Over the past few weeks, much has been discussed in the media about payday lending, how the industry has grown in Texas and what the implications are for our state. We’ve been working on providing alternatives to payday lending through our Financial Opportunity program for a few years. It’ s a complex issue with many facets – so our experts worked together to break it down and answer some questions. What is a payday loan? A payday loan is a small, unsecured, high-interest, short-term cash loan that needs to be repaid within two weeks or by the next payday. Borrowers are looking for an average of $500 [PDF], and in Texas, 67 percent of loans are for $500 or less [PDF]. In most cases, borrowers write a post-dated personal check for the advance amount plus a fee. The lender holds the check for the loan period, and then either deposits it or returns the check when the borrower pays in cash. Why do individuals use payday loans? There is a misconception that payday loans are use for unexpected emergencies, like medical bills or car repair, but the the Pew Charitable Trust found that 69 percent of people took out their first payday loan for “a recurring expense, such as utilities, credit card bills, rent or mortgage payments, or food.” Oftentimes, borrowers may need to pay bills a few days or a week before their paycheck, so payday loans function as an ‘advance’. What are the benefits of payday loans? The biggest benefit is speed […]
Read MoreUWATX kicks off service year with 5 new AmeriCorps VISTAs
After wrapping up a banner year with two Success By 6 VISTAs, we are welcoming five new AmeriCorps VISTAs to the Strategic Programs team. As one of several high-performing projects across Texas, we gained the opportunity to bring on two additional VISTA members to support Financial Opportunity and the Navigation Center‘s outreach work, while continuing to support Success By 6. The addition of new VISTA members means that UWATX will have capacity to take on new projects and the staffing to support increased systems building. Continuing support for Success By 6: VISTAs have been crucial to building capacity in early care and family support systems. In order to continue and expand this work the Success By 6 VISTAs, Jeffrey King and Rebecca Nawls-Walker, will support data collection and analysis for the School Readiness Action Plan 2-year update, create and facilitate processes to incorporate parent input into the SRAP, coordinate programs for the Success By 6 Center Project, and manage our digital outreach programs, Text4Baby and Ready Rosie. New efforts in Financial Opportunity: Building upon the early care and education work, the Financial Opportunity VISTA, Willy Raedy, will play a pivotal role focusing on 2-Generation strategies: an approach to early interventions that combines workforce training with high quality child care. Building capacity around 2-Generation efforts improves outcomes for the whole family by focusing on improving parent’s job readiness while providing early interventions for their children. Additionally, Willy will facilitate the blending of financial literacy into workforce development services and manage the […]
Read MoreLooking for a warm meal this December?
Each year, our Navigation Center sees a spike of calls during the holiday season – people looking to help by donating food, toys, gifts or their time and also calls from people looking for a warm meal for the holidays. We’ve compiled this calendar of resources that are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC to make it a little easier to find that warm meal: Click on the image above to see a larger version. Know someone looking for assistance? Tell them to give us a call at 2-1-1 to get connected to resources in our community.
Read MoreFind a warm meal this holiday season
Each year, the holiday season brings some unique calls to our Navigation Center – more calls for people looking to help by donating food, toys, gifts or their time, and also calls from people looking for a warm meal for the holidays. We’ve compiled this calendar of resources that are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC to make it a little easier to find that warm meal: Click on the image above to see a larger version as an interactive PDF with links to Google maps for all of the locations. Know someone looking for assistance? Tell them to give us a call at 2-1-1 to get connected to resources in our community.
Read MoreUWATX: What We Do
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPZTdJaMoiY[/youtube] United Way for Greater Austin has been in this community since 1924 – committed to making Austin greater by building philanthropy and running strategic programs. In the presentation above, Debbie Bresette, our president since 2009, breaks down how we do it: To build philanthropy, we run employee campaigns, giving everyone in our community who earns a paycheck the opportunity to give back. We also coordinate volunteer efforts because we believe giving your time is valuable as well, and we work to inspire individual giving because we know we are all richer when we give back. Last year, we raised more than $16M for nonprofit organizations and coordinated nearly 100,000 hours of volunteering. Of that fundraising, donors entrusted $5.1M to our organization – and we put that giving to work for Greater Austin. In our strategic programs, se support young children through Success By 6, middle school students through Target Graduation and families through Financial Opportunity, and we provide an easy way to connect to services and resources through the Navigation Center. But we also know that it takes a village – for children to succeed, they need parent support, for families to thrive, they need quality education for their children. So our programs are structured to create wrap-around services. Our work is coordinated, knowing that supporting one student can be a key first step to improving the trajectory of a whole family. It’s also targeted in areas that have the highest needs, innovative (because we keep an eye on the landscape […]
Read MoreElected officials & local organizations partner to get Central Texans covered
UPDATED 10.31.2013: In the first month, UWATX received more than 650 calls related to the Health Insurance Marketplace. Learn more about the process so far from KEYE. Download the following maps: Hays County Williamson County Travis County In Central Texas and across the country, the Health Insurance Marketplace just launched. We’ve been working to connect individuals to government health programs through the UWATX Navigation Center and today we came together with a wide range of elected officials and health care advocates to urge Central Texans to sign up for coverage. “Today represents a big step – a serious step – toward making health insurance available and affordable to so many Texans who need it,” said Senator Kirk Watson at today’s press conference. Oct. 1 marked the first day of open enrollment for the Marketplace, which allows applicants to easily access, compare and sign up for a variety of health insurance plans in person, online or over the phone. Consumers can access the Marketplace by going to healthcare.gov. In Austin, they can call the UWATX Navigation Center by dialing 2-1-1 to find their nearest Certified Application Counselor. “The Affordable Care Act is law, and about 1.5 million Texans will benefit from the opening of the Health Insurance Marketplace that the Act allows,” Watson said. “But don’t forget, Texas leads the nation in our percentage of uninsured residents. There’s still much, much more we can do to ensure that Texans have the health coverage they need.” More than one in four […]
Read MoreTop ten things to look for when choosing child care
At United Way for Greater Austin (UWATX), we work to ensure every child is ready for kindergarten with our Success By 6 program—and an important part of that is making sure children enjoy quality care early on in life. To help parents make sure they’re making the right choice for their child, we’ve compiled a top ten list of things to look for: 1. Safe and Secure Safety and security is obviously a parent’s top concern. Look to see if the building and equipment are in good repair. A security system is key—this way only authorized people can come and go, and all entry and exit activity is monitored. 2. Clean and Healthy Cleanliness is also a high priority. Caregivers should encourage children to wash their hands often, especially after using the restroom and before eating. Caregivers should lead by example and follow the same procedures, including after diapering. 3. Warm and Responsive You want to make sure your child is in a kind, loving environment and know that someone is dedicated to attending to your child’s needs. Listen for laughter and conversation between children and teachers. It is important that teachers talk to the children kindly and with respect. Also, look to see if teachers make an effort to talk to the children at eye-level. Infants should be held both lovingly and often. 4. Stimulating and Dynamic Children should be engaged in active learning through play. It is important that the children have interesting things with which to explore, […]
Read More32 dedicated summer VISTAs gave 9K+ hours of service this summer to make Austin greater
This summer, 32 AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associates joined UWATX to gather data, bolster services & increase outreach. Three months later, they’ve given more than nine thousand hours of service and accomplished quite a bit: 9K+ Hours of services our 32 AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associates gave to our community this summer Implemented research-based math curriculum in 17 preschool classrooms reaching over 230 preschool children Assessed over 270 preschool children’s receptive language skills to establish baseline for on-going data collection Translated more than 100 popular children’s titles to increase the Austin Public Library‘s bilingual youth collection Facilitated over 20 youth programming events for the Austin Public Libraries Assisted with bilingual preschool storytimes for more than 500 families Expanded the Out-of-School-Time Mapping Study by surveying 133 for-profit and nonprofit agencies Collected information about family resource centers and rural service providers to expand 2-1-1’s resource database From working with our youngest and most vulnerable children to reaching out to rural counties to provide education about available services, the story of what our AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associates did this summer goes well beyond numbers: “After one event, I was approached by a parent and her young child. She expressed concern about not knowing how to provide a good book for her child who was starting first grade next year because she was not able to speak or read in English. I recommended some books and tried to provide some sense of encouragement. She was very grateful. The VISTA member in me, felt an even greater sense […]
Read MoreVISTAs join UWATX to gather data, bolster services & increase outreach
This summer, more than 30 summer AmeriCorps VISTA members, the domestic version of the Peace Corps, are joining UWATX to help make Austin greater by collecting data, participating in outreach and providing support for our partners. “This project is a true testament to what UWATX can do – we’ve brought together more than 15 Austin organizations to support a series of vital projects,” said Peter Kretzschmar, Vice President of Strategic Programs at UWATX. VISTAs will spend their ten weeks helping: Provide bilingual story time at the Austin Public Library – In our work to connect families to community services, UWATX found a need for more library support in East Austin. VISTAs will help create materials, translate and facilitate story time for families throughout the summer to fill this gap. Create a first-of-its-kind survey of out-of-school time programs in the Greater Austin area – Currently, there is no comprehensive data on the availability or quality of programs for students outside of school. This research project would be a first step to get a sense of the landscape of services. Teach early math activities at Success By 6 child care centers. To free up center staff for professional development and provide high-quality education, VISTAs will teach a math curriculum and serve as general classroom assistants. Assess language skills at Success By 6 child care centers – By assessing these skills early, UWATX will have a baseline to measure future progress. Raise awareness about 2-1-1 – VISTAs will reach out to the top 100 referred […]
Read MoreSpotlight: Catherine Morse on her role as evangelist
Since 2011, Catherine Morse has shared her passion for early childhood and commitment to community service with the UWATX Board of Directors and Success By 6 Leadership Council. Now, we are proud to announce that Morse, named an ABJ Woman of Influence in 2011, begins an 18-month term as Vice Chair of the Board before taking on the role of Board Chair in 2015. When I’m thinking about my role in all of this, it’s about being an evangelist – an advocate that shares the knowledge I’ve gained to drive solutions. – Catherine Morse What inspired you to get involved with UWATX? Three years ago, Samsung Austin Semiconductor made a $1M gift to Success By 6 to celebrate expanding our business in Austin and to provide support for the community after the recession. It also opened the door for my relationship with United Way for Greater Austin. Before that gift, I didn’t know much about United Way or Success By 6. Since then, I’ve met the inspirational leaders here – Debbie Bresette as President and Sue Carpenter leading the charge for early childhood – and I’ve learned so much about the need in this community. When you look at the data, it’s shocking, and I continue to be involved because those numbers move me to action. How do you see UWATX’s role in the community, now and in the future? Today, United Way is a powerful convener, pulling together nonprofits, businesses, individuals and government on key issues, setting goals and […]
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