Last week , we participated in the Vivir Unidos volunteer fair for Hispanics produced by the overworked and underpaid folks from United Way and Hands on Central Texas. Between all the amazing food, the music, the socializing, the dancing… seriously, weren’t we supposed to have been there to “improve Hispanic engagement?” Blah blah blah, this was a party.

There were at least 30 nonprofits represented, and every time I strolled by them I heard some genuine conversations going on. Sebastian Puente, who also helped plan the event and was there last night, and I estimated that there we at least 400 people there. It was a packed house. And everyone seemed to get the message of the night: Dig in and get involved. Si se puede.

Congratulations to everyone who helped plan and support the event! Below are some links to coverage from news outlets. Are there more?

Statesman: United Way Reaches Out to Area Hispanics with Vivir Unidos

Ahora Si: Buscan a latinos con ganas de ayudar a su comunidad

Ahora Si: Photos from the event

P.S. We’ll have tons of photos of the Vivir Unidos event in our next issue. Don’t forget to sign up for a free subscription!

As far as I know, there is no parade for mothers. Fine.

But this Sunday there will be a parade for dads… and grandfathers and uncles, too. The River City Youth Foundation will host its 9th Annual Father’s Parade and Festival this Sunday, with the parade started at Mendez Middle School and ending at River City Youth Foundation where the other festivities will take place.

This is such a cute idea. There’ll be son/daughter/father competitions with prizes (top prize is $500); free barbeque, free snowcones, a writing contest for the kids, and a ”mom’s beauty area.” (This last one intrigues me.)

Here’s the info:

11:15 Line up for parade. Anyone can join.

12:00 Parade starts

12:30 BBQ and Festival begin (shuttle provided from RCYF to Mendez parking lot)

4:00 Event ends

Register by email to RCYFPadres@gmail.com or call 512-440-1111.

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River City Youth Foundation is a home-grown nonprofit that serves what is probably the poorest neighborhood in Austin, Dove Springs. The statistics about Dove Springs are sobering, and you can only guess what it’s doing to the kids in that neighborhood.

Through the many people that have shared its vision, River City Youth Foundation has been able to give low-income, high-risk youth the opportunities and infrastructure to break the mindset of poverty, illiteracy and crime in their communities.

By attending the Father’s event this Sunday, you’ll show RCYF some support and learn a little more about the challenges of living in Dove Springs.

I grew up in the shadow of that big American Indian chief statue on NW Loop 410 in San Antonio, the one that sits on the Red McCombs car dealership, so I’ve known the name Red McCombs all my life. For a while, I thought he was an Indian chief.

I was able to meet him this past weekend (he is not, BTW, and Indian chief) and the emotional and inspiring YMBL Sunshine Camps grand opening celebration. McCombs donated about $1 million toward that project, which opens next week to about 70 at-risk Austin kids with high leadership potential.

(There’s a concert tonight to benefit the camp tonight at Umlauf Sculpture Gardens. Tickets $10 for teens, and $25-$75 for adults. Kids under 12 are FREE. It’s from 6 -9 pm. Great place to take kids, see sculpture, have some wine/beer/appetizers… consider.)

ANYWAY, doing what it is that I do, I interviewed him. He’s got such a great voice and presence (he was one of the best car salesman in the country, remember?) that video was the best medium.

And he did not disappoint:

Yesterday, I posted about Rio Grande’s Philanthropy Week, during which they’re donating 10% of bar sales during happy hour to a different nonprofit each day. You can see the details here.

Lots of local businesses contribute a portion of their sales to a local nonprofit from time to time. Why? Is there anything in it for them besides the potential for profit?

The fact is, it takes lots of planning and coordination with a local nonprofit – and probably an accountant – to make the whole thing work. So it can’t all just be about attracting customers. Plus, if you do use it to attract customers, the fact is you’re only going to attract a certain kind of customer – the kind that has a conscience. Most other restaurants don’t care if their customers have consciences or not; they kinda just want your business.

So it is special when a restaurant hosts a “philanthropy week,” like Rio Grande is doing this week. The thing is, restaurant owners are people, too. Duh. When they feel compelled to give back, they usually do so through their business, creating a win-win for the community: You get a nice drink, they get a little money, and a local charity gets a little money. Why not?

Here’s a real live restaurant owner – a person! – talking about why his restaurant, Rio Grande, is giving back.

Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D), a national nonprofit with an office in Austin, is sending a CD of your recorded messages to our military troops. Now is your chance to tell our servicemen and servicewomen how much you appreciate their sacrifice and dedication. These greetings from home and words of gratitude could be an effective and poignant boost to morale. RFB&D is hoping to find at least 250 Austinites to record for this effort, and that means you. Go ahead. Say thank you. Recordings can be scheduled from April 20th through April 25th. See Tributes for Troops for registration information.

In  GivingCity Issue #2, we interviewed three African-American social entrepreneurs to get their opinions on East Austin, gentrification, and being African American in Austin.

I was a little worried about running that interview. What worried me is that I had never heard anyone say these things before. Yes, I’m a little naive and ignorant about East Austin issues, so maybe none of it was news; but I also worried about things like fact-checking and getting the other side of their stories.

But then I figured … you know, we’ve heard the other side of their stories. I’m just going to give these guys some space and hear what they have to say. So I just had the interview transcribed and just got out of their way.

This is an excerpt from that story. To read the whole thing – and see some gorgeous portraits taken by Austin photographer (who still shoots film!) Owen Laracuente – download GC2.

Michael Lofton, Director of The African- American Men and Boys Harvest Foundation
Lofton is a community leader who has worked for many years on behalf of the African-American community in Austin, with a particular emphasis on education and mentoring.

What inspires me is the salvation of the kids. It bothers me to no end to see 56 percent of our kids dropping out. Because you have to realize that when you have 50 to 60 percent of the kids dropping out, and the stats are 6 out of 10 that don’t graduate will end up in jail, we as a community need to come together and address not only the community but address the educational systems and try and bring in whatever social service programs needed in order to turn the kids around.

Kids have lost hope in the educational system. Too often kids recognize the disparity in the disciplinary process. But that is what prompted us to start hosting the African-American Men and Boys Conferences, because we saw so much disparity in the disciplinary process in putting our kids in the juvenile system.

Now, you’ve got tons of kids that are coming out of high school with a criminal record already. And it’s sad that as big as Austin is, we only have 280 African- American males in the 12th grade right now, and how many of those are going to graduate?

So what I’m saying is the community is going to have to come together to talk to our young men, talk to our young ladies, and find out what the problem is, and give them those strategies to deal with things that they don’t have somebody at home to talk to them about.

Gator, Co-Founder of The Cipher
Gator is a hip hop and spoken word artist, community activist, and youth leader.

I’m a native of Austin, and I’ve stayed in East Austin and Northeast Austin all my life. I’m only 22, and I didn’t develop a conscience at about community until recently, you know. But I remember the Juneteenth festivals and how they used to be, and just seeing a lot of African-Americans come together; it was real positive back then. You had more adults involved in that process.

When you fast-forward to today, it’s just not what it used to be. I see the gentrification and the effect that it’s having on the people. A lot of youth, when they see it happening they don’t really know what’s going on and don’t realize that it’s going to have an effect on their lives.

But there are a lot of community organizations involved in educating the youth, for example Michael’s organization and our organization. We try to get Eastside kids involved, because they don’t feel like school is that important anymore.

On the other side of I-35 it’s totally different, and at those schools they have more to work with. In our schools, some of them, it’s different. Like Reagan, for example, that’s the school that I went to; I remember a time where Reagan was full of pride, and it was just the school to be at. And now it comes to a point to where it’s almost sad.

It’s like what Michael was saying about the dropout rate—they just don’t feel like school is that important anymore. You have to question that and why do they think that.

Harold McMillan, Founder/Director of DiverseArts Production Group
McMillan is a nonprofit producer of multidisciplinary art and culture projects and programs, and has been involved and active in Austin’s art and music community for the past 20 years.

The black community has to do a lot of that. And like I said, I hate to be cynical and jaded, but my area of interest and expertise is cultural history and cultural preservation, that piece of a community’s life. And I am heartbroken over what has happened on East 11th Street and what’s not happening on East 12th Street at Rosewood. And I fear that it just might be too late—it just might be gone.

As the population declines, as the African- American population inside the city of Austin declines and that money goes in this wave, two waves ago many of the foundation bedrock families of central East Austin that actually do and did have money, they moved out, too.

Part of my disappointment is that many of those people that really do or I think should have an emotional stake in the community took their money with them, too. We can blame the gentry for coming in and developing on East 11th Street. But we can also blame moneyed black folks whose families grew up in that neighborhood who walked away a long time ago and never brought their money back. You know, that’s really disappointing to me.

Langston Hughes has a poem that has a line in it: “Lord have mercy, they done stole my blues.” Sometimes you give your blues away. And I am disheartened by the high rate that people are cashing out and just getting out of the community. It will never be the same, we know that—we can’t stop progress. But there’s a legacy of a rich culture there that’s being trampled on right there that hurts me.

Do you know someone who has not yet turned 40, who has succeeded in their career and given back to the community by serving in extraordinary ways? If so, consider nominating that person for the Austin Under 40 Awards, an annual ceremony that benefits two very worthy causes, the Austin Sunshine Camps and the Young Women’s Alliance Foundation. You have until January 16, 2009, to nominate candidates for one of the eleven awards. Sponsors and donors also have an opportunity to be recognized for their contributions to the community. Get involved by visiting the Austin Under 40 website.

Installing gutters, downspouts, and a rain barrel

The nonprofit formerly known as 1 House at a Time, now Rays of Hope, is having its first-ever fundraiser this Saturday, from 6 to 10 pm. Here’s why you need to pay attention to this organization and consider attending.

1. Rays of Hope helps low-income and elderly homeowners reduce their energy bills, sometimes by 50%. It does this by transforming these homes to be water and energy efficient.

2. Rays of Hope teaches homeowners to be more water and energy efficient to further the energy and cost savings.

3. Homeowners aren’t the only ones who benefit. You can volunteer to help in the “greening” and learn weatherization and energy-saving strategies as you work.

4. This is grassroots, y’all. Everyone’s welcome. The main menu will feature a fish fry, but they’ll also have brisket and pizza, plus a silent auction. They’re looking for a $15 per person donation, with kids under 12 free. All donations go to the home renovations for four Austin families.

Learn more about Rays of Hope and register to attend the event this Saturday night. Bring a friend.

Please feel free to send this link to a friend of colleague. Also, thanks for adding us to your media list – we’d love to hear more about your organization and cause.

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When the going gets tough, the poor are hit first, as reported by this week’s Statesman story and last November’s NYT story. From the Statesman:

“The Capital Area Food Bank, which distributes food to some 350 partner agencies in 21 counties in Central Texas, has seen a 15 to 20 percent increase in demand since January. Bob Craddock, co-director of the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry at St. Ignatius Catholic Church, says his group helped 2,700 people in June, 700 more than in January. Many were asking for help for the first time.”  

According to the New York Times, food banks are being hit in three ways. Farming is doing better, so there’s less leftover crops for the government to buy and then give to food banks. Food retailers are doing better at monitoring their inventory, so there’s less for them to donate to food banks. And more people are hitting up food banks for groceries than ever. Beyond that, says the Statesman, food prices are going up putting some of the most basic needs out of the reach of everyone.

THE GOOD NEWS IS it’s easy to help. Here are a few ways:

1. Add a little to your grocery bill. At HEB, look for the little tear-off “coupons” when you check out at HEB, tear one off and give it to the check-out person before you pay for your groceries. At Randalls, buy a few more less-perishable food items and put them in the purple barrels on your way out the door.

2. Donate online to food bank programs. To help kids who usually get reduced or free meals at school and are now home for the summer, donate online to the Capital Area Food Bank’s Kids Cafe. One dollar provides five healthy meals.

3. Take cans of food to Blues on the Green. You can still catch a show on July 23, August 6 and August 20 at 7:30 at Zilker Park. As long as you’re going, take a bag of groceries and drop it off at the AMPLIFY booth.

4.  Have a food drive. CAFB makes it so easy to have a food drive of your own. If you are part of an organization  – like a baseball team, daycare, professional association or church group – looking for an easy summer project,  see these easy instructions how simple and fun it can be to run a food drive of your own.

Hope this helps.