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 MoreAustin’s growth in focus: the Manor community
Posted on by Chantel Bottoms
As Austin continues to grow, certain corners of our city are seeing huge influxes – and the Manor community is one of them. Since the turn of the millennium, the population in Manor has tripled. Manor residents are increasingly young and non-white From 2000 to 2012 Manor saw particularly strong growth in its Hispanic and African-American populations, especially compared with the city as a whole. Moreover, more than a third of Manor residents are under the age of 18 – a 30 percent growth from 2000 to 2012. Much like in St. John’s, many of these residents are low-income. Manor residents are reaching out for help 13 percent more times this year than last Manor is one of many suburban zip codes in Travis County that has increasingly been reaching out for help to our Navigation Center. [Tweet “Calls for help to @uwatx from Manor in 2014 are up 13 percent over the first six months of 2013.”] The changing populations are reflected in the types of calls that we receive: callers from Manor are more likely to report health needs or needs related to children than the average 2-1-1 caller. The types of needs being reported to 2-1-1 from the Manor community make sense when considering that the population of economically disadvantaged children at Manor high school alone has tripled along with the population. Manor residents own their homes and are employed, but services are lacking and housing costs are a burden Overall, our […]
Read MoreWLC Spotlight: Daniela Knight
Posted on by Leah Meunier
With Parents’ Day 2014 just around the corner, it is UWATX’s pleasure to introduce Daniela Knight, mother of two, Registered Dietician, and recent inductee and executive committee member of Women’s Leadership Council (WLC). Daniela served as a Board Member of Austin NCL in addition to owning Austin Nutritional Education where she provided her expertise on diabetes control, weight loss and healthy eating habits. She also impacted the community through her outstanding work as a Senior Health Educator with The Austin Diagnostic Clinic and as a Clinical Dietician with the Round Rock Hospital. Daniela is excited to be a part of WLC, the most powerful, female-driven philanthropic force for improving early childhood education in Central Texas. For Daniela, being part of WLC is a chance to “get more invested in the community and connect with a diverse group of successful women” Based on her personal experience as a parent, Daniela has seen first-hand how education and stimulation at a young age can positively impact a child’s success later in life. She views her involvement with WLC as a chance to become even more invested in the community and connect with a diverse group of successful women as powerful force for change. In the past, Daniela and her family were able to contribute to the community through activities with Girl Scouts, Booster Clubs and National Charity League. As her youngest child prepares to graduate from high school, Daniela is exploring new ways of giving back through WLC. Daniela hopes to utilize her public speaking […]
Read MoreIt takes a lot to thrive as a working family
Posted on by Aviva Pinchas
This is the Salazar family – they live in the St. John’s neighborhood in Austin, near the intersection of I-35 and 183. Like many Austin families, they juggle many challenges – tight budgets, long hours and trying to provide the best for their family – so the Salazars need support from their community. Claudia, the mother, decided to stay at home to care for their children and avoid the high costs of child care while her husband provides for the family by fixing cars. Between transportation to get to work on time, food, bills and rent – there’s barely enough left at the end of each paycheck. During the summer especially, as the temperatures rise, so do water and electric bills – so a time that most families enjoy together is a time of stress in the Salazar home as their finances get even tighter. The Salazars have even considered taking out payday loans just to get along – but these can cost thousands in fees and leave them with even more challenges. But the Salazars can turn to United Way to access safer banking options so they can avoid payday lenders – or call our Navigation Center to connect to summer food programs. In a couple of years, their daughter Kylie will enter middle school where many students begin to fall behind. The Salazar’s know that for Kylie to stay on the path to graduation, she’ll need support from both of them, she’ll need to not worry about food or how she’ll get […]
Read MoreJesse Garcia on giving back: “I owe it to the community to pay it forward.”
Posted on by Jeremiah Bentley
Yesterday, Young Leaders Society (YLS) members joined 75 low-income fifth, sixth and seventh grade students from our Manor Summer Program to host the Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering (TAME) “Trailblazer”—the only interactive museum-on-wheels in Texas. YLSers in STEM careers connected to eager middle schoolers learning fundamental concepts in that arena. One of these dedicated YLSers was Jesse Garcia, who is in the Engineering Rotation Program at Freescale, for whom the effort struck home. “I grew up in a low income neighborhood where everyone was expected to find a job after highschool and people didn’t really talk about college,” explained Jesse. “I was lucky to have a 4th grade teacher who pulled me aside one day to talk to me about engineering and how he thought I’d be a good engineer. From that point forward, it became my goal. I want to bring the same experience to other kids so that hopefully they can find their own goal and hopefully spend their days doing something that’s not a “job” because they love it. I guess I feel like I owe it to the community to pay that forward.” Jesse first got involved with YLS because Kara Birge told him it was a group focused on helping middle school students. “When I asked her how, she said I had to come to find out. Seeing the speakers there made me want to come volunteer, so I signeed up for the next project. It was a great experience so I kept coming back.” Here’s more of Jesse’s inspiring story: “YLS is a group […]
Read MoreSummer Learning Day: Bridging the Access Gap
Posted on by Jeremiah Bentley
On June 20, students at Decker Middle School had the opportunity to engage in service learning with the help of a few special volunteers from the UWATX Young Leader Society (YLS). Summer Learning Day, a national initiative that we participated in, this year focused on bridging the access gap for summer learning options between high- and low-income students. “It is encouraging to know we are providing this opportunity for students to learn and engage with their peers.” – Julie Fisher, YLSer & Samsung Austin Semiconductor employee The day was a chance for students in the UWATX Manor Summer Program to interact with volunteers and learn more about how to advocate for their neighborhood. Through interaction and discussion, they also had a chance to learn more about a wide variety of careers. The day began with a financial education program that included four United Way bank-on partners to talk about their work. The students also had the chance to play two games that taught them about finance and budgeting with a little help from Smarties candy. Next, the students participated in an advocacy session. Students and YLS volunteers participated in a letter writing campaign and in a unique photo petition, advocating to the Travis County Government for community change in the Decker area. Later, representatives from the UWATX Navigation Center were on hand to talk about 2-1-1 and its role in the community. The presentation included a competition that encouraged students to learn about the resources available through the Navigation Center. To wrap up […]
Read MoreHidden in plain sight: the unique St. John’s neighborhood
Posted on by Chantel Bottoms
Over the last decade in Austin, the population has been rapidly growing, jobs have been plentiful and organic, fresh food has seen a boom. But that story isn’t the same across all of Austin’s neighborhoods. In the St. John’s neighborhood, the population has decreased by 5 percent since 2000 – a phenomenon that, although surprising, is actually not unique as people increasingly settle in the suburban and rural areas of our region. Yet although the population is smaller, the face of the community has changed somewhat significantly. An extremely high (and growing) percentage of St. Johns residents are Hispanic: [cta][/cta] Unique from the City of Austin, the St. Johns community has seen growth in its Black and African American population. Blacks and African Americans now represent one out of every seven St. Johns residents. Across the City of Austin the Black and African American population has generally been declining in size, so this growth in St. Johns is particularly notable. The St. John’s area stood out from the rest of Austin in a few more ways: St. Johns has seen a slight decrease in the percentage of its population that is under the age of 18 (down to 22 percent in 2012 from 24% in 2000). This is likely related to the overall growth in population outside of the City as families with children are more likely to relocate to suburban and rural areas because of relative housing affordability. Families in the St. Johns area are less likely to be headed up by married couples […]
Read MoreGet to know your city
Posted on by Aviva Pinchas
Austin is an amazing city to live and work in. We know because UWATX has been serving this city for 90 years. We recently compiled a history of this wonderful community in our ‘United for 90 Years’ Timeline to celebrate the culture and growth of Greater Austin. If you’re looking for a fun summer activity, we’ve not turned the timeline into a map to help Austinites plan a scavenger hunt of our city’s history – including the FIRST headquarters of United Way for Greater Austin! See an iconic Austin spot missing? Let us know in the comments!
Read MoreLatest news: Austin American-Statesman view on pre-K
Posted on by Christa Berry
On Monday, the Austin American-Statesman featured our work in early childhood education and the unique challenges for our young children in Austin. The article highlighted our School Readiness Action Plan – an ambitious three-year plan to increase the percent of children who enter kindergarten ready for school to 70 percent by 2015. As a follow up, today the Austin American-Statesman Editorial Board published their view on early childhood education, saying “…pre-K programs [are] a necessary asset for Texas children.” You can read the full article below: Better pre-K means better future Texans By AAS Editoral Board Wednesday, July 9 Pre-kindergarten is vital for the success of any child’s education. Aside from getting students ready for kindergarten, pre-K reduces use of special education services, lowers grade retention and improves high school graduation rates. Studies also have shown that children who attend high-quality pre-K programs have higher earnings as adults and are less likely to be dependent on welfare.Yet in Travis County, about half the area’s youngest students aren’t ready to enter kindergarten despite many efforts by local school districts, nonprofits and foundations, the American-Statesman’s Julie Chang reported Monday. An influx of new students every year, poverty and language barriers complicate the mission. With more academics being presented in kindergarten, children need a pre-academic foundation before entering that grade. In pre-K, kids not only learn new words, numbers and problem-solving skills, but they also learn social skills such as how to pay attention in class and interact with other students. Despite the difficulties, […]
Read MorePartner Profile: Kerbey Lane Cafe
Posted on by Aviva Pinchas
Name: Kerbey Lane Cafe Partner for: 1.5 years Partner for: Employee Campaign, Hands On Central Texas Our relationship: Giving back in a variety of ways Creating a year-round, focused philanthropic initiative Kerbey Lane Cafe started their philanthropic efforts with UWATX as volunteers – they sponsored Fall Day of Caring and their team participated in volunteer projects. Through these efforts, they were able to get a first-hand look at what UWATX does in the community and who their dollars, advocacy and time could support – our friends and neighbors who struggle to make ends meet. Their efforts were so spectacular, that they won the 2013 Excellence in Volunteerism Award! Through these efforts, their team identified the Success By 6 Center Project as a key area they wanted to support – and they’ve done it: specific locations adopted centers in the project to support with in-kind efforts and volunteering. Each location also has a philanthropic liaison who works to connect their team to the community during their Employee Campaign but also throughout the rest of the year – an important Best Practice for effectively engaging employees around giving and building a corporate responsibility plan. Finding ways to give that fit company culture Mason Ayer, CEO of Kerbey Lane Café, is strongly focused on culture – and creating a philanthropic focus is part of those efforts. Knowing their staff is unique, the team at Kerbey Lane has found special ways to give back that fit their culture, including: Just eating a yummy brunch and saw this on […]
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