United Way Capital Area's Young Leaders Society awarded their annual 2008 Young Leader of the Year award to Rachel Muir - founder of GirlStart.

Named as one of Austin's Most Loved Women in 2005 by Austin Monthly magazine and a finalist for the 2007 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, Rachel Muir founded Girlstart at age 26, with $500 and a credit card, in order to empower girls in math, science and technology.

Ms. Muir graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with Honors. Ms. Muir has presented around the country at events, conferences and workshops and is a proud recipient of Oprah's Use Your Life Award.

Ms. Muir has been featured on the "Today" show, CNN and Oprah. She was named by Fast Company magazine as one of the "Fast 50" Leaders in Innovation. A finalist in the 2004 Ethics in Business Awards, Ms. Muir has made a life and career of empowering girls to believe anything is possible.

Mahalo for everyone who came to the coolest...and coldest November Luau EVER! We had a terrific turnout of YLS members and their guests at Wild Night Out Waikiki donning their coconut bikinis and Hawaiian flare, as we enjoyed a luau show by Tropical Productions and some fine Hawaiian fare! It was so fun in fact, I even rhyme!

Who doesn’t love to feel the wind... in their grass skirt? And to those naysayers who thought a luau in November was a strange idea, we say “go eat some poi” because we had one heck of a hukeilau!

We were honored to recognize our 2008 Young Leader of the Year Award finalists Mike Hogan, Trey Halbert, Cara Link Mueller and our very own YLS Board Education Chair Bill Kempf, as well as the award recipient, Rachel Muir, founder of Girlstart.

We can’t wait to see our YLS Ohana next year! Our lava is already flowing thinking of themes for WNO 09!

Kelly Caldwell, YLS Board Co-Events Chair

Professional photos for this event were generously provided by Ed Kelley, of Ed Kelley photography:
http://www.edkelleyphotography.com

Do you want to join Austin's leaders? Consider one of the open YLS Board Positions for 2009. Nominate yourself or a friend today!

Executive Board Chair
Responsible for oversight and maintains vision of the Young Leaders Society including development and implementation of program and integration with United Way system. The Chairperson will work with United Way staff and Executive Committee members to develop annual YLS budget. The Chairperson will serve on the United Way Capital Area Community Impact Cabinet. At a minimum, the Chairperson will report for the United Way Capital Area Board of Directors once a year.
Term ends 12/31/09

Executive Board Vice-Chair
Responsible for overseeing the work of the board committees and developing and implementing the Young Leaders Society's strategic direction and ensuring that the Young Leaders Society is focused on the right segments of the community for the growth of the organization. In addition, the Vice Chairperson will act in a Chairperson capacity in the Chairperson's absence.
Term ends 12/31/09

Corporate Development Chair
Responsible for solicitation of funds including corporate sponsors, individuals, and potential challenge grant prospects.
Term ends 12/31/10

Education Co-Chair
Responsible for the leadership development of YLS members and prospects by introducing them to community issues as well as providing educational seminars and board training.
Term ends 12/31/10

Events Co-Chair (2)
Responsible for setting an annual events calendar and directing the activities of the individual event committees.
Term ends 12/31/09 (1)
Term ends 12/31/10 (1)

Marketing Co-Chair
Works closely with United Way staff and United Way Marketing Committee to create all aspects of YLS image and brand. Assists various YLS committees as needed.
Term ends 12/31/10

Treasurer
Responsible for administering and tracking the finances of Young Leaders Society. Works in conjunction with the United Way staff who oversee the handling of all funds received and/or deposited. Responsible for presenting a fiscal budget to the Executive Board, as well as periodically providing financial updates and assist with any budget issues.
Term ends 12/31/10

Member-at-Large
Members-at-Large will serve as an advisor to the entire Executive Committee and membership of Young Leaders Society.
Term ends 12/31/10

Please send nominations via email to yls@unitedwaycapitalarea.org including

1. Name of nominee
2. Contact information for both you and the nominee
3. A brief description of the nominee and involved activities

We will then contact the nominee to confirm acceptance of the nomination and request a resume.

Nominations due by 12:00pm Wednesday, December, 10, 2008

Any questions? Please contact Susan Marler, Manager of Young Leaders Society And Women's Giving Network at susan.marler@unitedwaycapitalarea.org or 512.225.0371

It's that time of year again to prepare for Financial Aid Saturdays. Austin Chamber of Commerce has expanded participation to 10 metro-Austin school districts --Austin, Bastrop, Del Valle, Hays, Hutto, Leander, Manor, Pflugerville, Round Rock, San Marcos -- area higher education institutions, businesses, local community and faith-based organizations to schedule 24 Financial Aid Saturday events for spring 2009. Join the YLS volunteers on Valentine's Day morning at McNeil High School!

FINANCIAL AID SATURDAYS DATES

January 2009	February 2009	March 2009
1/17/2009 Hendrickson High School 1/24/2009 Connally High School Hendrickson High School 1/31/2009 Pflugerville High School Westwood High School	2/7/2009 *Lanier High School Hays High School Manor High School *Pflugerville High School 2/14/2009 *Akins High School Del Valle High School *Lehman High School Connally High School McNeil High School (YLS Volunteering!) 2/21/2009 *Reagan High School *Hutto High School Leander High School 2/28/2009 *Travis High School *Bastrop High School Stony Point High School	3/7/2009 Lehman High School *New Tech High School *Round Rock High School San Marcos High School

*Free income tax prep services provided on-site

Volunteer Requirements
Attend one 2-hour training session provided by TG (Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation)
Commit to support at least one Financial Aid Saturday event. FAS events run from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm.

Volunteer Training schedule
Tue, Jan 6, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm (lunch provided)
Location: Travis High School Library

Thur, Jan 8, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm (lunch provided)
Location: Round Rock High School Library

Tue, Jan 13, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm (lunch provided)
Location: Travis High School Library

Thur, Jan 15, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm (lunch provided)
Location: Lehman High School Library

RESPONSE REQUESTED BY.
If you are interested joining other YLS volunteers at McNeil High School on 2/14/2009 at 8:30 a.m., please contact Juhee Williamson at juhee.williamson@ey.com or 512-663-0931 by December 12th, 2008. Please let Juhee know which volunteer training session you are planning to attend as well! If you are interested in other dates at other locations, please let Juhee know as well! She will compile the information and let the Austin Chamber of Commerce about the YLS members volunteering for this wonderful opportunity!

FOR MORE INFORMATION
VISIT www.austinchamber.com/collegeready

Dear Friends:

This time of year brings out the best in people, in our community, as it comes together and celebrates the spirit of the time. Whether it's helping by volunteering our time, donating items or making a financial gift to a nonprofit, the season of goodwill helps us focus on others less fortunate than ourselves.

I sometimes describe my job to people as trying to capture and bottle that sense of community spirit and kindheartedness the whole year round. Year-round community engagement is a goal of ours here at United Way. We hope to expand that sense of goodwill, that notion of neighbor helping neighbor, the idea of advancing the common good for all of 2009 and beyond. It takes the whole community working together to bring about lasting change. And the time is now. That's what we mean by Live United and we need your help more than ever.

Unfortunately the economic downturn is affecting our fundraising, but we believe now more than ever our efforts and approach are critical to community wellbeing - both to help weather the current economic cycle and to create better resilience and opportunity for the future.

We are hopeful that Central Texas will come together to pitch in as this is much bigger than us, and help families improve their financial stability, to address their access to health care and provide educational opportunities. These are some of the tools we all need when the economy suffers, to insulate our citizens from the economic ups and downs.

With your help, United Way provides more people access to the tools and opportunities they need to live a better life. You may be one person, but you can make a difference. Please consider giving to United Way. You can count on United Way to help you make the greatest difference in the most lives by investing in programs that work, that help, and make change in Central Texas a reality.

We must turn concern into action. Help us tackle our community's most critical problems by committing yourself to change.

I hope you'll continue your generous financial support of United Way. This year it's more important than ever.

Regards,
David W. Balch
President & Chief Professional Officer
United Way Capital Area

Approximately 60 volunteers made up of parents, children, grandparents and friends came together to volunteer their time at Wesley School during United Way Capital Area and Hands On Central Texas "Family Day of Service" held on Saturday, November 22, 2008.

The Child Care Facility Improvement Project managed by United Way Capital Area Success By 6 Program, helped enhance the quality of Wesley School who serves seventy-two children ages 5 weeks to after-schoolers from a variety of backgrounds and experiences.

The volunteers cleaned and painted classrooms, constructed a tricycle path, constructed a playground area including installing landscape timbers, filling sandboxes and tearing down old playground equipment.

The event kicked-off with a continental breakfast and a brief program.

The speakers included Laura Smith, Director of Wesley School and Rochelle Carlin, Wesley School Board President; David Balch, President of United Way Capital Area, and Police Officers Roman Lopez and Jimmy Diaz of the City of Austin Police Department who talked about crime prevention and neighborhood safety awareness.

The Police Officers showcased the newest squad car to the children explaining what the police do and how to stay safe. The children sat in the car with the lights and sirens going and were given sticker badges to remember their day.

We would like to express very special thanks to the "SHW Group" who did a fantastic job in constructing the playground area, Bonner Brown who managed all of the activities throughout the day, and to Wesley School for partnering with United Way Capital Area for "Family Day of Service"

Thanks to all of the volunteers who participated to make "Family Day of Service" a success!

And a special thank you to our sponsors: HEB, Randalls, Wal-Mart and Dal-Tile.

Our 2008 campaign video outlines our approach to provide opportunities for everyone to succeed, and the work and results in each of our 3 focus areas, Education, Financial Stability and Health, the building blocks for a good life.

You can see it for yourself here.

5 Ways to Live United

1. Learn how to become an Advocate with Mark Strama. Representative Mark Strama will give an overview of the basic policymaking processes in Texas and offer tips on how to become effective advocates. December 9th at 11:30 for lunch in the Capitol Grill.
2. Volunteer and sign up to be a middle school mentor.
3. Community Tax Centers. With a little time from 500 volunteers, the Community Tax Centers will prepare 20,000 tax returns and bring over $25 million into the pockets of those who need it most in Travis County.
4. Saturday, January 17, 2009 MLK Day of Service. Save the date, volunteer and honor the legacy of Dr. king.
5. Give a gift to United Way Capital Area. Donate here.