This article was written by James Barragan of the Austin American-Statesman and published on November 1, 2015. After 12 years with the United Way for Greater Austin, eight of them as its president, Debbie Bresette officially stepped down from the organization Thursday. “She’ll be missed,” said Kay Garza, the Vice President of the Navigation Center at the United Way for Greater Austin, who has worked with Bresette for 12 years. “She’s been the heart and soul of this organization and someone who truly cares about working poor families.” During Bresette’s tenure, the group placed an emphasis on helping disadvantaged youths and families. Through its early childhood development programs, the group put 500 area children from disadvantaged backgrounds into pre-K programs and started an initiative at low-income middle schools to prevent kids from dropping out. Much of the emphasis on disadvantaged youths came from Bresette’s own family experience. She has biracial grandchildren. Because of that, she says, they may not be given the same opportunities as other kids. But instead, Bresette tries to focus on the positives that kids like her grandchildren bring to the table, such as different cultures and experiences. “That gives them the ability to have a really open mind,” she said. “If we invest in them, no matter what they look like or where they come from, they have the opportunity of being the Einsteins of the future, of saving us, of saving our planet.” Bresette’s tenure was also marked by the push for new ideas at […]
Read MoreUWATX Wins Common Good Award
United Way for Greater Austin received a 2015 United Way Common Good Award for our work in early childhood development. The award comes from United Way Worldwide, the umbrella organization that guides nearly 1,800 local United Ways around the world. UWATX is one of only three United Way chapters worldwide to be honored by United Way Worldwide as a 2015 recipient for strengthening communities by advancing the common good through innovative practices that are making a measurable impact in education, income and health. United Way Common Good Awards recognize promising and effective practices from communities around the world that are applying a range of solutions to community challenges along the impact continuum. This year, the award recognizes excellence and effectiveness in the areas of Program Solutions, Impact Initiatives and Community Solutions. UWATX earned the Common Good Award for Impact Initiatives in recognition of the School Readiness Action Plan. The first School Readiness Action Plan was published in 2012 to address the needs of all children in achieving the cognitive, physical, social, emotional and language skills needed to thrive in an educational setting. Currently, only half of children living in Central Texas enter kindergarten prepared for school success. Research indicates a strong correlation between high-quality early education and overall school success. To address these needs, UWATX formed a coalition of early childhood advocates, experts, parents, service providers and business leaders to ensure school readiness is a priority in Austin/Travis County. “It is a tremendous honor to be recognized as a role model […]
Read MoreAISD Grant Will Provide Pre-K For Nearly 500 Low-Income Kids
There a strong correlation between high-quality early childhood education and overall academic success. This trend is even more important for children from low-income families, many of whom cannot afford quality pre-K or childcare, and therefore have a higher chance of entering kindergarten behind their peers. We held a press conference on April 2 at Lucy Read Pre-Kindergarten School to announce that we are providing a $215,000 grant to Austin Independent School District to open more Pre-K classrooms for low-income three-year-olds next year. [youtube id=SVCFoRHv9PE] Currently, AISD serves 64 income-eligible children in a Pre-K 3 pilot program in two high-need elementary campuses in East Austin. AISD’s Pre-K 3 program currently provides half-day instruction to children who have not participated in formal early education. The $215,000 grant will allow for the opening of 15 additional AISD Pre-K 3 classrooms—four classrooms will provide full-day instruction—serving an additional 480 students. “We have piloted the Pre-K 3 program this year with great success and are grateful to United Way for Greater Austin for this generous donation to expand this important program to more students and schools in our district next school year,” Dr. Paul Cruz, AISD superintendent, said. “We work to give our students the best possible foundation, and it begins with early childhood education.” The grant is made possible by donations from three generous Austin families: Eric and Keri Stumberg, Sandy and Lisa Gottesman, and John Cullen. Donations from the Gottesmans and John Cullen were made in honor of John’s wife, Sue Cullen, who passed away in 2010. The funds will be used for the […]
Read MoreHappy Birthday, Judge Biscoe!
Happy birthday, Judge Sam Biscoe! Judge Biscoe has served as Travis County Court judge since 1998, and will retire when his term ends this December. He served on the United Way for Greater Austin Board of Directors for many years, and recognizes the common goals UWATX and the county have to help those in our community who need it most. In addition to becoming the first African-American Travis County Court judge, he helped implement several programs benefitting county residents, including a youth summer employment program and extended-day program for middle school students. “I would personally appreciate your helping me transition into retirement knowing we gave generously to needy persons in our community.” – Judge Sam Biscoe He has been a voice of reason and mission for our community, and has consistently advocated for families living in rural areas surrounding Austin. He invests his own resources thoughtfully, and additionally, asks that his employees also engage in philanthropy. Every year, he runs a Combined Charities employee campaign, in which Travis County employees pledge to contribute a portion of their individual salary to over 300 charities in the Austin community, including UWATX. For his birthday on November 5, Judge Biscoe requests donations to his campaign in lieu of purchasing a gift. He ran his most successful campaign in 2009 by raising over $200,000. As this year will be his final employee campaign, Judge Biscoe’s goal is to set a new record for the amount of money raised and hopes it will be his most prosperous campaign yet! If you are […]
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