Tag: Jeff Thomas

Success Story: Kevin Rogel

What do you think of when you hear the word “philanthropist?” This year’s theme for employee campaigns is to “put away your top hats and monocles” and that “anyone can be a philanthropist.” We believe that whether you give $5 a year or $500,000 a year, you are a philanthropist; it is your giving spirit and earnest attempt to better your community that grants you this fancy-sounding title. We could find no better example of this than Kevin Rogel, who graciously agreed to let us share his story. We met Kevin, 16, a few years ago when he was a student at Webb Middle School. He joined our Volunteer Project Leader group, which teaches middle school students to not only give back, but to design and lead their own volunteer projects. While on a tour of the middle school, H-E-B senior vice president Jeff Thomas heard Kevin speak about the program and was impressed with his confidence, philanthropic heart and always positive attitude. Thomas told Kevin later that day, “when you hit 16…look me up” for an open position awaiting him at H-E-B. Mere days after Kevin’s 16th birthday last April, Kevin filled out his application with the help of his mentor and UWATX Director of Volunteer Engagement, Nikki Kruger–and as Thomas promised, he was hired as a Customer Service Associate. Unfortunately, Kevin awoke a few days later in a hospital in San Antonio with more than 40% of his body covered in third-degree burns. While helping his mom cook, he slipped […]

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Campaign Co-Chair Q&A: Part 3

For United Way Capital Area’s annual Workplace Giving Campaigns, two dedicated volunteers help promote the importance of giving through the workplace by serving as Campaign Co-Chairs. This year’s Co-Chairs are Ben Bentzin, CEO of Interactive Health Technologies, Inc., and Jeff Thomas, Regional Vice President for H-E-B. They answered some questions about their role in the campaign in the last of this three-part series. Why do you think it’s important for people to give through their workplace? Jeff: First, it’s easy. If your workplace sets up a program that allows you to contribute a small amount each week over the course of a year, that small amount can mean a whole awful lot to an individual and collectively to the agencies United Way supports. Employers who set up processes and systems that make it easy for their employees to give, can make a big difference in that way.           How does workplace giving encourage philanthropy throughout Austin? Ben: A workplace giving campaign does three things: 1. It gives companies a chance to raise their corporation’s profile in our community. It extends and enhances the value of their brand because they’re seen as a good citizen. 2. It gives companies an easy way to do some social good in our community and be sure that those dollars are going to be spent in a way that’s really helping people living in poverty. 3. It’s a chance for employees to work together as a team. A lot of employees […]

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Campaign Co-Chair Q&A: Part 2

For United Way Capital Area’s annual Workplace Giving Campaigns, two dedicated volunteers help promote the importance of giving through the workplace by serving as Campaign Co-Chairs. This year’s Co-Chairs are Ben Bentzin, CEO of Interactive Health Technologies, Inc., and Jeff Thomas, Regional Vice President for H-E-B. They answered some questions about their role in the campaign in the second of this three-part series. Why do you give to UWCA? Jeff: It’s a wonderful organization that touches so many different needs in our community and I have a passion around many of these needs- education for one, especially early education. You can impact the life of a young child even prior to going into school and make a difference in their life forever. Right now, we’re putting a lot of time, energy and money into building literacy rates in the state of Texas and our chairman Charles Butt is very passionate about that, as I am. I also have a passion around the well-being and health of the people in our community. H-E-B is doing an awful lot to make sure we’re educating our partners about being healthy, taking better care of themselves and many of the organizations that UWCA touches connect to that. There’s so many different needs in our community that, if not for UWCA, would go unfilled, so that’s why I’m passionate about giving and supporting United Way. Why do you have a passion for improving the Austin community? Ben: When I’m out during campaign, I talk about […]

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Campaign Co-Chair Q&A, Part 1

For United Way Capital Area’s annual Workplace Giving Campaigns, two dedicated volunteers help promote the importance of giving through the workplace by serving as Campaign Co-Chairs. This year’s Co-Chairs are Ben Bentzin, CEO of Interactive Health Technologies, Inc., and Jeff Thomas, Regional Vice President for H-E-B. They answered some questions about their role in the campaign in the first of this three-part series. What is the role of the Campaign Co-Chair? The role of the Campaign Co-Chair is to be the cheerleader for the campaign. It’s a lot like being in a political campaign, except instead of running for yourself, you’re running to raise money for our community. I love being Campaign Co-Chair, it’s a chance for me to go out every day- I’ve been out every day this week- and talk about all the impact we can have through education, income and health. I also love seeing the diversity of the campaigns that we have and how these employee-driven campaigns are totally different but perfect for their individual companies- they’re motivating for employees, it gives them a chance to get to know each other better and do some good in the community. Why did you choose to become this year’s Campaign Co-Chair? I’ve been associated with United Way almost my entire H-E-B career and in fact early in my management years with H-E-B in the early 80s, I was the coordinator for H-E-B’s United Way campaign for one of those years. Ever since then I’ve had a connection to […]

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