Please consider the following questions:

1. Can you write?
2. Did you go to college?
3. Do you like helping others?

If you answered “yes” to the above questions then you can make a tremendous difference in an Austin student’s life – and their family and their community – by helping Austin seniors write college scholarship essays.

Thanks to College Forward, there are a number of Austin kids who are the first from their families to be accepted to college. But now they have to find a way to pay for it.

Okay, maybe this wasn’t your favorite part of getting ready for college. But you’re different now. You’ve been through college; you know what they’re looking for. And now you can finally put your college years to work! Imagine this for a moment:

Picture sitting at a desk with a student, going over her essay, helping her identify parts of the story she left out. Now picture her saying thank you and promising to let you know how it turns out. Now picture yourself finding out she’d won that scholarship - thanks to you.

How amazing would that be?

You can be one of the 40 volunteers College Forward needs to make all this happen. Here’s some information:

When: Saturdays, Dec. 5, 12, 19 and Jan. 9
Time: 10am-2pm (you’ll attend a short training session before the workshop)
Where: 312 W. Murray Ave. Manor, TX 78653

To learn more and sign up, contact volunteer coordinator Karena Rogers volunteer@collegeforward.org or 512-452-4800 ext. 225 to

P.S. Have you heard about College Forward? They’re an Austin-born nonprofit that helps low-income and first-generation students consider, apply for, navigate and attend college. Since 2003 its helped hundreds of Austin students and this year its students have been accepted to more than 70 colleges and universities  – and that’s just in this past November!

According to Jesse Noyes of College Forward, “We also help students STAY in college. A lot of our students, since they are first-generation college students, need support while they are in college and that’s a big part of what we do, supporting students while in college.”

And here’s where you fit it: These students have come so far, and now they have to pay for it! So please spend a little time this Saturday – or one of the following Saturdays – to help.

Imagine having no middle school for your child. That’s the situation for many East Austin families. A new middle school not only fills that void, it creates an innovative learning environment that prepares these kids for college – not just high school but college.

Tomorrow night (November 5), Southwest Key will host an open house for the East Austin College Prep Academy. They’re very proud. And they want everyone to attend.

We had a feature about mentoring and middle school and drop-out rates in AISD in our latest issue (download it here). Frankly, the numbers scare the hell out of me. And if you plan to raise a family in Austin, they should scare you, too.

Great news: Not only can you do something about it, others are doing something about it, too.

Southwest Key has a weird name but you should get to know them because they are the largest Hispanic-serving nonprofit in Austin. They started this middle school where there was none, and it’s going to make a huge difference in Austin’s Hispanic community.

We talked to John Turner, the Interim Director of Communications for Southwest Key.

1. This year there were 90 sixth graders that started the academy. Next year you’ll have a seventh grade and then an eighth grade campus. Who are these students and what middle schools/high schools would they otherwise attend?

We are based in the Govalle/Johnston Terrace neighborhood in East Austin, a neighborhood that has not had a middle school for many years. As there is no local middle school, the students were being bused out to middle schools in other parts of the city.

 Our students come from 26 different schools in Austin and have chosen our school because it is based on the highly successfully YES college prep model that has been ranked among the top 100 schools in America by US News & World Report. 

 2. Why a middle school? Wouldn’t a college-prep program focus on high school students?

There’s a number of reasons why a middle school. We canvassed the local community and parents, and they overwhelmingly requested a middle school. Many parents found it hard to get involved with their kids education due to the busing, so housing the school in our community center made a lot of sense.

We also analyzed research about at what stage was the best place to start affecting education and the drop-out rates, and it was apparent that starting with middle school would have a greater benefit and impact for local kids and families. 

3. So at this open house tomorrow, what can we expect to see?

All of the classrooms and facilities will be open, visitors will also be able to talk to the principal Dr. Nellie Cantu, school staff about the curriculum and approach, and hear from Southwest Key CEO, Dr. Juan Sánchez, about our future plans to expand quality education alternatives in East Austin.  

(Editor’s note: I heare there will also be food and drinks….)

4. I want to support your work with this middle school/academy. What are some ways I can get involved?

We always need advocates and supporters for our approach, which is simply providing an alternative quality education for children in East Austin.

Volunteers are welcome for the many after-school and other support programs, (the Boys and Girls Club is also housed here), offering to host field trips for the students service projects, and donations of school supplies are most welcome too! 

For more information, please contact Victoria Gutierrez at vgutierrez@swkey or 512-583-2567.

ABOUT THE EVENT:  

Open House
Thursday, November 5, 2009
4:30-7:00pm

6002 Jain LaneAustin, TX 78721

MAP TO EVENT

Appetizers, wine and hors d’oeuvres, performance, and more!

 

Two new collaborations kicking off this month are determined to get more Austin kids ready for college, and they could use your help.

Mentoring Austin middle school students

The first is a mentoring project called 1 Hour for Kids, which was created by United Way Capital Area to forge the efforts of eight Austin nonprofits that serve children in their middle school years. The goal is to recruit 400 volunteers by late fall to mentor an at-risk student from one of six Austin middle schools.

Why middle school? The collaborators found that there are fewer mentors and other support systems catered to this age group than others, a lost opportunity considering that research shows that middle school students with at least one supportive adult in their lives are almost twice as likely to graduate as those who do not.

The genius of 1 Hour for Kids, though, is a revelation, at least for the volunteers. If you’re considering being a mentor for a student in Austin, you’ve probably browsed the obvious opportunities, but if you dig a little deeper, you’d find many more opportunties beyond that. That’s when it gets complicated, right?

But what 1 Hour for Kids does, as evidenced even by its compelling name, is make it simple to identify the right opportunity for you. It comes down to a simple quiz that helps you figure out what you care about. And you take it online. And from there, you sign up. It’s this straightforward entry structure that demystifies mentoring a bit. I’m always on the lookout for this myself -things that inspire the people who are thinking about community engagement to take that first step – and I love when a nonprofit makes this a priority.

They’ve even taken advantage of social networking sites to let you direct friends to the cause. (And now I direct you! See the Facebook page. Join the cause. Invite @aplusk, whpever.)

Now, the process of becoming a mentor is… a process. They don’t just send you the name of a kid and you send him an email and go see a movie. There are background checks and a little training to take, etc., before they put someone else’s child in your hands. But neither do they leave you to your own devices after you’ve gone through the training. There are guidelines, suggestions, and an on-staff support person mentoring the mentor, so to speak.

But once you’ve gone through the training, you’ll find being a mentor can come naturally. Every positive effort you make to be a part of a child’s life has an enormous impact. Mentors I’ve spoken to describe how startling and significant the rewards of mentoring can be. We’re going to speak to several mentors to learn more about this in our next issue.

CLICK HERE to learn more.

College readiness workshop

The second is a college readiness workshop that kicked off this past weekend.

Saturday was the first of eight full-day workshops for Austin students accepted or enrolled in college. Now, if you went to college and think back on the many opportunities you had to totally blow it, you can see why a little extra direction from wise elders might help. So a group of them, lead by E3 Alliance, The Blueprint for Educational Change, and the University of Texas Institute for Public School Initiatives created a series of workshops to cover all those non-academic challenges. 

The workshops will cover topics like financial aid, social life, money management… lots of things I wish someone had prepared me for. And the information will be presented by experts as well as other college students. The audience will consist of 250 students who come from low-income families and may be the first from their families to attend college.

And here’s some interesting information: As an added incentive, the UT System donated a total of four $1,000 scholarship awards to be drawn during the event on June 27th. These awards are for parents/guardians in attendance on either day may enter. The winners must be a parent/guardian of a student attending a college anywhere in the U.S.
 
In addition, Advance Micro Devices (AMD) and Applied Materials have each contributed a $1000 scholarship, available to any student who is registered and participates in the CTC program on any of the other dates.

When and Where:
June 20: UT School of Social Work, Room 2.112

June 25: ACC Highland Business Center, Room 220

June 26: ACC Highland Business Center, Room 220

June 27: UT School of Social Work, Room 2.116

July 1: ACC Highland Business Center, Room 220

July 2: ACC Highland Business Center, Room 301

July 16: ACC Highland Business Center, Room 301

July 17: ACC Highland Business Center, Room 301

CLICK HERE to learn more.

Please share these opportunities with people you know.

Heard about this via the Community Action Network e-newsletter, which actually linked to the Austin Juneteenth Celebration (June 19) website…

If you’re currently mentoring or supporting an African-American or Hispanic student, please let them know about the numerous opportunities for college scholarships.

Below are listed almost 50 scholarship and aid opportunities for African-American and Hispanic students. Please spread the word and help someone you know earn scholarship money for college.

AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS ARE NOT APPLYING FOR SCHOLARSHIPS

Even if you do not have a college-aged child at home, please share this with someone who does, and to anyone and everyone that comes to mind. Though there are a number of companies and organizations that have donated money for scholarships to African Americans, a great deal of the money is being returned because of a lack of interest or awareness.

No one is going to knock on our doors and ask if we can use a scholarship.

Take the initiative to get your children involved! Money shouldn’t be returned to donating companies because we fail to apply for it.

Please pass this information on to family members, nieces, nephews, friends with children etc. We must get the word out that money is available. If you are a college student or getting ready to become one, you probably already know how useful additional money can be.

1.) BELL LABS FELLOWSHIPS FOR UNDER REPRESENTED MINORITIES

2.) Student Inventors Scholarships 

3.) Student Video Scholarships

4.) Coca-Cola Two Year College Scholarships

5.) Holocaust Remembrance Scholarships

6.) Ayn Rand Essay Scholarships 

7.) Brand Essay Competition

8.) Gates Millennium Scholarships

9.) Xerox Scholarships for Students

10.) Sports Scholarships and Internships

11.) National Assoc. of Black Journalists Scholarships

12.) Saul T. Wilson Scholarships (Veterinary)

13.) Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund

14.) FinAid: The Smart Students Guide to Financial Aid scholarships

15.) Presidential Freedom Scholarships 

16.) Microsoft Scholarship Program

17.) Wired Scholar Free Scholarship

18.) Hope Scholarships & Lifetime Credits

19.) William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship for Minority Students

20.) Guaranteed Scholarships

21.) BOEING scholarships (some HBCU connects)

22.) Easley National Scholarship Program

23.) Maryland Artists Scholarships

24.) Jacki Tuckfield Memorial Graduate Business Scholarship

25. ) Historically Black College & University Scholarships

26.) Actuarial Scholarships for Minority Students

27.) International Students Scholarships & Aid Help

28.) College Board Scholarship Search

29.) Burger King Scholarship Program

30.) Siemens Westinghouse Competition

31.) GE and LuLac Scholarship Funds

32.) CollegeNet ‘ s Scholarship Database

33.) Union Sponsored Scholarships and Aid

34.) Federal Scholarships & Aid Gateways 25 Scholarship Gateways from Black Excel

35.) Scholarship & Financial Aid Help

36.) Scholarship Links (Ed Finance Group)

37.) FAFSA On The Web (Your Key Aid Form &Info)

38.) Aid & Resources For Re-Entry Students

39.) Scholarships and Fellowships

40.) Scholarships for Study in Paralegal Studies

41.) HBCU Packard Sit Abroad Scholarships (for study around the world)

42.) Scholarship and Fellowship Opportunities

43.) INROADS internships

44.) Olympics of the Mind Scholarships

45.) Black Alliance for Educational Options Scholarships

46.) ScienceNet Scholarship Listing

47.) Graduate Fellowships For Minorities Nationwide

48.) RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS AT OXFORD

49.) The Roothbert Scholarship Fund

I don’t know if this is how she was supposed to do it, if it was planned this way, or if she just decided to send a quick and casual email to about 60 people asking for help. But I’m telling you, it made me click on the “donate” link and send them $20. And I’m broke.

Here’s what I got:

As a supporter of the The Cipher program in the past, thank you!!! I’m emailing to encourage you to help provide the teens in the program a good, hot evening meal. They meet twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays through May and the meal gets their meetings off to a good, energetic start. My job is to help Shannon by coordinating the donation and delivery of meals on those days.

We have MANY dates open in April and May and I would encourage you to either provide the food for an evening or make a donation to The Cipher so that we can continue to provide them with a hot, nutrious meal. For several of the kids, these are about the only good, healthy meals they’ll get all week.

To make a donation, go here: http://www.thecipheratx.org/donate.asp

To provide & deliver food for a specific date…I have the following dates open. Please choose one and I’ll contact you with details.
APRIL 7, 9, 14, 16, 21, 23, 30
MAY 5, 7, 12. 14. 19, 21, 26, 28

Thank you in advance for considering this!

What is it about this email that made me click through?

First, it comes off as very personal – opens with a thanks, multiple exclamation points… (usually, I’m not a fan of the multiple exclamation points but they just work in this context, I think.)

Second, in the email she’s asking for something specific. “We need meals.” Not only that, she adds that sometimes it’s the only nutritious meal these kids get during the week. Wow.

Third, it’s short. Man, I can’t tell you how long those donation requests emails and letters can get. I’m a writer, folks, and I’m telling you: People don’t read. They read the New Yorker, they don’t read your emails, I don’t care who you are. It’s all scanning. Don’t take it personally; I don’t -  you’re not even reading this right now!!!!

Sure, it’s missing details. I’d like to know how many kids I might be feeding or where I might be delivering the meals and at what time. But after this email, that all seems like trivial information. This woman has asked me to help get these kids fed. I immediately think, “I’m a mom, that’s what I do. What do you need?”

It helps that I’ve seen The Cipher in action and that we’ve interviewed its founder in the magazine. But even if this weren’t the case, I’d probably donate or at least forward the email to friends. I know not every nonprofit can make requests on this small scale, not for the amount of donations they need to fulfill their missions. But making this donation was just too easy, and I thoroughly enjoyed doing it.

Received this email from Linda Medina. I know there are lots of you out there who could expose a high school student to a career they might have never considered. This is a great opportunity to inspire Austin young people.

Dear Friends,

I hope this email finds you well.  Volunteers are needed to participate in the Travis High School “Real World Connections” Speaker Series on Friday, March 27th at 11:30 a.m. The time commitment for the event will likely be no more than 90 minutes. We would very much appreciate if you could serve as a special guest or help recruit speakers in Media, Engineering & Technology fields.
 
To prepare for the 21st Century, students need real-world experiences.   They need to hear first-hand from professionals about the skills that are needed to succeed in different career fields.   Most importantly, students need to understand the incremental steps it takes to prepare for careers.  This luncheon will provide students with a great opportunity to learn about Media, Engineering & Technology careers and what it takes to succeed in that field.
 
Friday, March 27th
Travis High School
1211 E. Oltorf
11:30 a.m.

If you are interested in participating or know people that would, please contact Courtney Bensch, School Improvement Facilitator for Travis High School, at 414-6355, cbensch@austinisd.org or Raul Alvarez, Grassroots Community Coordinator for the Office of Redesign, 414-8729, raul.alvarez@austinisd.org
 
 
Seguimos Adelante,
 
Linda Medina, M.Ed.
Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Education Foundation
512.462.4311 direct line
2800 South IH 35, Suite 260
lmedina@gahcc.org
www.gahcc.org

There’s a group in Austin that I simply must know more about: Civic Interest. From what I’ve found out through Google, “…Civic Interest, a group venture for civic entrepreneurs advising clients on local issues and new initiatives. A central focus of the work of Civic Interest is research, including continuing and expanding LeaderTrack, an interactive opinion poll of regional leaders, which TateAustin launched last year. Business and civic leaders helping shape the future of Austin will be invited to join Civic Interest. “

The group recently snagged David Balch, the now-former president and CEO of United Way Capital Area. Not sure who else is among its “civic entrepreneurs,” but the group has its roots in TateAustinHahn, the giant PR firm that has lent its support to about 50 good causes in Austin and helps train civic leaders. So, great place to start.

One of its founders – if not THE founder.. I’m not sure – is Kerry Tate, the Tate in TateAustin and the former CEO of that firm. Everyone is Austin has heard of her, of course, but I’m dying to know more about her – specifically her vision for Austin. (You know she’s got to have one.)

That’s why I’m going to attend the GENaustin benefit on April 10. I know, bad idea, right? She’ll be surrounded by dozens of followers trying to get her attention, shake her hand, get in her circle, and there I’ll be with my dinky request for an interview. “Hi, Kerry, I’m Monica. Can I call you sometime?”

Hey, I’ve done it before. Sometimes I get a number.

In the meantime, consider attending the event yourself. Great speaker, great cause, and all at the gorgeous Mexican American Cultural Center, just a couple of blocks from the convention center.

“Redefining Your Brand Image,” featuring Kerry Tate
Friday, April 10
8 am to 9:30 am
Mexican American Cultural Center
Tickets $25
GENerate Membership for ALL GENaustin events, $300
Proceeds of GENerate go directly to GENaustin’s programs which serve the girls of central Texas. 

Visit www.genaustin.org for more information.

Looking to address how branding works in today’s volatile economy, the Girls Empowerment Network of Austin (GENaustin), will host a fundraising event, “Redefining Your Brand Image,” featuring Kerry Tate, former CEO and President of THE powerhouse public relations firm, TateAustinHahn.  

 “We’ll explore how people, places and things build reputation; an identity something quite different than recognition.  It’s what most of us wish we had known as young leaders in this world,” said TateAustinHahn Senior Council Kerry Tate.
 
Tate has helped create recognizable brands and marketing campaigns for Austin Energy, Whole Foods, and First Night Austin.  During her discussion she will be addressing how to create a brand, the importance of brand placement in the marketplace, the positioning of a brand in the workplace, and how the development of personal identity as a “brand image” can impact the future success of Generation Y and beyond.  Joining Tate will be Steve Harper, acclaimed author of The Ripple Effect, an innovative book on connection building and social and professional networking.

Monday was overwhelmingly positive and energizing.

I had my first meeting as part of Hands On Central Texas’ Advisory Council. It’s ridiculous how much volunteer manpower the people in that room represent, and it’s also inspiring to imagine how they can push a large number of people into actionwith just a couple of precisely composed e-mails and their sheer will. I’m not sure what I can bring to the council, but I am there to support HOCT and the members of the council however I can, even if that means I have to volunteer Torquil for an entire weekend. (Har.)

At that meeting, I met (finallly) Alissa Magrum, director of volunteer services for Communities in Schools. I’d seen her name around and had been looking for a way to reach out to CISbecause they’re one of Austin’s finest nonprofits. (CIS is a dropout prevention program.) Alissa was stoked about “Team CIS,” a group that formed over the Austin Marathon and Half Marathon. Apparently, a number of people who ran for the CIS cause had never done more than a few miles before, and now they were hooked – not just on running but on raising money for CIS. The small team of runners raised more than $30,000, and they were looking for their next event.

She invited me to their happy hour celebrating their accomplishment. They also were making plans to grow the team and establish an ongoing series of athletic fundraisers.

“We have big plans to make this team an ongoing and sustainable fundraising/wellness vehicle for CIS and our team members,” she said. ”The potential for Team CIS is unbelievable.”

Doesn’t this sound fun? Learn more about CIS and contact them about joining the team.

Those who can’t, teach, right?

I certainly don’t claim to know all the secrets to publishing a magazine these days, but I’m happy to share with you what I do know. The way I see it, there’s no such thing as too much competition - the best mag wins. And I’m happy to learn from other magazine makers to see how to make mine better, because chances are if yours is succeeding, mine has a chance.

So Mando Rayo invited me to host a RISE Conference session I’ve titled, “Strategies for Bootstrapping  a New Publication.” In its third year, RISE – a Relationship & Information Series for Entrepreneurs – is an annual conference series dedicated to providing a free forum for entrepreneurs to connect and exchange ideas that inspire the entrepreneurial spirit. This year’s conference is March 2-5 at various locations around Austin.

I figure I’ve picked up some ideas from managing publications, writing for them, working with art directors, freelancers, printers and advertisers over the past 15 years. The thing is there are a million ways to start a new publication – more than ever these days thanks to all the cheap-to- free resources for content and publishing – so I’ll cover which ones I’ve tried and share those experiences.

There’s something to learn from each one, but the most important lesson I’ve learned so far is that there’s no subsitute for commitment – and that means commitment of time and money. The good news is that even if you only have a little bit of each, you can still get a new publication going. I’m a full-time working mother of two, so I’m as strapped as I can be for time. Still, I managed to get GivingCity started “on the side.” And now that I’m not working full-time (as of this morning), I’m excited about what can be….

I hope you’ll attend or share this information with someone you think might be intersted in starting their own publication. All the RISE sessions are free, and there’s tons of really useful info being shared. I know I’ll be at a few sessions other than my own.

Strategies for Bootstrapping a New Publication
Wednesday, March 4
12-1:30 pm
Mexican American Cultural Center
RSVP Now!

Get more information about my session or about the RISE Conference in general.

Saw this on the Las Comadres listserv:

Feria Para Aprender is looking for enthusiastic professionals who want to share with the youth attending the event the path you had to take to reach your career goals.

Since the focus of this event is higher learning and the importance of graduating high school and moving on to college, we want professionals who’ll be eager to share their great stories of success. We are looking for professionals in all fields, any and all are welcome, engineering, business management, information technology, and of course teachers, lawyers, and doctors.

ABOUT VOLUTNEERING:

If you want to help encourage these young minds to strive higher, please let us know.
DATE: Saturday, February 7th
PLACE: Burger Center, 3200 Jones Drive
SHIFT TIMES: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
We need at least four professionals per shift.

To volunteer or to share your college and career experiences please contact Nancy Rodriguez at (512) 912-5959 or via email.

About Feria: Thousands of students and their Spanish-speaking parents are expected to visit the Tony Burger Center on Saturday, February 7th for the annual Feria Para Aprender. This event debuted in 2007 as the first citywide Spanish language-only education fair, drawing more than 3,500 in attendance.

It is the area’s largest one-day education effort with a dual objective to
close the Hispanic achievement gap in Central Texas while fueling the economy with a workforce of bilingual, educated graduates.

For more info visit http://www.feriaeducativa.org/.