United Way for Greater Austin (UWATX) today kicked off a 3-month media campaign to inspire increased philanthropic giving in the local community. The campaign, which was created by local agency Creative Suitcase, will run September into early December and be seen in online and print advertising as well as on three CapMetro buses. One of the buses is a full-wrap making a dramatic and impactful impression on Austin’s roads. Bus routes of the wrapped buses are alternated over the three months to increase visibility across the city. Additionally, radio advertising will also be a part of the campaign. This campaign is possible due to in-kind contributions from media outlets, companies and organizations. 3M donated the materials, production and installation for the bus wraps; Creative Suitcase donated design hours; and Austin American-Statesman, KUT, Texas Tribune, The Austin Chronicle, CapMetro and Google have all contributed in-kind media space. All told the in-kind contributions making this campaign possible total more than $150,000. Russell Bridges, Government and Community Affairs Manager at 3M commented: “3M is pleased to be the market leader in many innovative materials, one being the product that makes these creative and impactful bus wraps possible. And we are particularly pleased to be able to offer our product and support the production and installation for a campaign here locally with United Way for Greater Austin.” He continued, “3M has a long history of philanthropic support worldwide for the communities in which it does business and we are proud to support United Way […]
Read More2012 Fall Day of Caring Complete!
Posted on by Christa Berry
Although it was rainy and dreary this morning, we still forged ahead with our annual Fall Day of Caring – with some projects starting at 6 am! The turnout was fantastic – 749 volunteers showed up to power through the nasty weather and give back to our community. Volunteers signed up for Fall Day of Caring as individuals and employees of local companies like ABC Home & Commercial Services, Austin American-Statesmen, Freescale, and Dell, and spread out across 20+ projects. Projects included several beautification projects, an Empty Bowl project at Garza High School, financial kit distribution, and Disaster Response Training + more. Over the course of the day, volunteers completed 2,622 hours of service – giving a total of $57,123 in donated labor costs! To conclude the day, we hosted a Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon at The Long Center, where volunteers got to kick back and listen to some great local music. Special thanks to Freescale for being our Premiere Sponsor and to Austin Coca-Cola for donating beverages to keep our volunteers hydrated! View additional photos from the event! Below is some initial feedback from participants of Fall Day of Caring. Please feel free to leave additional feedback in the comment fields below. ABC Home & Commercial wrote about their time at Open Door Preschool: “Great team building experience. The Open Door folks were fantastic and very appreciative. Enjoyed working with them.” – Bobby Jenkins “I volunteered with […]
Read More[VIDEO] Giving Back Makes Austin Greater
Posted on by Aviva Pinchas
![[VIDEO] Giving Back Makes Austin Greater](https://www.unitedwayaustin.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/marquee_HEB_video-1.png)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeNBQ8xCMvY&feature=plcp[/youtube] To help our community thrive, UWATX works to give everyone the opportunity to be a philanthropist and give of their time or money back into our community. This video tells the story of H-E-B, an incredible organization whose employees have given back more than a million dollars to the Greater Austin area each year for the past three years. Special thanks to Sneaky Giants for putting this together and to H-E-B for setting such a powerful example of philanthropy!
Read MoreUWATX Receives Major Gift from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas
Posted on by Heather Luecke
On August 28, 2012 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) responded to an urgent “call to action” from United Way for Greater Austin (UWATX) and challenged other corporate citizens to do the same. In July, UWATX announced that it had to cut grant funding for a number of the local nonprofits it had supported in prior. When UWATX had to make cuts to their grants due to fundraising shortfalls they immediately put out a call-to-action to the community to increase giving to pre-recession levels. “The UWATX Board and staff were personally devastated that these cuts were necessary, and felt compelled to do all they could to help the affected agencies. They asked themselves: ‘What can we do?’” said Debbie Bresette, president of UWATX. “Several board members and staff made personal donations and others organized fundraisers. We also reached out to a great corporate citizen, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas and asked them to respond to the call-to-action. And respond they did.” Because of its mission to improve wellness within its communities, BCBSTX pledged $100,000 to UWATX and designated their gift to help five local charitable organizations that support the health of children and senior citizens with $20,000.00 grants each. Agencies are: Any Baby Can, Austin Groups for the Elderly, Meals on Wheels and More, People’s Community Clinic, and Safeplace. “We work for a customer-owned company and we understand the commitment that nonprofits make to the people they serve,” said Bert Marshall, president of BCBSTX. “Helping others […]
Read MoreECLs ramp up for campaign season
Posted on by Aviva Pinchas
On Tuesday, Employee Campaign Leaders (ECL) from across the greater Austin business community gathered at the Alamo Drafthouse Village for an exciting first look at new UWATX materials and to get inspired to run campaign. Attendees ranged from longtime partners such as 3M, H-E-B and the Austin American-Statesman to new business partners Liquidation Channel and Adlucent – a diverse crowd ready to see what’s in store of UWATX and what we’ve revamped this year to make their role a bit easier. ECLs have a ciritical role in Employee Giving Campaigns: championing employee giving at their company by tailoring their campaign (events,meetings, signs, e-mails and more) to fit with their company’s culture and engage their peers. These leaders work with UWATX representatives to craft a campaign that not only gives their peers the opportunity to give back in an easy way but also showcase the benefit of investing locally. To make that happen, UWATX representatives bring to the table best practices, printed and digital materials and a slew of experience speakers. This meeting was an introduction to this year’s brand new slate of tools. “Since our rebranding feeds into everything we’re doing this year, it made good sense to hold a meeting at the Alamo Drafthouse, which has a brand that is so original and uniquely Austin,” said Megan Carvajal, Director of Workplace Engagement at UWATX. “We wanted to re-introduce United Way to some of our most treasured volunteers.” ECLs experienced UWATX’s new brand, from the new name to the bold colors and the Makes Austin Greater concept, […]
Read MoreVISTAs end their term, move forward to new beginnings
Posted on by Aviva Pinchas
Our Americorps VISTA volunteers have been with us for a year and done some amazing things. Now they are on to bigger and better things, but they’re not going too far. Kaley Horton, VISTA for UWATX’s Success By 6 program, has been focused on our Play To Learn project: a strategic initiative to bring high-quality services to Austin’s most vulnerable children at local libraries and other accessible neighborhood locations. “I could quickly tell from my interactions with partner agencies and people from the community that United Way was something exceptional, something special – I was proud to be a part of it,” said Kaley. This year alone, Kaley ensured that 55 families completed this 8-week program. Because of Kaley’s successful leadership and grant funding from Samsung, she will continue to manage this project beyond her VISTA service, helping 200 families complete the program. Steven Olender spent a year managing the Youth Program Quality initiative, a part of our Target Graduation program that works to address the need for quality standards in out-of-school programs. Working with more than 50 organizations, Steven coordinated more than 80 assessments of afterschool and summer programs that serve youth and 23 related trainings. Steven also researched, analyzed and wrote the 2012 Early Care and Education Survey and assisted in teaching the Volunteer Project Leadership class at Webb Middle School, part of our Target Graduation program. “I’m incredibly proud to come to work every day at United Way because we bring together community members to address not simply the symptoms of poverty, but to work for long-term, sustainable solutions,” said […]
Read MoreUWATX releases 2012 Early Care and Education Survey
Posted on by Aviva Pinchas
United Way for Greater Austin has released the 2012 Early Care and Education Survey – a detailed look at trends across early care and education centers in Travis County, including key data about quality and availability. Compared with previous editions, this year’s survey shows some encouraging trends but also points to clear challenges. Key findings include: Early care and education teachers, on average, made between $9.82 and $13.92 per hour with limited benefits. This is roughly half of wages for public school Pre-K teachers. Teacher education varies greatly between the regions of Travis County. In South and West Austin, the percent of teachers with at least a bachelor’s degree is nearly double the percent in North, East and Central Austin. Survey results indicated a large shift in center priorities. In 2010, reducing parent fees was listed as one of the top three priorities for 50% of all centers surveyed. In 2012, it registered as a top priority of only 5.5% of centers. Since we started conducting this survey, strides have been made in teacher education, benefits and retention, but these areas still have significant room for growth. Center directors across the board stressed the need for increased staff wages to properly compensate and motivate teachers, especially when raising education requirements for teachers. Funding increases and community support for the early care and education community are necessary to make these changes happen. “The survey was conceived to help improve and consolidate knowledge of early care and education centers and provide a valuable planning […]
Read MorePartner Profile: Nordstrom
Posted on by Aviva Pinchas
Name: Nordstrom Partner for: 10 years locally Partner for: Employee Campaign, Hands On Central Texas Our relationship: Volunteering as a way to connect to the community Last year, Nordstrom participated in two additional volunteer projects. They went to Webb Middle School, one of the sites for UWATX’s Middle School Matters program, to aid teachers in preparing fun and engaging math games. They were so inspired that they even found a way to donate glasses to a girl who needed them. Volunteering helps Nordstrom connect to the community and see the value of their philanthropy. Continuing the fun of Employee Campaign all-year To keep connect employees to philanthropy throughout the year, Nordstrom has special events on top of their volunteering activities. Jeans Day events, which start in July, allow employees to donate and have the opportunity to wear jeans to work as an incentive. Fun activities like this keep the spirit of Employee Campaign year-round. Nordstrom employs best practices: Providing donor-specific information to UWATX Inviting UWATX to speak at meetings Running a UWATX campaign Creating an Employee Campaign Team Engaging with UWATX outside of campaign What we’ve accomplished together: A campaign increase of over $13,000 in the past 3 years, while employee count has stayed relatively the same.
Read MorePartner Profile: Texas Gas Service
Posted on by Aviva Pinchas
Name: Texas Gas Service Partner for: 10 years Partner for: Employee Campaign, Hands On Central Texas Our relationship: Serving customers and the community Texas Gas is dedicated to providing top-quality service. This keen focus extend to their work in the community, where the company is committed to providing an engaging experience for employees and employees are committed to serving the community as well as they serve their customers. In the past five years, that’s meant including more UWATX speakers at meetings and directing all dollars to make the most impact through United Way. Growing philanthropists in innovative ways Through their Employee Campaign, Texas Gas provides innovative ways for any employee to find their own way to give back. Employees can make items for their raffle, including everything from wrought iron grills to breakfast tacos, go bowling or golfing or even donate to get their manager to karaoke. Alongside all these fun activities, Texas Gas maintains focus on their goal: for employees to give through payroll deduction, often the easiest way to make a big impact without hurting your budget. Texas Gas employs best practices: Inviting UWATX to speak at meetings Running a UWATX campaign Creating an Employee Campaign Team Engaging with UWATX outside of campaign What we’ve accomplished together: In the past three years, Texas Gas has grown their employee giving by more than $30,000, an almost 25 percent increase! How Texas Gas makes Austin greater: “Texas Gas is dedicated to making sure there’s something for […]
Read MorePartner Profile: Communities In Schools
Posted on by Aviva Pinchas
Name: Communities In Schools Partner for: 19 years Partner with: Success By 6, Target Graduation Our relationship: Funding programs that serve children and parents UWATX funding supports Communities In Schools (CIS) in their ASPIRE program – a dual generation program where low-income parents take ESL or GED classes while their children enjoy quality child care, allowing all family members to get support at the same time. UWATX also funds CIS parent education programs that provide evidence-based courses that improve school readiness and also decrease child abuse and neglect. Additionally, CIS provides services to three high-need middle schools – providing mentoring, tutoring, case management and behavioral health services. Creating solutions that work Working collaboratively, UWATX, CIS and Child Inc. brought Early Head Start services to teen parents at two local high schools. These services allowed vulnerable children to receive engaging care shown to help brain development while their parents focused on their own education. CIS is also providing valuable insight to our Target Graduation’s Out-of-School Time (OST) Agenda – a detailed plan for improving the OST system in Central Texas. Meeting the challenge of quality programs When UWATX set the bar high in 2006 by requiring funded program to adopt evidence-based models, CIS enthusiastically embraced the new standards and expanded quality programming as a result. What we’ve accomplished: Through this partnership, CIS and UWATX have brought quality, innovative solutions for the challenges of Greater Austin. How Communities In Schools makes Austin greater: “Because CIS programs operate in or near public schools, […]
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