Amplify Austin Day 2016 is right around the corner. The citywide day of giving takes place on March 8th starting at 6 p.m. and ends on March 9th at 6 p.m.
With more than 600 nonprofits participating, check out five reasons you should make a donation to UWATX on Amplify Austin Day.
We are research-based and results-driven.
We say this a lot–because it is so important to us! We are not simply creating programs randomly and hoping for results; everything we implement is based off of our own or collaborative research, and we are constantly monitoring and tweaking our programs each year based on previous results. We also collaborate with other organizations to create a bigger impact.
It is important to us to be able to prove that what we’re doing is making a tangible difference in the lives of struggling families and individuals…and we can. Check out some of our success stories to see this in action.
We focus on the areas of Austin that need us most.
Our Middle School Matters program serves students on three campuses where the number of students living in low-income households is 87% or more on each campus. These campuses sit in Dove Springs, St. John’s and Manor, three of Austin’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Our Financial Stability program provides free CommunityTHRIVE financial classes to low-income adults. These classes are held in neighborhood centers in low-income neighborhoods, making it easy for attendees to access the classes in their own neighborhoods even if they don’t have reliable transportation.
Additionally, our 2-1-1 call center answers calls from ten counties in Greater Austin and surrounding areas. Learn more about some of the areas we serve here and here.
We run the largest network of volunteers in Central Texas.
Hands On Central Texas, our volunteer arm, aims to encourage volunteerism from both individuals and corporations. We host Volunteer Project Leader trainings to educate individuals on how to organize and manage their own volunteer projects. We host Family Volunteer Days each quarter to teach kids of all ages how to give back to their community. We also allow other area nonprofits to post their volunteer opportunities on our database so that they can get the help they need with their projects. Check out current volunteer opportunities.
We work to break the cycle of poverty by serving entire families.
Our 2-1-1 Navigation Center answers more than 300,000 calls per year from residents looking for assistance with basic needs, from healthcare for their children to assistance with rent payments when they are on the verge of being evicted. Our programs: Success By 6, Middle School Matters and Financial Stability, aim to do more than put bandaids over the areas where families are struggling–but actually create change within the entire family.
For example, while young children are receiving high-quality early education, many of their parents take an English As Second Language course at the same time to improve their skillset. Children in our target campuses we serve through Middle School Matters receive a host of services, including mentoring, mental health services, etc. while their parents have access to parenting classes.
By focusing on serving both parent and child, also called two-gen work, we hope to help families improve their situations both now and in the future when the child grows up to become an adult.
We fund a host of other local nonprofits.
When you give to United Way for Greater Austin, you are supporting more than just one nonprofit. We know that poverty in Austin is too big of a problem to be solved by just one organization. We strive to collaborate and support other nonprofits with similar goals and visions for creating positive change in our community, and give Community Investment Grants to some of these organizations to help them do so. View the list of our funded partners.
We raised nearly $6,000 on Amplify Austin Day 2015, and we need your help to beat that amount this year! You can schedule your gift anytime before March 8th to get it done ahead of time, or give during the 24-hour period.
To donate to UWATX during Amplify Austin or schedule a gift, click here to go to our fundraising page.