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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 […]

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 […]

That’s what I’m trying to do and engage 100,000 people at the same time. I think this learning experience will help me get there. COMMUNITY INNOVATION WORKSHOPS – Tools for Community ChangePresented by the University of Texas, United Way Capital Area and Hands On Central Texas. SPREADING IDEASIt’s not enough to “get the word out.” You have to get people talking about your idea and its impact. Learn effective methods for using “word-of-mouth” or “viral” marketing to promote your ideas and attract others to work with you.August 28, 20086:00-7:30pmUnited Way offices: 2000 E. MLK Jr. Blvd, 78702 To register, go to http://www.handsoncentraltexas.org/.

A new study from the Corporation for National & Community Service, reported recently in the Austin Business Journal, tells us something many of us already knew: Austinites are big givers of their time. 35 percent of Austin residents serve as volunteers every year, making this the fifth most active U.S. city in volunteerism. The Volunteering in America report contains six years of data on volunteering, rankings of states and cities, and volunteer trends and demographic information for every state and 162 large and mid-sized cities. View the data at http//www.VolunteeringInAmerica.gov This year, United Way Capital Area and Hands On Central Texas are working more closely than ever to provide meaningful, high quality volunteer experiences for Central Texans that will we think will truly deliver sustaining impact in our community. On Friday, September 5, 2008, we will host various meaningful volunteer projects that will inspire awareness and action. We”re looking for projects centered around our three focus areas: Education, Financial Stability and Health. However, all volunteer projects casino online will be accepted. Learn more about the Day of Caring here, and pick a volunteering project that will be meaningful for you, your coworkers and your friends! Are you a creative person? There are opportunities to create beautiful art for community centers, including custom art pieces and MLK Peace benches. Do you like getting your hands dirty in the outdoors? Spruce up a child development center, or a community center”s garden. You can also create teach materials for kids, work at the […]

Check out this short clip that shows a cool component of United Way Baltimore’s Live United campaign. Mobile Video Units, mounted on Segways, cruise around outside the Baltimore convention center broadcasting the Live United message.

Last week, we met with the Web, Film and Interactive team at the American Cancer Society to discuss their innovative and expanding video production efforts. The ACS has its own version of YouTube, where cancer survivors can share their stories with the world. Just like with YouTube, visitors have the opportunity to upload their own videos, and share and comment on their experiences with others. Here is one such story that is beautiful and powerful to see, and created by someone with minimal video production experience: Check out more videos like this at sharinghope.tv You’ve probably had the opportunity to watch a few of the recent interviews we did with our own volunteers, who were out last spring at our Day of Caring building and painting MLK Peace Benches for community centers, participating in remodeling Habitat homes, and improving child daycare centers. If not, we invite you to watch one of these short clips. One of the volunteers from the Day of Caring made her own video, which was really cool, and we were thrilled that she shared it with us and posted it on YouTube. Do you have a story to tell about the work you are doing in the community? We’d love to see and hear it! sharinghope.tv has some basic instructions for how to make a video you can share with everyone. (Upload your own stories to a YouTube account and tell us about it–unless, of course, you have a Cancer or Healthcare story to share on […]

There is enormous passion for “community” in Central Texas. We are blessed to be able to say that more than 38 percent of Central Texans are active volunteers, making us third among major American cities. Austin has the highest number of nonprofit groups per capita in the state — 10 per 1,000 people — many focusing on education and the needs of our youth. Though much is achieved, these efforts are often independent of one another and efforts are often duplicated. Not only is the community need much greater than what our combined forces can address, but issues are not being tackled collaboratively. As nonprofit organizations, we should align our work and increase our overall effectiveness. Consider the facts: We have gaps in educational achievement between different groups of 40 percent or more. In Central Texas, about 7,000 students could have graduated from high school this spring but didn’t. The cost to our region of just one year’s number of high-school drop-outs is more than $425 million over the course of their lifetimes. We lose too many of our students along the way — they never get the solid educational footing it takes to be financially stable members of the community. That’s why education and financial stability are two of the three focuses of United Way Capital Area. They are the foundation for life success, and they cannot be addressed by our schools alone. Some studies show that more than 50 percent of what leads to a student’s academic success […]

If you haven’t found us yet on Facebook, we hope you will join us! Our first cause, Central Texas Youth Mentoring, Tutoring and Coaching, is an invitation to become an advocate and volunteer for Central Texas youth who need a supportive adult. If you haven’t gotten on Facebook yet, it’s easy, and everyone can sign up. You’ll re-connect with old friends and colleagues, and have the opportunity to be an advocate for the causes that are important to you. Join our Cause Become a Fan

Many thanks to everyone who joined us on Saturday to show their support and tell the world how they plan to Live United. We thank you and look forward to changing community conditions in Central Texas together! Here’s a few pix from the event.

Live United is an invitation to join United Way in addressing our community problems together. In order to create opportunities for everyone to succeed, we’re focusing on the building blocks of a better life – education, health, and financial stability. Living United is about making the decision to get involved in the community and advance the common good for our children and families. Our goal is to get as many people as possible to raise their voices for community engagement and tell us how they support the community or how they pledge to become more involved. And on Saturday, June 21, join us (in real life) for “Live United: A Call to Action.” This casual daytime event will allow all of us to come together and remember the power of a community united. Grab your kids, your best friend, or your next door neighbor and join us for a couple of hours. LIVE UNITED: A CALL TO ACTION Saturday, June 21 There are a couple of locations where you can Live United: Jo’s Coffee – “Live United Headquarters”, 1300 South Congress (next to San Jose Hotel) 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.Join us for a celebration of our power as a community. Stop in, support Jo’s and buy a cup of Joe and some food, get some great information on community issues, have your picture taken in your Live United t-shirt and learn how you can Live United. Town Lake Trail (Stevie Ray Vaughan Statue on Lady Bird Lake, near Auditorium […]