral presentation, draw a picture or write an essay […]
Read MoreDecker Students Learn About Financial Stability with Chase Volunteers
Posted on by Molly Hahn
Getting students thinking about making financial decisions at such a young age can be a challenge, but having knowledgeable and friendly volunteers makes it much easier! “Camp Raven” is UWATX’s free summer enrichment program at Decker Middle School, where each week students learn about an issue affecting their community and complete related educational activities with volunteers. Last week, seven Chase volunteers dedicated a total of 27 hours of their time at Camp Raven, where they led financial literacy games and activities for the campers. “ I chose to spend the most on food and healthcare because taking good care of my children is the most important thing to me.” — Kevin, 7th grade student There were two exercises that the children and volunteers participated in, a market simulation exercise and a budgeting exercise. The market simulation exercise was completed using food items such as fruit snacks, mints and juice that had different values. The students were divided into assigned groups and were classified as either buyers or sellers. Sellers had to come up with a price and strategy on how to sell their “products” for the greatest amount of dollars and create ads with the product information. The buyers group made transactions using fake money based on what the advertised prices were. Following the activity, students discussed what they learned in regards to their money making decisions. The budgeting activity taught the children how to budget their candy “money” by allocating them into realistic categories. Each student based their budgeting decisions on the idea […]
Read MoreInterview with Annie Ray, 2015 Campaign Brochure Photographer
Posted on by Angelica Velazquez
We are excited to debut photos from our 2015 Campaign brochure themed “Your Guide to Philanthropy”. Here at UWATX, we believe that the act of giving is what unites our community together. Whether that is through a donation of time or money, we encourage you to build philanthropy in a way that works for you. We had the pleasure coordinating this project with two very talented women, photographer, Annie Ray, and designer, Kathy Horn. Annie Ray is an Austin-based lifestyle photographer who focuses on bringing out the “real stuff” in everything she shoots. She was voted Best Austin Photographer in 2010 and 2011 from the Austin Chronicle. Kathy is a copywriter and creative director who has a diverse skillset and creates print, broadcast and digital projects. Both Annie and Kathy collaborated with their photography and design skills to skillfully capture the uniqueness of the three special UWATX families that were featured in our Campaign brochures. Latara Clark discussed how volunteering has made a positive impact on her children’s lives and helps strengthen their morals(their photo can be seen on the featured image). James McDonough explains how United Way’s Employee Giving Campaign at his workplace made it easy for him to enroll in automatic payroll deduction and give back to his community. Marisela has witnessed firsthand how the Pre-K program funded by United Way for Greater Austin has been pivotal to her daughter’s development. We had the opportunity to chat with Annie and learn more about her passion for photography, as well as discuss some takeaways she had […]
Read MoreFree Educational Summer Activities for Children
Posted on by Angelica Velazquez
Think about when you take time off of work to go on vacation. It can be hard to get back in the groove of things when you return; this is similar to what your kids experience when they have time off from school. When school is out of session, many children struggle to find educational opportunities in the summer months. According to the National Summer Learning Association, research spanning 100 years show that students typically score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer break than they do on the same tests at the beginning of summer break (White, 1906; Heyns, 1978; Entwisle & Alexander 1992; Cooper, 1996; Downey et al, 2004). It is critical for kids to keep their minds active to avoid the summer learning loss that so many children unfortunately experience. Summer is actually a great time to strengthen a child’s academic skills while still balancing other nonacademic fun summer activities. Here is a diverse list of FREE educational summer activities for your kids to enjoy this summer that will help prevent digression in their academic skills: Literacy Luau at Bright Horizons at Round Rock On Saturday, July 18th from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Bright Horizons at Round Rock is offering a Hawaiian-themed event that will include storytelling using Smart board technology, family-oriented literacy activities and a hula dance performance from Island Rhythms Hula Company. Parents can also learn how to document literacy for all ages! Summer Playgrounds Program Summer Playgrounds is a drop-in program providing quality recreational experiences that […]
Read MoreJuly’s Face 2 Face Recap with Ingrid Vanderveldt
Posted on by Ricky Deakyne
July’s Face 2 Face speaker series, sponsored by the Austin Business Journal and Whole Foods, hosted Ingrid Vanderveldt. Vanderveldt is the founder of Empowering a Billion Women by 2020. EBW2020 is made up of three of Vanderveldt’s organizations: EBW2020, Ingrid Vanderveldt LLC and the EBW Foundation. The EBW Foundation was launched with a mentor-matching program during SXSW this past March. EBW aims to do just that–empower a billion women by 2020 by providing education, mentoring and policy programs for women to improve their businesses. According to Vanderveldt’s website, EBW works by “getting $1B of credit into the hands of women worldwide, enabling them to create leverage to buy up to $10B infrastructure they need to build and scale [and] creating $100B worth of overall global market impact.” Vanderveldt says the only way to reach this lofty goal of one billion women is through technology–“get a phone in a woman’s hands!” By partnering with Dell to launch this project, they reached 600 million women last year through the program. Ingrid previously worked for Dell as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence and says her personal goal is to be the female version of Michael Dell. Her advice for entrepreneurs is to not be afraid to fail. Her first business venture failed, but she continued to try and try again until she became successful. Vanderveldt said for women to succeed, they need three things: mentorship, financial literacy and technology, with a heavy emphasis on mentorship. She also emphasized that women are part of a “sisterhood,” and by building up each other […]
Read MoreEasy Ways to Save Money During the Summer
Posted on by Angelica Velazquez
With Austin being America’s fastest-growing city, this means more energy consumption occurs, which is why it is crucial that we all work to minimize our household energy usage during the hot summer months. Many of us come home from a long day and immediately lower the thermostat without thinking of the consequences this might have on our bills and environment. Summer can be a very expensive time of the year. According to Austin Energy, air conditioning represents up to 70% of the average home’s summer electricity bill. Air conditioning may be the largest slice of the electricity bill pie, but other components like energy-powered light fixtures and heat-powered appliances, such as washers and dryers, are also important to consider when thinking about your summertime energy consumption and bills. On average, a U.S. household spends $5,550 a year on energy—this is a serious concern considering 21% of Austinites have incomes below $25,000 a year. Knowing how to be energy-efficient not only helps the environment and economy, but will also help save you money. Here are some simple tips to help you save this summer: 78 Is the Magic Number Turning off your thermostat during the summer forces your air conditioning unit to work long and hard when you return. When you are home, you should set your thermostat to 78 degrees. According to Austin Energy, your bill increase by 3 to 4% for each degree lower than 78. If you have a programmable thermostat, you have a bit more flexibility and can store and repeat multiple daily settings, which […]
Read MoreSuccess Story: Kevin Rogel
Posted on by Ricky Deakyne
What do you think of when you hear the word “philanthropist?” This year’s theme for employee campaigns is to “put away your top hats and monocles” and that “anyone can be a philanthropist.” We believe that whether you give $5 a year or $500,000 a year, you are a philanthropist; it is your giving spirit and earnest attempt to better your community that grants you this fancy-sounding title. We could find no better example of this than Kevin Rogel, who graciously agreed to let us share his story. We met Kevin, 16, a few years ago when he was a student at Webb Middle School. He joined our Volunteer Project Leader group, which teaches middle school students to not only give back, but to design and lead their own volunteer projects. While on a tour of the middle school, H-E-B senior vice president Jeff Thomas heard Kevin speak about the program and was impressed with his confidence, philanthropic heart and always positive attitude. Thomas told Kevin later that day, “when you hit 16…look me up” for an open position awaiting him at H-E-B. Mere days after Kevin’s 16th birthday last April, Kevin filled out his application with the help of his mentor and UWATX Director of Volunteer Engagement, Nikki Kruger–and as Thomas promised, he was hired as a Customer Service Associate. Unfortunately, Kevin awoke a few days later in a hospital in San Antonio with more than 40% of his body covered in third-degree burns. While helping his mom cook, he slipped […]
Read More8 Fun Ways to Spend Your Fourth of July
Posted on by Angelica Velazquez
Fireworks, barbecue and patriotism are just a few things that come to mind when thinking about the Fourth of July. You might have plans to spend some time at the lake with family, have a potluck-style picnic with friends or you may still be on the search for ideas. We compiled a list of Fourth of July festivities taking place in Austin and surrounding areas: 4th of July Fireworks and Symphony at Auditorium Shores – Come out to Auditorium Shores and enjoy a variety of food, drinks and live music. The symphony performance begins at 7:30 p.m. and fireworks begin at 9:30 p.m. Best of all – it’s completely free. Hill Country Galleria Independence Day Festival – The Hill Country Galleria will celebrate the Fourth of July this year with more than 75 vendors, live music, family fun, barbecue and a fireworks show at 9:45 p.m. to end the night. Live music begins at 4:15 p.m. and will include Vallejo, Dawn & the Hawkes, T Bird & The Breaks and Uncle Lucius. Parking and admission is completely free. Attendees are also encouraged to bring their dogs! Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic – Austin legend Willie Nelson will play at the Circuit of America’s racetrack along with 20 other artists including Eric Church, Merle Haggard, Asleep at the Wheel and more. There will be picnic tables where fans can eat, drink, celebrate and watch their favorite artists perform. Parking opens at 10:00 a.m., gates open at 11:00 a.m. and music starts at 11:15 a.m. Ticket prices range from $35 to $75. […]
Read MoreTop Community Needs By District
Posted on by Ricky Deakyne
Sometimes it’s easy to get carried away by the many great things Austin has to offer: parks, restaurants, concerts and local shops. If you live in a nice neighborhood, you likely aren’t thinking about how others, who may live near you but are struggling to make ends meet, are experiencing the same city in a completely different way. Using data collected from the 327,935 calls our Navigation Center received in 2014, we found the top community needs in each district. The top four needs were overwhelmingly the same for each district: Food stamps/SNAP, followed by Medicaid application, and rent and electric payment assistance. Below, we’ve listed other data that stuck out from our analysis: District one zip code 78701’s call volume increased 16% from the year before. Additionally, four zip codes in this district are within the top 10 zip codes that contacted our Navigation Center the most in 2014: 78702, 78723, 78724 and 78753. District six had the highest ratio of housing related needs, from Section 8 vouchers to help locating homeless shelters. In district seven, two zip codes are in the top ten zip codes that called for assistance: 78753 and 78758. Within these two zip codes, the call ratio per person is very high; there was one call per every five people living in these zip codes. Zip code 78701’s call volume in district nine increased 16% from the year before. Additionally, one zip code in this district is in the top 10 zip codes that contacted our […]
Read MoreYour Guide to the Most Philanthropic Day Ever
Posted on by Angelica Velazquez
At United Way for Greater Austin, we believe that anyone can be a philanthropist. Any donation, no matter how small, of time or money makes a difference. Fortunately, living in Austin provides you with many opportunities to give back to organizations that are working to improve the world we live in, both locally and globally. From restaurants, clothing stores, volunteer-based organizations, coffee shops and more, you can discover a variety of ways to contribute and show your support for amazing causes in traditional and non-traditional ways. Here is a guide to help you have the most philanthropic day possible in Austin: 7 a.m. – Wake up and head to TOMS Roasting Co. on South Congress to start your morning off right with a fresh cup of coffee. TOMS Roasting CO. Austin serves a selection of fair trade, direct trade and blend coffee. Proceeds from coffee purchases go towards providing water to people in need. Your purchase from Toms Roasting Co. supports health improvement, increased economic opportunity, access to education and job creation. Location: 1401 S Congress Ave. Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday 6 a.m. – 8 p.m. Saturday 7 a.m. – 9 p.m., Sunday 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. Phone Number: 512-350-2115 9 a.m. – Get your workout in and bond with cute animals in need! Take a dog for a run through the RuffTail Runner’s program, which collaborates with Austin Pets Alive!’s Town Lake Animal Center, Pflugerville Pets Alive! and the Bastrop County Animal Shelter. By volunteering with RuffTail Runners, you help […]
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