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Building a Better Central Texas
On May 18, United Way Capital Area launched a bold new approach to building a better Central Texas. At the
official "launch event" at the Austin Convention Center, David Balch (UWCA President) and Dick Moeller
(UWCA Board Chair) unveiled the approach, sometimes referred to as the "Community Impact" model.
Along with David and Dick, a series of speakers and panelists gave the packed audience insight into
the changing face of Central Texas and the growing importance of addressing the causes of bleak community
conditions. That's the new approach in a nutshell: From now on, United Way Capital Area will use its
resources to make highly focused, strategic changes in specific community conditions. These conditions—or
Focus Areas, as they're called—are:
- Creating opportunity for children and youth to learn, grow, and engage
- Fostering community health and well-being
- Giving families the knowledge and tools to become financially stable
We believe we—not just UWCA, but every citizen in Central Texas—have a shared vision of this region.
Our new approach, which aims at creating institutional, systemic change, is all about realizing that vision.
This hasn't been a quick process. We've spent years researching the needs and concerns of the community. We've had
hundreds of conversations with thousands of volunteers over the past several years in preparing for this new approach.
And we're not done yet. In the coming months, in this newsletter and elsewhere, you will hear specific strategies we
are developing to help give every citizen—every citizen—the opportunity to create a
wonderful life for themselves.
We hope you'll join us.
more information
Get involved!
Become a Community Investment Review Team volunteer
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Minding the Gap
by Dick Moeller (Board Chair, United Way Capital Area) & David Balch (President, United Way Capital Area)
There is a gap in Central Texas.
On one side of the gap: Those who are getting ahead, building a bigger and better life for themselves everyday,
seizing the opportunities presented to them, building their personal version of The American Dream.
On the other side: Those with almost no opportunities. Those who want to build a safe, enriching life for themselves but who are
stymied by circumstance.
Having been closely attached to United Way for many years, we've been privy to some startling data about the widening
gap—between
the rich and the poor, the educated and the uneducated, the healthy and the ill, etc. Some examples:
- Almost one in five families with children in Travis County live below the federal poverty line.
- Only 2/3 of income-eligible children are enrolled in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
- 170,000 people in our metropolitan area cannot qualify for GED or job-training programs because of poor literacy
We cannot "social service" our way out of these problems. We have to approach them in an entirely new way.
Which is precisely why United Way Capital Area is changing how it works to improve Central Texas. From now on,
United Way Capital Area will engage more of the community around critical social issues, those that present barriers to
realizing our shared vision. We will focus on creating lasting change in the region, from the inside out.
We will identify the causes of strife, unrealized potential, and suffering. Then we're going to do something about it.
After hundreds of conversations with thousands of citizens across the Central Texas region, along with some exhaustive
research conducted by the Ray Marshall Center at The University of Texas, United Way Capital Area has decided to focus
initially on three key objectives:
- Providing opportunities for children to succeed in school
- Helping people lead healthier lives
- Giving families the knowledge and tools to become financially stable
We know that these three issues aren't the only issues. They are, however, root causes of many other problems. If we get
our entire population healthy, educated, and financially stable, the stress on other social services "down the line"
should plummet. We also will track and measure our success. In a year—two years, a decade or a generation—we'll be able
to ask quite simply, "Are people healthier? Are they more successful? Are they more secure financially? And how do we know?"
Consider this: Some states plan how many prisons they will need to build in the future based on current third-graders'
reading levels. For us, that means that changes we make in peoples' lives today will return to us ten, twenty fold in future years.
So then why are third-grade reading levels low? Maybe for some of them, it's because they come to school hungry most days.
And perhaps they're hungry because their parents have barely any money to spend on food. And perhaps their parents are
struggling financially because nobody has given them the tools to get a better education, find a higher-paying job,
balance a checkbook, get their full tax return, and so on. And perhaps some of those parents didn't have access to
proper pre-natal health care while they were pregnant. And so on. And so on.
If we want to stop building so many prisons—or stop witnessing so much poverty, or increase our high-school graduation rates,
for example—we must get to the heart of the matter. We must make certain that everyone has educational opportunities from very
early on. We must help people lead healthy lives so that they can learn and work productively. We must make sure they have the
information and tools to maintain financial stability.
While there is a great deal of momentum around this change, United Way Capital Area simply can't do it alone.
So consider this a call to action. If you're already an active and engaged citizen, thank you, keep it up. If you've been
meaning to lend a hand to a particular issue, volunteer your time today. (United Way's volunteer program,
Hands on Central Texas, is a great place to find volunteer opportunities.)
If you've been a bit disconnected in the past,
it's never too late to start raising your voice. If Central Texas is going to be the beacon of light we know it can be in the
future, it's going to take all of us, offering whatever resources we can.
The good news? This is Central Texas. This is a region built on big ideas, aggressive moves, and compassion for our neighbors.
It's a region that's changing: a diverse and booming population, along with a growing strain on existing services.
It's time we closed the gap. It's time we provided opportunities for everyone—and by "everyone" we mean everyone—to stop merely
surviving and to start thriving. It's time for us to create a shared vision for what our neighborhoods, our cities, our state
can look like in five, ten, fifty years.
Central Texas is changing, and so we're changing with it.
We hope you'll join us.
An abbreviated version of this piece originally ran as an Op-Ed in the Austin American-Statesman on May 18, 2007.
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United Way Awarded 2-1-1 Texas Contract, Continues Partnership
In early 2001, after a collaborative community engagement process, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission designated
United Way Capital Area as the Area Information Center for South Central Texas, and as such the operating agency for the regional
2-1-1. With the enormous growth and success of 2-1-1 in Texas, HHSC felt it time to reestablish the designation of 2-1-1
regional private partners. In response to the Invitation For Applications, UWCA submitted a bid to maintain the contract for
administration of the regional 2-1-1.
On May 15, the State of Texas HHSC once again awarded UWCA the regional 2-1-1 designation.
This three-year contract was awarded
in recognition of the success of UWCA to uniquely incorporate 2-1-1 into the core of the social service delivery system and
innovatively enhance the role of 2-1-1 around community initiatives.
The official award amount and contract will be communicated in mid-June.
2-1-1 Texas
can be accessed by simply dialing 2-1-1 or by searching the
2-1-1 Texas database.
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Synergy!
On June 5, ten women, all of them members of United Way's
Women's Giving Network, descended on
Little Folks Bilingual Daycare and Learning Facility... washcloths and vacuums in tow. The volunteers were putting
the finishing touches on yet another masterpiece: the refurbishing and repair of a child-care center. A recipient
of the ongoing Child-Care Facilities Improvement Project, a program of United Way Capital Area
Success By 6,
Little Folks got a welcomed face lift.
Seemingly simple changes, such as building a new sink in the classroom for children to wash their hands, or
cutting and removing tree branches that were damaging a day care's roof, can make a profound difference.
When young children can go to a safe, clean, and stimulating environment to learn every day, their
likelihood of later success in school improves. Not to mention the sheer power of the message that a
repaired day care sends to the parents and local neighborhood: "We are serious about giving children
the best places to learn and grow." The Child-Care Facilities Improvement Project creates effects that
extend well beyond the resetting of a broken door frame or the building of a new playground.
Women's Giving Network members, along with several other volunteers,
donated many hours
toward the
renovation of Little Folks. Here, they pose outside the center after making their "final clean" of the premises.
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Early Childhood Care and Education Community Resource Directory — Just released!
The Early Childhood Care and Education Community Resource Directory was created to help child care directors
and early childhood professionals link with other service providers to improve the quality of the care they provide.
Success By 6 strives for young children to be healthy, happy, and smart.
Through these programs and agencies child care
providers can achieve the goals set by the early childhood community.
View the Resource Directory (1.2 MB)
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Dell Financial Golf Tournament Benefits United Way
Over 120 Dell Financial Services employees teed it up on May 22nd at Star Ranch in Hutto for the second
annual UWCA Golf Tourney.
More than 20 Dell Financial Services volunteers pulled off a seamless event full of golf, BBQ and no shortage of fun.
The Dell Financial Services Community Involvement Team organized the event for the second year
in a row as part of their year-round community engagement plan.
Activities included a silent auction, various skill challenges, awards,
and hole sponsorships, all of which raised over $19,000 for United Way Capital Area.
Thank you, Dell Financial Services!!
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- Thank you to everyone who helped make the launch of the new United Way approach on May 18
such a successful event. Special thanks to Gerald Hill, Anne Smalling, Dick Moeller, Marie Crane, Susan Dawson,
Andy Martinez, Martha Smiley, and Fritz Steiner-all of whom provided our audience with fantastic insights into
why this new approach is so vital and promising.
- Samsung for hosting the first Toc Executive Committee meeting
- Applied Materials for hosting the June YLS Luncheon
- IBM for recently hosting a Volunteer Project Leadership Training at their
campus which trained more than
20 IBM employees to design, develop, and implement volunteer projects throughout the community.
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