The UWATX Volunteer Project Leader (VPL) middle school program aims to transform youth into active community leaders by teaching them leadership skills they need to make lasting change in their communities. This week, 35 middle school VPL students from the three campuses we work on attended a celebration of their accomplishments at Kerbey Lane Cafe. They ordered pancakes and breakfast tacos from a special menu featuring a letter of encouragement and congratulations from Kerbey Lane’s CEO and UWATX Board Member, Mason Ayer. These students from Mendez, Webb and Decker Middle Schools completed 20 volunteer projects this year, ranging from making seed balls and beautifying their neighborhoods, to packing hygiene kits for the homeless and leading a craft station for refugee children. After breakfast, students received special certificates, t-shirts and journals to document their ideas on how to continue making Austin greater. As with any VPL meeting, the event concluded with a peer shoutout exercise we call “brag on your neighbor.” Students and volunteers recognized the contributions of each other that made this year both successful and fun. Below are some messages left by the students on a reflection board from the event: “Thank you for helping me help others” “Thank you for showing me skills I didn’t know I had” “Because of VPL, I know that I want to grow up to be a philanthropist” Want to make a difference in the community? Visit HandsOnCentralTexas.org, the largest volunteer network in Central Texas, and find opportunities that interest you!
Read MoreUWATX Supports Kerbey Lane Café
If you’ve watched the news in the last 24 hours, you’ve likely heard a media report about Kerbey Lane Café. Unfortunately, it’s not the typical positive story about Kerbey Lane’s mouthwatering pancakes and queso, or its good work in the community. Instead, it’s a disgusting story about one bigoted customer who made racist comments toward two Muslim customers at the restaurant’s Guadalupe Street location near UT. It’s a sickening situation. No one deserves to be treated the way these young women were treated. We know the manager who was at Kerbey Lane Café Sunday morning wishes she would have handled things differently. We also know Kerbey Lane Café CEO Mason Ayer is deeply saddened by what happened in his restaurant. You see, we really know Mason, and we really know and love Kerbey Lane Café. Kerbey Lane Café is a committed supporter of United Way for Greater Austin, and Mason is a trusted partner, board member and dedicated community servant. The company’s employees provide hundreds of hours of community service to United Way for Greater Austin and others each year. Kerbey Lane and its employees raise significant money for our community. The company is a model employer. Simply put, Kerbey Lane Café is an Austin original. It is part of the fabric of what makes Austin greater. Thank you, Mason, for your sincere statement of apology. We support you. http://www.kerbeylanecafe.com/an-apology-from-our-ceo/ Sincerely, Your friends at United Way for Greater Austin
Read MoreKerbey Lane Cafe Celebrates 35 Years In Austin By Donating Proceeds to UWATX
This May marks 35 years that our friends at Kerbey Lane Café have made Austin greater with their delicious pancakes and queso! To commemorate their anniversary, Kerbey Lane Café will donate 100% of net proceeds from ALL Austin-area locations to UWATX on May 4th from 6 a.m. to May 5th at 6 a.m.! Additionally, there will be a festive birthday celebration at all locations from 6-8 p.m. on May 4th, complete with miniature horses, face painting and balloon animals. Kerbey Lane Café is also running a “35 Days Until 35” social media campaign with many exciting giveaways including pancake mix, gift cards and t-shirts. Learn more here. Kerbey Lane Café is currently running their second annual employee campaign with United Way for Greater Austin and their staff embodies the spirit of philanthropy by investing a portion of their paycheck and their time back into our community. Restaurant managers go by the title “Community Ambassador” and make corporate social responsibility a priority. By coordinating volunteer opportunities for their employees with our Hands on Central Texas volunteer center, they’ve been able to log hundreds of volunteer hours in service of Greater Austin! Kerbey Lane Café has been instrumental in supporting our work in early childhood education and dropout prevention by consistently volunteering to participate in beautification projects at our high-quality childcare centers and our target middle school campuses. It’s hard to imagine Austin with out Kerbey Lane Café, and we are so proud to call them community partners and advocates. You may have […]
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