Blog

Hurricane Ike: Volunteer, Donate Food and Cash!

Here’s our latest update… VOLUNTEERS2-1-1 Texas needs help this weekend to help Hurricane Ike evacuees.The biggest needs are for tonight, midnight-7am & Saturday, 5-9pm, 9pm-12am & 12am-7am! !Sign up to volunteer now with 211 Texas! The Red Cross also needs help at the shelters. Training and a background check is required. Click here for more information. INKIND DONATIONSThe Capital Area Food Bank is taking emergency donations including bottled water, granola bars, canned meats (pop-top lids), peanut butter & diapers. Click here for more information. CASH DONATIONSClick here to give! Thanks for your help!

Read More

Disaster Volunteers Needed!

We just got the word that 211 Texas and OneStar Foundation’s Donation Management Center need help with volunteers! Enclosed is the information. Please help if you can and/or spread the word! 2-1-1 Texas – Disaster Response Volunteers2-1-1 Texas, a program of United Way Capital Area, provides free statewide, 24-hour access to health and human services and disaster information through its multilingual helpline.2-1-1 Texas needs Disaster Response Volunteers to answer crucial calls. United Way Capital Area is taking a leadership role in ensuring the strength of 2-1-1 Texas. One way we’re doing that is by recruiting Disaster Response Volunteers. Disaster Response Volunteers relay information on shelters and evacuation routes. They direct people who wish to volunteer or donate goods to the agencies that can help them do so. 2-1-1 Texas needs volunteers who are caring, compassionate, creative problem solvers who want to directly help the public while working in a comfortable, professional setting. Bilingual speakers are especially valuable. Volunteers need: 10 Disaster Response – State-wide Donations Call CenterThe OneStar Foundation needs help with volunteers for the State-wide Donations Management Call Center. Volunteers will be serving as call operators taking calls from individuals and businesses interested in making donations in response to Hurricane Ike. There is a mandatory training for this volunteer opportunity scheduled for Thursday, September 11 from 10:00-11:00am at the OneStar Foundation office at 816 Congress Avenue, Suite 900, Austin, TX 78702. Volunteers needed: 100 To sign up for these two opportunities, please go to www.handsoncentraltexas.org. Thanks,Mando Armando RayoDirector, Hands […]

Read More

United Way Capital Area Video

We just released our new United Way Capital Area video we produced internally with Susan Dawson of E3 and Don Baylor of The Center for Public Policy Priorities among others, narrated by Tom Spencer, CEO of Austin Area Interreligious Ministries. Explains our new approach and results thus far. Many thanks to all who generously contributed their talents and time.

Read More

Fall Day of Caring – LIVE UNITED!

On September 5 we had a busy day here at United Way Capital Area and Hands On Central Texas! We had more than 500 people from organizations across the community volunteering their time to projects for more than 32 agencies. The occasion started with a kickoff event at Alamo Park. The keynote speaker was Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo, who got everyone “fired up” about their projects and talked about the huge impact volunteers make on the greater Austin community. Other speakers included David Balch, President and Chief Professional Officer at United Way Capital Area, Mando Rayo, Director of Hands On Central Texas and Jan Monney, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Business Operations at Freescale Semiconductor (photographed above). The LIVE UNITED theme was present among everyone! Give. Advocate. Volunteer. Volunteers showed support by wearing the LIVE UNITED t-shirts. Throughout the day volunteers engaged in activities that ranged from upgrading childcare facilities, playground construction, helping out food banks, creating literacy materials for Austin ISD students, assisting students with job search to painting, deconstruction of homes and garden work. A special thank you to our signature sponsor Freescale Semiconductor. Other sponsors of the event included Austin Coca-Cola, Clif Bars, City of Austin Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Office and Alamo Recreation Center. And, thank you to all of the teams who participated in Day of Caring and embraced the idea of LIVE UNITED. This was an incredible show of community support! Check out the Day of Caring Slideshow! Thank You. […]

Read More

United Way and our Response to Hurricane Gustav

2-1-1 Texas, the free information and referral hotline that connects people to services managed by United Way Capital Area, has been working long hours through the weekend coordinating services that help individuals and families affected by Hurricane Gustav. The statewide network experienced a 300% increase in call volume compared to average weekend call traffic, as the impact of the storm grew and the evacuation of New Orleans, SW Louisiana and SE Texas picked up speed. Calls ranged from where and how to find shelter for families, food, transportation, even pet evacuation assistance. “At this time we are helping folks by connecting them to local resources and services that can help their situation, whatever that may be” said Debbie Bresette, EVP for United Way Capital Area who oversees the 2-1-1 service here in Central Texas. “This typifies how we in Central Texas LIVE UNITED. We are all in this together and are fortunate to have a community with a big heart, who opens their doors and support our efforts to help those most in need.” Last year 2-1-1 fielded about 200,000 calls from people looking for help. Donate here to help our local efforts! https://volunteer.united-e-way.org/cwa/donate/

Read More

Butterfly Wings of Good Will

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but there’s a theory that the minuscule gust of wind created by the flapping of a single butterfly’s wings can start a series of events that culminates in a monsoon halfway across the planet. A corollary maxim states: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. But the best embodiment of this notion I can think of is in the classic comedy What About Bob? — in which Bob, a hyper-phobic neurotic played by Bill Murray, manages to navigate his anxiety-filled world by following the advice of his psychiatrist (Richard Dreyfus) to take “baby steps.” Instead of panicking over the enormity of the world and its problems, Bob learns to tackle life moment by moment. “Baby steps down the hall!” Bob repeats to himself. And upon reaching the end of the hall: “Baby steps onto the elevator.” And so on, until Bob truly comes to live in the moment. He carpes his diem, truly. The “moral” of such parables is plain: Small actions can create epic results. Those of you have volunteered your time to a local charitable project — heck, even those of you haven’t yet — would be wise to take a short-term view. Instead of becoming paralyzed at the enormity and complexity of our community problems — poverty, educational opportunity, health care — consider what you can do today, right here, right now. A perfect example: the team at LatinWorks. LatinWorks is one of Austin’s largest advertising […]

Read More

Success By 6 and Wells Fargo

A big thank you to Mark Curry and Wells Fargo for helping spread the word about our early childhood education program, Success By 6 . With their generosity, they have underwritten the cost to run a new Success By 6 TV advertisement on KVUE, the ABC affiliate, from mid August through mid September. Check out Mark in the spot below or catch it yourself around the Ellen, Oprah, News at 5/6 and other prime time shows. Many thanks again Mark and Wells Fargo!!

Read More

Running America

Ultra-athlete Charlie Engle’s run across America to advocate for youth fitness in partnership with United Way will begin in San Francisco on Saturday, September 13, and end in New York City on Monday, October 27. To cross the country in 45 days he’ll have to average 70 miles a day. Check out Charlie’s mission, “Running America,” and the route at the Running America page on LIVE UNITED.org During the run, a film crew will be following Charlie and capturing his interactions with people who live united by fighting childhood obesity and promoting youth fitness. Charlie is hoping that by the time he reaches his goal, at least 15,000 people will have run with him along the route. We’re hoping that many of those runners will be United Way donors, advocates and volunteers – living united on the road. United Way: Working to Improve People’s Health United Way is working to advance the common good by focusing on education, financial stability and health. According to the Centers for Disease Control, obesity among children has nearly doubled in the last decade. Alarmingly, more than 9 million children in the United States are either obese or overweight and studies show today’s children are not getting the necessary exercise and activity for effective weight management and good health. A growing number of United Ways across the country are making great progress around the issues of childhood obesity and youth fitness with programs that help youth make positive nutritional and behavioral choices. Find out more […]

Read More