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  “We talk about children being the future of our economy, the future of our society, but they are human beings NOW, they are part of our community NOW.” We are incredibly proud to have launched the Texas chapter of Family Connects this past August and are excited to see the impact this home-visiting model has in our community. Watch the video or visit www.FamilyConnectsTexas.org to learn more.

Texas children deserve better. It is likely you picked up the paper this week and it broke your heart. The stories of parents who lost their children are devastating, and we are thankful to the Austin American-Statesman for taking an in-depth look into an issue of such importance to young children and working families in our community. The first five years of a child’s life are a critical period when 90 percent of all brain development occurs. What happens in these early years has a lasting impact from kindergarten readiness to high school graduation and beyond. For working parents, finding the right care for their children can be among the most difficult—and expensive—parenting decisions they face. The American-Statesman rightly questions who is “watching” our children. But licensing oversight is just one piece of a complex system that is fragile, fragmented and chronically underfunded at the state and federal level. Every child in Austin deserves access to high-quality, accredited early care and education. And every working parent deserves confidence in knowing their children are in a safe, nurturing environment while they work to provide for their families. Accreditation requires meeting standards well above basic health and safety licensing rules. This high-quality care provides a warm, responsive environment led by well-educated and compensated teachers with low student-teacher ratios, evidence-based curriculum and parent engagement. Unfortunately, low wages in the child care industry stifle educational attainment and drive high turnover among child care workers in the region. Quality child care is expensive but yields […]

AUSTIN, Texas – United Way for Greater Austin announced their 2018-2021 Community Investment Grant funded partners. United Way will collectively award twenty-eight agencies a total of $1.4 million under two distinct funding opportunities.   The path to poverty starts at an early age when low-income children do not have access to the same opportunities as their more advantaged peers. In Travis County, 42 percent of all children under six years of age are living in low-income families. That is almost 40,000 children who wake up each morning in homes where economic insecurity forces families to choose between paying their ever-rising rent or purchasing groceries.   United Way’s Community Investment Grants (CIGs) support their partner organizations to tackle the community’s greatest challenges. Through high-quality, data-driven programs, United Way seeks to ensure that Austin’s youngest, most vulnerable children and their families have the support and resources they need to break the cycle of poverty.   United Way focuses funding in two priority areas: Success By 6 (SB6) – Early Childhood Development: Through the Success By 6 initiatives, CIGs support programs to ensure that children are happy, health and set up for success in school and life. 2-Gen – Wrap-Around Family Support: 2-Gen CIGs address two generations in each family by supporting programs that provide families with equitable access to economic and social opportunities and ensure families in Central Texas are physically and mentally healthy.   With these two areas, United Way lifts up the resources to address holistic family needs to fight […]

AUSTIN, Texas –  All families deserve access to opportunity. However, systems that perpetuate intergenerational poverty threaten the wellbeing of Austin’s residents and its economy, leaving far too many families behind. In Travis County, more than one-third of households with children younger than 18 years old are low income. Meanwhile, employers in our community struggle to find trained candidates to fill well-paying middle-skill jobs. Austin’s current workforce gap is projected to continue to grow and reach more than 60,000 openings for middle-skill jobs by 2021.  For many parents who are eager to fill these positions, access to affordable, high-quality child care stands in the way. Although there are many promising anti-poverty programs in Austin, most focus solely on adults or their children, missing the opportunity to foster economic mobility for whole families. The 2-Gen approach to family economic opportunity brings services and resources for parents and children together, ultimately leading to better outcomes for both generations.   Over the past several years, leaders across sectors in Austin/Travis County have worked together to better understand and promote a dual-generational (2-Gen) approach aimed at disrupting the cycle of intergenerational poverty. With the release of the Austin/Travis County 2-Gen Strategic Plan, Austin’s nonprofit and municipal leaders are laying the groundwork to intentionally coordinate services for parents and children over the next five years. Austin Mayor Steve Adler and United Way CEO David Smith will formally celebrate the launch of the plan on Thursday, December 13, 2018, at the Headliners Club. City and County officials, […]

AUSTIN, Texas – Every family needs support following the birth of a child. The United Way forGreater Austin is pleased to announce the launch of the Texas Family Connects Nurse Home Visiting Program. Texas Family Connects will benefit all families, including those that are frequently overlooked or underserved through current outreach methods – families who may not have been connected to services otherwise.   WHO: United Way for Greater Austin and Texas Family Connects – Travis County   WHAT: Announcement of first home visit with the Texas Family Connects nurse home visiting program in Austin/Travis County. Texas Family Connects is a voluntary, evidence-based Travis County community-wide nurse home visiting and referral program is for every family with a newborn. It is specifically designed to decrease instances of maltreatment by screening for risk and providing access to intervention early in a child’s life. The initiative has launched with all families giving birth at the St. David’s South Austin Medical Center with plans to expand to serve every family with a new baby in Travis County.   WHEN: September 4, 2018   WHERE: St. David’s South Austin Medical Center, 901 W Ben White Blvd, Austin, TX 78704   WHY: Texas Family Connects – Travis County is officially up in running, with a plan to give babies the best possible start in life.   This program is a partnership between United Way for Greater Austin and Austin Public Health. The City of Austin’s Public Health Department to offer every family with a newborn in […]

Thursday, October 4 the Austin Business Journal announced David C. Smith as the Best CEO of 2018 in the nonprofit category as part of their 2018 Best CEO Awards. Austin Business Journal’s Best CEOs of 2018 are four leaders across sectors from technology to nonprofit categories. Winners were selected by a team of judges including previous Best CEOs. David had the opportunity to represent UWATX and encourage partnership & collaboration in a room filled with various CEOs, leaders, and guests from the business community. David Smith is now in his third year leading United Way for Greater Austin, although he has been working in the nonprofit space for more than 25 years leading organizations such as The Care Communities, the Hill Country Ride for AIDS and the Mamma Jamma Ride for Breast Cancer. Under Smith’s leadership, United Way has created and implemented the School Readiness Action Plan, a five-year strategic plan to turn the United Way into a convener that aligns efforts across the community behind big goals. Smith has also served on numerous boards including Austin Theater Alliance, Barton Springs Conservancy, E3 Alliance, Community Action Network and Conspirare. Prior to joining the United Way, Smith ran his own consulting firm, which is how he was named interim the executive director of The Thinkery children’s museum. He provides pro-bono board strategy sessions for organizations that need help creating or developing their own boards. For more information subscribe to the Austin Business Journal.

Did you know there is more than one way to donate to United Way? From donating money to donating your time, United Way for Greater Austin provides a variety of ways for you to give back to our community. Donate Directly to United Way Visit our Volunteer Database and sign up Get your company connected to Corporate Volunteering Volunteer as a reviewer for our community investment grants At United Way, we are grateful to have worked with dedicated individuals and companies in the Central Texas Area for more than 90 years. Throughout our time in the Austin community, H-E-B has consistently been one of our biggest supporters and our largest employee giving campaign. United Way for Greater Austin is interested in partnering with companies throughout the year in many different capacities. When it comes to our corporate partners, United Way knows that we both have a lot to offer each other, and we want to make sure the greater Austin community that benefits the most from our partners working together to build a thriving community for all. Mark Huff, Loss Prevention Manager at Austin 12 H-E-B Plus, is a great example of how we are trying to engage employees in a holistic way. “When I started working for H-E-B it really opened my eyes to all the different capacities United Way [serves] the community,” Huff said. “To see every organization, you’re helping and how you’re helping them.” After working with H-E-B for 11 years, Huff became a H-E-B Bastrop in-store […]

Our newly appointed Board Chair remembers walking around as a five-year-old with a paint scraper, tasked with scraping gum off the bottom of the tables. Does this sound familiar? That’s right, Mason Ayer, CEO of Kerbey Lane Café, has been appointed Board Chair of the United Way for Greater Austin Board of Directors. Mason can trace many of his early childhood memories to the Kerbey Lane Cafe’s original location in Central Austin. As the son of Kerbey Lane Cafe’s founders, David Ayer and Patricia Atkinson, he was literally born into the business. “I’m honored to Chair the Board for such a critical and backbone organization that serves the city I love and the place I’ve called home for most of my life. It’s an exciting time for Austin and United Way is growing to meet the needs of our most vulnerable neighbors. I can’t think of any more important way to spend my volunteer time.”  -Mason Ayer United Way is also honored to announce Jennifer Poppe as the new Board Secretary. Poppe, a partner at Vinson and Elkins, has been a United Way Board member for the last four years. “Vinson and Elkins have been a long-standing supporter of United Way since well before I joined the firm over 20 years ago. I’m proud to continue this tradition of giving back to the community through one of the most impactful organizations in Austin. Good things are happening through United Way, I’m excited to be a part of the Board leadership […]

Updated November 2019 Since 2018, United Way for Greater Austin has partnered with Lyft in a variety of ways to support the transportation needs of our 2-1-1 callers. This post may no longer accurately reflect our current partnership with Lyft. Please call 2-1-1 for the most up-to-date information. 2-1-1 is Austin’s front door to community resources. United Way for Greater Austin’s call specialists connect people in need with the services that can help – health care, food, housing, counseling, substance abuse services, job training, services for older adults and veterans, transportation and more. Cities are changing. Because of this, individuals and families with low-income tend to live outside of the urban core, away from essential services. Consequently, access to transportation for vital services is now an even greater challenge. For example, an older adult living outside of the city in need of dialysis has no way to get to her appointment. An unemployed father does not transportation to get to a job interview. 2-1-1 call specialists help callers navigate the complex, and often times confusing, social services system, especially when it comes to qualifying for transportation services. “The Lyft calls I take are distinct. Some of the individuals calling are not disabled enough to qualify for special transportation or they are not old enough. They are caught in the middle,” 2-1-1 Call Specialist Arnoldo Longoria said. “Some of their appointments are really far away, where the bus system wouldn’t be helpful and because of barriers like that, they are more […]