Newsroom

Fall Day of Caring 2015

Our annual Fall Day of Caring took place last week on September 11th, in conjunction with the National Day of Service and Remembrance. We could not think of a better way to remember this day than by giving back to our community, and neither could the hundreds of volunteers who joined us. This year, volunteers gave back what equates to more than $80,000 worth of work in just one day! More than 1,000 volunteers spent the day giving back at 40 projects across the city, including gardening projects, clean ups, assembling materials for our programs and sprucing up afterschool and Pre-K sites. Many of the volunteers came from our corporate partners, who utilized the day to not only give back but as a great opportunity for team-building. Team members from GM and UPS assembled materials for our Play To Learn program and loaded tablets for low-income families with educational apps and parent resources. Austin Coca-Cola assisted our funded partner BookSpring with sorting books. Rockwell Automation, PBK Architects, Aspen Heights, Build-a-Sign and Liquidation Channel teamed up to prep Creative Action for their variety of youth programs. Freescale employees worked on a variety of projects at Girlstart, the Empty Bowl Project and the Capital Area Food Bank. Farmers Insurance worked at Blackland Community Development Corporation. UWATX’s Women’s Leadership Council, a group of our most invested women donors dedicated to our early childhood education work, spent the day at El Buen Pastor organizing the resource room. JE Dunn and Advisory Board Company worked on improving the playground […]

Read More

UWATX Internal Campaign

You likely know by now that many of our donations come from Austin-based businesses running employee giving campaigns by asking their employees to give a bit of each paycheck back to UWATX. But did you know that United Way for Greater Austin runs our own internal employee giving campaign too? That’s right–we don’t just talk the talk of being philanthropists, we pledge to pledge! We held fun activities to inspire our employees to give, including Twin Day (dress up like the person who inspires you to be a philanthropist), Represent Your Favorite Sports Team Day (complete with trivia and prizes) and Campaign Cool Down (in which we got to wear comfy workout clothes to the office and had a group stretch). Our own UWATX employees pledged to donate more than $23,000 out of their paychecks over the past few days back to United Way programs. As this year’s internal campaign kicked off, we asked our team leads what it was like to run a campaign in an organization that already gives so much. Our Resource Development team travels around town every day helping businesses run their employee giving campaigns, but how does this differ when it’s your own coworkers? Check out their answers to get some inspiration and tips when it comes to running your own campaign: When you signed up to be a part of organizing the United Way for Greater Austin campaign, what were your initial thoughts? Jeffrey King: Very excited! This was a learning experience and an […]

Read More

Volunteer Feature: Mark Capehart, Kerbey Lane Cafe

Kerbey Lane Cafe puts smiles on people’s faces every day with their iconic delicious pancakes, but that’s not the only way they make Austin greater. Through their well-established philanthropic core values, Kerbey Lane Cafe emphasizes the importance of philanthropy by supporting for UWATX through running employee giving campaigns and setting up volunteer opportunities for their employees. From school beautification projects to displaying UWATX table tents at their restaurants, they do it all! Mark Capehart, KLC – Round Rock Community Ambassador, is a longtime committed UWATX volunteer. KLC restaurant managers go by the title of “Community Ambassador” and make corporate social responsibility a priority by engaging their team with volunteer opportunities. For years, Mark has been the philanthropic liaison for Kerbey Lane Cafe and helped coordinate the adoption of local child development centers that he and his staff volunteer at on a continuing basis. We are proud to have dedicated volunteers like Mark, so we sat down with him and asked him about his experiences leading Kerbey Lane Cafe’s volunteer efforts: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you began leading the volunteer efforts for Kerbey Lane Cafe? My interest is really selfish. I like to volunteer; I want to help out. Through this outlet, I am able to be very warmly received anywhere; when Kerbey Lane wants to volunteer, everybody gets excited about it. Having such willing and positive support from the company really makes so many opportunities possible.  Planning and coordinating events with Nikki (UWATX Director of Volunteer Engagement) really makes the […]

Read More

Success Story: Kevin Rogel

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 More

May Face 2 Face Recap with Alejandro Ruelas

May’s Face 2 Face speaker series, sponsored by the Austin Business Journal and Whole Foods, hosted Alejandro Ruelas, the co-founder of LatinWorks. LatinWorks is a cultural branding agency headquartered in Austin. “My advice to corporations when entering the multicultural space is to not just check off the ‘appeal to minority ethnic groups’ box. Companies need to really focus on the way their minority clients live and work, and cater to the like mindsets of different cultures.” — Alejandro Ruelas LatinWorks began in St. Louis, but later moved to Austin. Ruelas said some of the reasons for the move to Austin included the diversity of the city’s people, affordability, growing size of the city and the large pool of minority graduates from the University of Texas advertising program. LatinWorks is the most awarded multicultural agency in the advertising industry. The agency has won nine Cannes Lions, was recognized as Multicultural Agency of the year (twice by Adweek and three times by Ad Age), among many other national and international awards. LatinWorks was named by Ad Age as one of the top ten advertising agencies in the country on two separate occasions in 2010 and 2014. LatinWorks clients include Anheuser-Busch, PepsiCo, Lowe’s, Domino’s Pizza and Target, among others. Ruelas said his biggest mistake when starting LatinWorks was that he took on too much work himself and did not delegate enough. “One of my biggest mistakes when building my company was to not trust the talented staff that surrounded me. I stuck my […]

Read More

Partner Spotlight: JE Dunn Construction

JE Dunn Construction not only helped sponsor our Spring Day of Caring this year; employees also volunteered at El Buen Pastor Early Child Development Center by working on some much needed renovations and improvements. For the past year, JE Dunn has worked with United Way for Greater Austin to ensure that early childhood education centers are safe and up to date. JE Dunn Construction compiled an assessment team that visits centers and looks at structure, the rooms, mechanics, plumbing and electrical to make sure they are safe, in good repair and up to code. Once the assessment is complete, they provide UWATX and the center with a detailed assessment report which includes any issues, materials needed, and the approximate cost to fix. So far, they have assessed three early care and education centers in the Success By 6 Center Project and will continue to conduct assessments over the next months. Not only has JE Dunn taken the time to assess various centers, but also provided the labor and materials which many of these centers would not be able to afford otherwise. Because of cuts in state funding, toddler and infant funding has dropped to the 50th percentile. This decision puts providers in the difficult position of having to choose between investing in center services or in serving low-income families. Ayesha White, one of our SB6 Vistas, spoke to some of JE Dunn’s employees during SDOC about why they give back. Why is JE Dunn providing renovations for child care centers in the greater Austin Area? “JE Dunn is part […]

Read More

Interview with Sarah Durham, President of Big Duck

Photo Credit: Tracy Young UWATX recently hosted a “Brandraising” workshop for other local nonprofits to learn more about how to best utilize digital marketing to raise brand awareness and increase donations. We brought in Sarah Durham, author of Brandraising: Raise Visibility & Money Using Smart Communications and president of Big Duck, a nonprofit marketing company based in Brooklyn, New York. She was named one of Fast Company’s most influential women in technology in 2010, among other fundraising industry awards.  We sat down with Sarah to learn more about her company and how nonprofits of any size can utilize the many communication tools available. Can you tell us a bit about your background? “My parents were right out of Mad Men: both in advertising in New York in the 1960s and 1970s. I grew up in ad agencies and marketing environments. These days, I live in Brooklyn, New York with my husband and my daughters, Abi and Kate, who are identical twins.” Why did you decide for your company to focus on the nonprofit sector? “I started Big Duck in 1994. At first, we worked with a range of businesses and nonprofits in many sectors. The work with nonprofits was the most inspiring and challenging, so in 2000 I made the decision to specialize in work with nonprofits.” What causes do you care most about in your personal life? “I lost both of my parents to brain tumors. Today, I serve on the board of the National Brain Tumor Society, the leading organization funding research and changing the system […]

Read More

Meet Principal Alejandro Góngora

“On Time, On Task and On a Mission.” These are the words that are displayed in the Decker Middle School hallway and echoed through the leadership practices of Principal Alejandro Góngora. Decker Middle School is located in the Manor area in Austin, Far East on 290. This campus is considered low-SES and more than 80 percent of Decker students receive free or reduced lunch Góngora, originally from Flushing Queens, New York, has worked in education for 15 years. He earned his undergraduate degree from The University of Texas at Austin and is currently part of the cooperative superintendent program there. Principal Góngora previously taught at Oak Meadows Elementary, which feeds into Decker Middle School. Coincidentally, he has had dozens of the same students for many years. “I’ve known some of these kids since they were in kindergarten, so they know I’m invested. I do feel that the majority of my students understand that I do care about them and love them.” When asked about his leadership style, Góngora said, “I make [emotional] deposits with my students… I talk to them. I work with them. When tough moments arise, I help. When they are ready, we talk. I’ve known some of these kids since they were in kindergarten, so they know I’m invested. I do feel that the majority of my students understand that I do care about them and love them.” Principal Góngora is a native Spanish speaker and is able to effectively communicate with many ESL students and parents. […]

Read More

Farmers Insurance Group Promotes Literacy in Dove Springs

Recent studies reveal that approximately 53 percent of fourth graders report reading recreationally almost every day – but that figure drops down to 20 percent by eighth grade. At United Way for Greater Austin, we invest in Middle School Matters through our Target Graduation program because we know that middle school is a critical tipping point for student success and that literacy development, supported by self-directed reading, is one of the cornerstones of academic achievement. Because the promotion of literacy is paramount to our mission, we’re thrilled to announce that Farmers Insurance Group generously funded a reading nook in the Mendez Middle School library! In partnership with UWATX, Farmers donated more than 100 high-interest book titles to the library collection and added beanbag chairs, festive rugs and pillows and other décor to make the space more inviting. Farmers volunteers also held an on-site competition to create posters highlighting the new books. On Thursday, March 12, Farmers volunteers spent the afternoon cataloguing the new books, arranging furniture, hanging posters and decorating the reading nook. The space was officially unveiled on Friday, March 13 at the Dove Springs Community Alliance meeting. Located in Dove Springs, a low-income neighborhood in southeast Austin, Mendez Middle School serves as a key community resource for local families. More than eighty five percent of students in this area are economically disadvantaged, which poses barriers to opportunity and academic success for many of them. By partnering with companies like Farmers Insurance Group, UWATX works to provide support for target campuses to move toward closing the […]

Read More

March Face 2 Face Recap with P. Terry

The Austin Business Journal led-series, Face 2 Face, didn’t disappoint this month. Colin Pope sat down with Patrick Terry, co-founder of our beloved local hamburger stand, P. Terry’s, to talk about his business practices. According to Terry, “The idea of P. Terry’s is very simple because I’m very simple, honestly. The idea of making a milkshake and handing it to someone makes me really happy. “ The philosophy behind that simple idea has grown into more than nine P. Terry’s locations with four more planned in 2015, all in the Austin area. Patrick and his wife, Kathy, are proud of the quality of product they are able to offer for a value price. They charge below three dollars for an all-natural Angus beef hamburger, complete with a specialty bun baked fresh by Mrs. Baird’s. If you add a side of fries, you can dine with confidence, knowing that they use all-natural Idaho potatoes. P. Terry’s also offers a vegetarian-friendly burger and has a vegan burger in the works. When asked if it is a sound financial move to charge so little for premium ingredients, Terry said, “You should work really hard to make good food and people shouldn’t be penalized…If you want a business to sustain through thick and thin they’ve got to love you. Give people a value where they feel good about what they just did.” “If you want a business to sustain through thick and thin, they’ve got to love you. Give people a value where they […]

Read More