According to the Greeting Card Association, 190 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged each year. Due in part to United Way for Greater Austin’s first family-friendly Valentine’s Day volunteer event, community members will contribute nearly 1,000 cards to spread love to those giving back in the greater Austin community. On Saturday, February 7th, 25 volunteers created handmade Valentine’s Day cards to acknowledge the teachers and support staff who work every day in our target neighborhoods: Dove Springs, St. John’s and Manor. Volunteers wrote inspiring notes for preschool and middle school teachers, and thanked the businesses who run UWATX employee campaigns. Without the dedicated teachers, principals and staff who support Success By 6 and Target Graduation, programs aimed at improving school readiness and graduation rates, our work would not be possible. [youtube id=pNu16XsTm4Q] UWATX is investing in the future of greater Austin. In addition to the community volunteer event, our middle school Volunteer Project Leaders also created cards. These Volunteer Project Leaders are part of an afterschool program at Mendez, Webb and Decker Middle Schools that train middle school students to identify community needs and coordinate volunteer projects. More than 35 middle school students contributed to the massive Valentine’s Day card project by writing notes to their teachers and making appreciation banners to hang in the schools. Valentine’s Day is a day to recognize and appreciate all of the people in your life. We hope this volunteer project inspires you to tell those around you that you love them–whether it is […]
Read MoreFamilies Give Thanks, Volunteer Together
Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner, and with it comes time for individuals and families to reflect on what they hold near and dear. Family Volunteer Day, held nationally on the Saturday before Thanksgiving each year, is an opportunity for parents and children to give back to their community together. Started in 1992, this national day of philanthropy signals the beginning of the season of holiday giving and is an opportunity for families to give back as a unit. United Way for Greater Austin is a proud participant in Family Volunteer Day, and hosted a Holiday Cheer event this past weekend. Families created ornaments, made cards and decorated bookmarks to accompany children’s books donated from the book drive! More than 50 people attended this volunteer event, which compliments our upcoming Community Tree Lighting in St. John’s. The ornaments will be hung on the 15-foot tree, and the donated books will be distributed to underserved children at the Tree Lighting event. Family volunteerism supports the community by shaping the volunteers and philanthropists of the future. Children who volunteer with their families learn the importance of civic engagement and giving back through first-hand experience. Children also benefit from volunteering by building confidence and self-esteem. Interested in volunteer opportunities? We’ve complied a few options below! Organize a drive to collect books or other materials for families in need Click here to learn more about UWATX-sponsored holiday drives Adopt a family. Local organizations such as Safeplace and Lifeworks have volunteer opportunities where individuals can adopt a family […]
Read MoreGoldman Sachs Makes Austin Greater
On Monday, May 21st more than 150 individuals from Goldman Sachs and their clients came together to show how their volunteer service makes Austin greater! The team supported six service projects in and around Austin. Volunteers worked with United Way for Great Austin’s Success By 6 team to assemble 1,200 Play To Learn kits with educational materials including books, interactive children’s activities and literature that will assist families in building at-home libraries. These at-home activities not only reinforce the content of Play To Learn sessions conducted with families, they also supply families with appropriate materials to help their child become school ready. Across town, volunteers worked with Habitat for Humanity on a home repair for a local resident. Volunteers completed exterior repairs such as painting, scraping, siding replacement and trim repair in order to improve accessibility, safety, and energy efficiency for the homeowner. Partnering with Decker Middle School, one of United Way for Greater Austin’s target middle school campuses, a group of volunteers mentored and provided career and life guidance to at-risk students. Volunteers engaged students in a board game designed to increase the their knowledge of being financially responsible. Volunteers at Decker also worked in teams to decorate and pack 100 school supply kits that will benefit Manor ISD students, whose parents are veterans or are currently deployed. “I can’t thank Goldman Sachs volunteers enough for all your support. The Goldman Sachs employees and clients were exceptional individuals and had so much to offer our students, “said Becky Lott, […]
Read MoreUnitedHealthcare Employees give back to the City of Austin
Yesterday, 85 UnitedHealthcare employees rallied together to do something many Austinites might not be so keen to do – loaded wheelbarrows and spread truckloads of still-steaming Dillo Dirt and mulch at Pease Park. The service project helped prep the park for the City of Austin’s “It’s My Park Day” on March 3, an annual community service day focused on making improvements to Austin parks. “Access to safe and well-maintained parks offers everyone the opportunity to enjoy Austin without restrictions – making us an active, healthy and united Austin,” said Nikki Krueger, Director of Volunteer Engagement at United Way. UnitedHealthcare stands by the mission of its parent, UnitedHealth Group, which is “to help people live healthier lives.” The company believes it is necessary to be active in the surrounding communities and encourages employee participation in company-wide volunteering events. By serving the City and enhancing Austin’s oldest park, yesterday’s event was another opportunity for UnitedHealthcare employees to show their support of volunteerism and community involvement. Through projects like these, United Way Capital Area’s Hands on Central Texas program brings together dedicated volunteers and caring companies like UnitedHealthcare to create a community of philanthropists that help Central Texans thrive. HOCT provides volunteers with high-quality community engagement experiences that inspire individuals to stay involved.
Read MoreStudents get “Hands on” by helping their community
Since August, students at Webb Middle School participated in Volunteer Project Leader (VPL) training to learn how to better their community by leading volunteer projects. The group recently finished their first project: raising money for, making and donating warm fleece blankets for kids who need them. The program, which was adapted from UWCA’s Hands On Central Texas program specifically for Webb’s middle school students, aims to transform casual volunteers into active community leaders by equipping participants with the leadership skills and tools they need to make meaningful and lasting change in their communities. It focuses on providing volunteers with the basics of how to lead projects; how to manage and recruit volunteers; ways to identify needs in the community; adopt existing or create new volunteer projects; and ways to locate and utilize resources. During their time in the VPL training program, Webb’s seventh grade students performed an exercise that required them to reach out to their teachers, peers and community leaders to identify what the need was in the St. Johns neighborhood. Once this was completed, the exercise turned into much larger projects that focused on addressing those identified needs. One of the student leaders, Noel Mondragon, worked with his teacher, Mrs. Eckhart, to develop the idea of putting together warm fleece blankets for underprivileged children at orphanages or early childhood centers in the surrounding area. “Noel was the leader of the project but the whole school really got invested,” said Nikki Krueger, who runs HOCT and the Volunteer Project […]
Read MoreAustinites give back in a major way for Martin Luther King Day
Saturday, Janaury 14 marked the seventh annual United Way Capital Area MLK Day of Service. The MLK Day of Service serves as a day to reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s message of “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.” More than 400 volunteers from all across the Austin community came together to complete service projects that supported 13 local nonprofits and schools. David Guzman, Executive Director of Positive Footprint, led a team of young men who volunteered with the Texas Ramp Project to build a wheelchair ramp for a member of the community. “Our guys loved the experience and are already talking about trying to arrange another volunteer event with them in the summer,” said David. “It was great to get them involved in work where they could actually see the result of their effort.” Leading up to the MLK Day of Service, United Way’s Webb Middle School volunteer leaders conducted interviews in the St. John’s neighborhood to identify and prioritize projects they could take on to help their community. Mainly, students had a strong desire to give back to their elementary school, J.J. Pickle. The team, led by seventh grade student Noel Mondragon, weeded the garden and flower beds, harvested vegetables, planted butterfly vines, cleared a pond, repaired compost bins and picked up trash on the campus grounds. When the project was complete, student volunteers reflected on the experience. “I feel really happy and pleased with our work. I feel like we accomplished something that helped […]
Read MoreFall Day of Caring: 800+ volunteers come together!
On Friday, September 23, United Way Capital Area closed its doors as employees joined over 800 volunteers to complete 35 projects throughout the community. In total, volunteers gave 2,982 hours of service for UWCA’s Fall Day of Caring. Individuals from 22 Austin-area companies came together in teams to build community gardens, support local organizations, mentor students in career skills and much more. The event also boasts a key record: 28 projects were led by UWCA-trained Volunteer Project Leaders– each of them participated in a 2-hour session to learn how to make meaningful and lasting change in their community. Over the past 6 years, UWCA has taught hundreds of volunteer leaders as part of this national training initiative. To say thank you to our dedicated volunteers, we put together a YouTube video featuring clips and photos from throughout the day. Random quotes of kindness: Austin Nature & Science Center– I was amazed at how everyone worked together to get the project done. The people from the Austin Statesman really did an awesome job. The place looks remarkable, more than I expected. I really like that we are able to be a part of the Days of Caring with United Way. We always get so much done on those volunteer days. Thank you so much! – Project Leader Mainspring Schools– I absolutely loved this event. Sometimes when I volunteer, I don’t get to see the full impact of what my time and energy is buying. In this instance, I was able to see the […]
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