Each year, we adopt a new campaign theme to inspire employees to give a little bit out of each paycheck to change their community. We at UWATX believe anyone can be a philanthropist–but the word “philanthropy” can sound overwhelming. We recruited some of Austin’s finest philanthropists–elementary school children–to show you just how easy philanthropy can be in this year’s campaign: “Philanthropy Easy as 1-2-3”. We were excited to once again work with Kathy Horn and her collective, Hunt, Gather, as well as local Austin photographer, Annie Ray. Local comedian Mac Blake spoke with these young philanthropists about how they help others and what giving back means to them. The videos highlight what philanthropy means at the most basic level, why we need philanthropy in our community and more. If you want a good laugh, check out all the videos here. We featured three UWATX service recipients in this year’s campaign, who can tell you in their own words what United Way and philanthropy means to them. Katrina and Aracelli Chapman UWATX gives Katrina invaluable peace of mind and support. A single mother and unable to work because of a disability, Katrina has looked to United Way for financial and emotional support since before the birth of her now three-year-old daughter, Aracelli, Now, she’s turning again to United Way’s Success By 6 program to make sure Aracelli is developmentally where she needs to be when she starts school. Ashley and Owen Trimpey Raising up the community, one family at a time. Through Play To Learn, […]
Read MoreVPL Graduates Celebrate at Kerbey Lane Cafe
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 MoreVolunteer Spotlight: Caroline Trang and Frances Jordan
Our middle school VPL program is full of outstanding volunteers! You may have read earlier this week about Cristian Dominguez from Webb Middle School — today we are highlighting another VPL volunteer, Caroline Trang, in honor of National Volunteer Week. Caroline is a 7th grader at Decker Middle School, one of the three middle schools served by our Middle School Matters program. This year was Caroline’s first year in the VPL program, and she had the best attendance of any student in the program and was a leader of Decker’s Literacy Night activity booth. Other projects Caroline and her team have taken on include making book posters, sorting books for donation, volunteering in the school library and creating bookmarks with literacy tips for other students. Young Leaders Society (YLS) Executive Member, Frances Jordan, serves as the YLS Campus Captain of Decker Middle School and has worked closely with Caroline this past year. Frances not only volunteers through YLS, but also serves as a member of UWATX’s volunteer Resource Development Committee and helps our fundraising team find new business and make important decisions. Frances and Caroline sat down together and chatted about their involvement and volunteer experiences with UWATX: Frances: Why do you volunteer through the VPL program? Caroline: My friend Helen made me come at first, but it turned out to be so fun! I like to help others. Frances:What are your favorite types of volunteer activities? Caroline: Helping with cleaning up the community, presenting to groups, and giving gifts to those in need. Frances: Describe […]
Read MoreWebb Students Visit Alternative College
Webb Middle School VPL students took a field trip across the street from their campus to Peloton University inside the For the City Center. The students met with a group of staff and PelotonU students to learn more about the a college advancement organization that provides targeted support to non-traditional students pursuing online education.At PelotonU, students enroll in high-quality online degree programs and are provided with a space where they can study and receive additional tutoring and mentorship as needed. Students completed an ice-breaker activity, higher education myth-busting, interview speed-dating about community needs and education and a college Q&&A session. PelotonU staff and students learned about the Webb students through interview questions on their strengths, proudest accomplishments and what inspires them to serve others. This opened a forum for Webb students to vocalize their dreams of going to business school and their achievements such as learning sign language, as well as learn from PelotonU students about their own experiences. PelotonU staff led a round of trivia about college completion and affordability. Students earned popsicles based on their knowledge of the reality of higher education, including barriers to access and completion. A few things they learned through trivia include: – If 6 in 10 high school graduates enrolled in college, ½ of those students will graduate. -True or false: If you earn a college degree, you will make 1 million dollars over the span of a 40 year career vs if you only have a high school degree. (True) -An average […]
Read MoreBecome a Mentor For a Local Student
January is National Mentoring Month. Middle School Matters recognizes that each student is different and therefore has individual needs in order to be successful in high school. One of the many important support services offered through the Middle School Matters program is mentoring. United Way partners with two research-based nonprofits, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas and Communities In Schools, to provide mentoring services to the students of Decker, Mendez and Webb Middle Schools. Students who are matched with a mentor see a rise in their class attendance, grades and overall satisfaction with school. In addition, adults who volunteer as a mentor see positive changes in their own lives as well. Alison, a graphic designer who has lived in Austin for two years, has learned a lot from her time mentoring. She has learned more about other cultural traditions, family dynamics, and herself. Alison has mentored Izzy, a 15-year-old student in Austin, for a little over one year. Izzy’s family originally signed her up for Big Brothers Big Sisters to help Izzy work through bullying issues and to set up a support network for her outside of school. Since Izzy and Alison have begun their journey together, Alison has noticed changes in Izzy’s behavior. “She has always been kind and caring, but had a hard time showing it before in school. Now, she is more confident in herself and able to share her creative and happy side.” Izzy and Alison first bonded over their love of art. On their first outing, Alison took […]
Read MoreUWATX Hosts 2nd Annual Community Tree Lighting
We held our 2nd Annual Community Tree Lighting event for the St. John’s community on Giving Tuesday, December 1, 2015. Webb Middle School students and their families, as well as other community members, were invited to attend the free holiday party. The kids loved visiting with the bunnies, hedgehogs, ducklings and more that the Tiny Tails To You traveling petting zoo brought. Other activities included a cookies and cocoa station, card and ornament making, a balloon artist and face painters. One of our Webb Middle School volunteer project leader students had the idea to set up a reading corner and read holiday books to some of the younger children at the event. As the sun set, Principal “Santa” Sanchez spoke of the importance and positive impact that he has seen through United Way’s support of the Webb campus. 54% of students at Webb received at least one service coordinated through UWATX last year, including behavioral health, mentoring, tutoring and afterschool programs. Webb’s musical groups performed holiday classics and the audience counted down from five until the tree was lit up with blue and gold–Webb’s school colors. Young Leaders Society members passed out donated toys and books to the children who attended. Thank you to Capital Metro who once again sponsored the 15 foot tree that lit up the St. John’s neighborhood this year! Thank you also to ABC Home & Commercial for decorating the tree, DoubleTree Hotels who provided volunteers and cookies, H-E-B for donating the hot cocoa, Petsmart for […]
Read MoreKerbey Lane Cafe Features Middle School Community Art Projects
It started with “community,” and the web grew to include “pride,” “diversity,” “friendship,” and “health.” Students at Decker Middle School drew a word web to show how ideas are connected in order to guide their planning for a community art project. Throughout the month of October, students at all three Middle School Matters campuses worked to complete 20 canvasses that illustrate varying perspectives on community. The project aimed to show students how art can be used to start a conversation or spark community change. The paintings, designed and created by Volunteer Project Leader (VPL) students will be on display at Kerbey Lane Café at the Southwest location starting on November 2nd. In VPL, students plan, implement and reflect on volunteer projects that match their interests, and the paintings show broad variations on the theme of making a positive contribution to your community. A bright nature scene reminds us to recycle, multi-colored handprints underpinning a Spanish phrase celebrate shared space, and cartoon animals promote self-acceptance with the phrase, “There’s nothing wrong with who you like. There’s nothing wrong with who you are”. By displaying student work, Kerbey Lane Café recognizes these middle school students as leaders in their community and creates an uncommon opportunity for middle school students to start a community-wide conversation. Make sure to stop by the Kerbey Lane Café on William Cannon to see the works of art for yourself, or attend our Big Game Superbowl party in February where we will auction off some of the pieces. Learn […]
Read MoreVolunteers Scaring for a Good Cause!
In celebration of the spookiest time of the year, UWATX’s Young Leaders Society (YLS) members volunteered at Decker Middle School’s Fright Night last week. Fright Night, one of Decker’s most popular student events, allows students to use their creativity while coordinating with YLS volunteers to transform the school into a “haunted house”. Volunteers helped set up, scared students as they moved through the haunted house and took photos of the students for souvenirs. Fright Night helps sponsor the AVID program at Decker Middle School, which gives students the opportunities to attend field trips to college campuses and provides in class activities around career and college readiness. We had the opportunity to talk with Julie Fisher, YLS Chair, about her volunteering experience the Fright Night event. What were some of the activities you were involved in during Fright Night? I was involved with set up, setting the kids in waves down the stairwell and cleanup/breakdown. Describe your favorite part of the night Watching the kids give each other pep talks before going into the Haunted House. The event itself is always a blast, but I love the set up and break down with the students. It is a great opportunity to interact with them and give them a chance to give us the orders on how to set up the different rooms and halls. It was encouraging to see how excited they were after they received such positive feedback from their peers on how “awesome” the experience was. What do you enjoy […]
Read MoreLights On Afterschool 2015
Today is Lights On Afterschool, a nationwide event to bring awareness to the importance and positive impact that afterschool and other out-of-school time (OST) programs have on students of all ages. Research shows students participating in high-quality afterschool programs are absent from class less, behave better, receive better grades and perform better on tests compared to non-participants. Additionally, afterschool programs have shown to reduce the math achievement gap between low and high-income students and students participating in these programs overall have a lower obesity rate than non-participants. Students at the three campuses we support through our Middle School Matters program–Decker, Mendez and Webb Middle Schools–have the chance to participate in our free afterschool and summer programs to further enrich what they learn during the school day. We asked students from each campus about their experience participating in our OST programs. What do you like best about afterschool? -Hanging out with my friends -Learning new soccer tricks -Cheerleading -I can get help with homework and have fun. -It helps you do things you’ve never done before – you help the community and feel grateful for what you’ve done. -It’s not boring – it’s fun! You can go outside and play. -It’s an opportunity for us to learn about something that’s not a school subject. How has being in afterschool changed you? -It has made me more outgoing. -I have made new friends! -It’s helped me learn more about education and the community while helping others. -It’s taught me how to be […]
Read MoreI Wish I Could Tell My Middle School Self
This year’s Young Leader’s Society campaign kicks off on September 3rd. Each year, United Way for Greater Austin provides quality educational programming for middle school students right here in Central Texas, and the Young Leaders Society helps make this work possible through donating, advocacy and volunteer efforts. Middle school is a notoriously hard time, especially for the low-income students we serve. We asked YLS members to tell us what they wish they could travel back in time to tell the middle school versions of themselves. Celso Baez, III “If such a time capsule existed that would teleport my 26-year-old self in front of my chubby 13-year-old middle school self, I’d have quite a lot to say. Beyond the flat-top haircut humiliation, the one thing I’d emphasize is that community involvement is a way of life and to start acting like it, plus encouraging others around me to follow suit. The Young Leaders Society’s (YLS) efforts via United Way for Greater Austin’s Target Graduation Program aim to bridge the ever-growing opportunity gap between students in low-income households and students in medium to high-income households. While this is very important to tackle, I’d look at my “state-dubbed, at-risk youth” self in the eye, and challenge myself and my other prepubescent friends to endeavor in rewriting their own narratives by way of community engagement. Simply put, if you see a need, try your best to do something about it. In non-13-year-old language, I’d suggest to others that caring about your neighborhood and the […]
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