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!

 

Have you ever been moved by a public service announcement? Have you watched a video on YouTube that inspired you to reach out to the community and do something?

We’ve all seen those little videos on YouTube, another website, or even television, and usually we’re alone in front of the screen. But there’s something powerful about a shared video experience, especially one in which the video relates to a cause or need in the community. And when a video reaches out to you with hope rather than need, it’s a wonderful thing to share with an audience.

That’s the idea behind Lights.Camera.Help, a new nonprofit film festival that will screen 12 documentaries, videos, and PSAs over two nights, July 31 – August 1. It’s the brainchild and work of David Neff, Aaron Bramley, and Rich Vazquez, Austinites with roots deep in the local film community and the local nonprofit community.

I posted earlier about their launch party in May, and you can read an interview with them and see photos from that event here.

You’ll want to get tickets for this event because it’s not just a screening, it’s a competition. Judges will choose the top video effort from among the 12, and donate the entire two-evening’s ticket sales to the nonprofit that’s the subject of the winning video.

Get tickets and see all the details at Lights.Camera.Help!

July 31 – Aug 1

Tickets $7 – $15

(Don’t forget to go to the wrap-up party on August 2.)

See this video for more information:

Thanks to Starfish Television Network.

My sister’s the introspective type. She’s also the type who just puts down her purse and gets things done, which is part of what I love about her. She doesn’t work but she keeps herself busy with a number of projects, and right now, she’s rescuing dogs.

My sister lives in San Antonio with her husband, two dogs, and four cats. These are animals she’s rescued because she just can’t bear the thought of their not having good homes. The problem is, she can only rescue so many dogs, and apparently San Antonio’s pet rescue network is nowhere near as strong as ours in Austin. Their no-kill shelter has a waiting list to get in, and there are only two animal cruelty officers for the whole city.

So what happens is she’ll come across a case of dog abuse and take it upon herself to help the animal, sometimes climbing a fence to give it water, fresh food, some attention, and a new blanket or some shade. It’s the kind of thing we all want to do when we see an animal who needs help, but we don’t do because we don’t want to get involved – or arrested.

She’s been doing this a while, but she’s totally overwhelmed by all the cases of abuse she comes across. And I’m not just talking about dogs with warm water, I’m talking about dogs who suffer disease, starvation, heat exhaustion… really horrible, preventable things.

I tried to talk to her last night about other ways she can act that will have an impact. She said, “The thing is, Monica, I don’t want that job. I don’t want to do it.”

And yet, it depresses her to witness the cruelty.

I think everyone needs to find that point of action where you start to feel a little more in-control, where you feel comfortable that you’re making a difference. For some people that satisfaction comes from helping just one, feeding one, rescuing one animal. But for my sister, that’s not enough. And yet, she doesn’t want to do more, not because she’s lazy – she is nowhere near lazy – but because she’s overwhelmed.

For three years, Shelley Seale would travel to the orphanages of India, bags loaded with treats and toys to share with the children who had made such an enormous impact on her. After all, these were the same children who inspired the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Each time she got to know the children’s stories a little more, which compelled this Austin writer to compose a new book called, “The Weight of Silence: The Invisible Children of India.”

“I hope that people will see that even though this topic is serious and the stories often heartbreaking, it is not a depressing book or subject!” says Seale. “The kids’ hope and resilience amazed me time and time again; the ability of their spirits to overcome crippling challenges inspired me. The issues are tough, what has happened to a lot of these kids makes you want to cry – but the bottom line of their stories is a very strong, hopeful voice.“

I interviewed Shlley to find out what compelled her to travel, return, and make the children of India such a big part of her life.

What prompted you to travel in India and get to know these children?

In early 2004, I read an article in Tribeza magazine about Caroline Boudreaux, who had visited India three years earlier. She had happened upon an orphanage full of children living in incomprehensible conditions and had returned  home and started The Miracle Foundation, a nonprofit which raises money and recruits sponsors to help support the home. I began volunteering for the organization and sponsored a child, and Caroline invited me to go to India with a volunteer group. My first visit was in March 2005.

Was the situation what you expected?

Yes and no. When I arrived that first time, I assumed all the kids there were orphans in the true sense of the word – their parents had died. Instead I was shocked by how many of them had been “orphaned” by poverty; their parents had left them at the Miracle Foundation home because they were too poor to feed them, which in some ways seemed an even greater tragedy. I wondered when each of them had stopped wanting to go back home, or if they ever had. Afterward, there was simply no way to go on with my life afterwards as if they did not exist.

I had gone expecting it to be a sad place, an emotionally wrenching experience with these parentless young people. But those expectations had been turned on their head. Yes, there were stories behind each one of these children – many of them painful and tragic. Yet the man who ran the orphanage, and the house mothers, had made the kids their own in a community of sharing and acceptance. They were poor in wealth but not in spirit; limited in resources but not in joy and laughter. They gave me a complete unconditional love, for nothing more than showing up.

This kind of journey isn’t for everybody… is it?

Probably not. The specific type of trip I took with The Miracle Foundation, the volunteer trip to the children’s homes, is not the same as a sight-seeing vacation.

India is definitely a complete culture shock for someone who’s never been there, especially if you haven’t traveled in a developing country before. The poverty and hardship is stark and in your face. At times, quite honestly, I just wanted to look away and say I’d had enough. But the suffering remains whether we choose to look or not. They do not go away simply because we decide that to be a witness to them, to say I care about your story, is too difficult for us.

But still, like I said before, the moment you meet these kids, that all goes away. I have been on four different trips with all kinds of different people, some of whom love India and some who barely tolerate it, yet every single one of them fell in love with these kids and had the time of their life.  It’s amazing how this experience hooks you – I sometimes tease Caroline Boudreaux about putting something in the water. But the truth is, we go thinking about giving something back, and in the end it’s us who end up getting something amazing out of it. We are the ones who get rescued.

I guess sometimes it seems hopeless. There are so many children who need help. What do you think?

The truth is, each person can create incredible impact with even small actions. It’s a ripple effect, and I have seen it happen over and over, so many times I can’t even count them. Most of us could never sell all our belongings and go work in the trenches in India, but that doesn’t mean we should think, then, that we can’t do anything at all.

If you can change the course of the life of ONE person – still, that one person’s life is different and better because you impacted it.  I think that’s worth it. Don’t focus on the big picture, just focus on what you are passionate about, what you want to do. For me, I can’t constantly think about the 25 million kids in India who live in orphanages or on the streets – I can only think about the one who is in front of me at that moment.

What do you hope to accomplish with the book?

My sole purpose in writing the book was to give these millions of children a voice that could be heard by others in the world who, I was convinced, would be as moved by their plights as I was. And so, the main thing I hope to accomplish is awareness – followed by action. Some kind of action. I think the key is to discover what you are passionate about, what you have genuine feelings and caring about – and then do something about that issue. But just do something.

To learn more about the book, go to Seale’s website or purchase one from The Miracle Foundation. Note that for all books purchased through The Miracle Foundation, all proceeds are donated to them.

A friend of mine sent me an email this morning.

He’s trying to get his PhD while working full-time, one of his sons might be gay, and his wife just had her job at the local high school elminated. ”They decided to use the stimulus money for slip ‘n slides at the middle school,” he said.  

“That’s the digest from Maine! What’s the scoop? Still got your job?”

First of all, I love this man. Whether he’s worried or not, he doesn’t show it. He writes this as if it’s all just one big adventure.

It’s going to be fun to write him back and tell him that, no, in fact, I don’t still have my job. And full-time work also eludes my part-time work husband. And daycare for my two children costs $1800 a month, but if I pull them out and then get a job, I’ll have a hard time getting them in another school, and it took them a month to be able to walk into this one. Oh, also that one of us is about to be one of the 1-in-4 currently without health insurance in the state of Texas because that costs our family $1600 a month. Oh, and the minivan is making a weird noise.

“That’s the digest from Austin!”

And yet… we are both so damn lucky. Don’t think I don’t know it. Somehow we’ll make it through all of this. Some of it, in fact, has been fun. And the best part of it all is receiving all the help from friends and family. They feel great because they can finally show us in a tangible way how much they care, we feel great because we get to see it.

I wish more people got to experience this. Okay, that sounds weird. What I mean is, for those people who live closer to disaster than we do, who live there more often, I wish them the support, love, and patience from their friends and family.

The ones who don’t have it or have worn it out turn to strangers. Charities, agencies, donations, a helping hand, you, us. Wouldn’t it feel good to help?

I’m such a follower. But we have a few videos related to the next issue, and uploading to the ‘Tube is so much easier than uploading to WordPress. Plus, I need the self-gratification that comes with mastering a Web application and gaining new “friends” and “subscribers.” (I wish I were joking.) Please check out the channel, subscribe, befriend me, etc.

Last night I posted this video about Nicki Swann. She was on a couple of local TV newscasts lately because she was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Nicki isn’t your average breast cancer patient, though (and if that’s insensitive to say, I apologize – forgive my clumsiness with words at the end of a long day).

Nicki is one of those women who do everything right – she exercises like a fiend, she eats organic and vegetarian, she steers clear of anything remotely unhealthy (save the occasional cupcake with sprinkles) and she is vigilant about seeing a doctor when something seems wrong. Her health is her calling card, so to say. And yet, this 24-year-old neuroscience grad student was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer earlier this year.

Not your usual breast cancer story, if there is such a thing. In talking to Nicki for a while and especially in reading her blog, I learned a lot about her and her approach to the disease. More than that, I learned a lot about how some of the small things about the disease can affect a young woman in a big way.

I asked what I always ask for GivingCity: “How can we help?” I think you’ll be surprised by her response.

Sarah Andrews of Meals on Wheels and More wrote me last week with lots of great news about this longstanding organization. First the biggest news was that it is going to be the recipient of the money raised by next year’s Capital 10K race, which last year raised more than $180,000 for University Medical Center Brackenridge. (This is the best race I’ve ever run in Austin, BTW. Very well run.)

The other very big news is that the organization will premiere its documentary, “Wisdom in Their Own Words,” on Monday, November 17, and the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, complete with a red carpet for some of the “stars” from the documentary.

Recently, Meals on Wheels and More, Time Warner Cable, Texas Crew and Dan Rather teamed up to help tell the life stories of seven MOWAM clients, who have lived through some of the most trying times of the past century and whose words provide a unique and important perspective on the history of Austin and the importance of services like Meals on Wheels and More in so many people’s lives.

Do you know how people always say they want to have good stories to tell when they’re old? That’s what this documentary is all about. It will introduce you to some people you might have seen and ignored around Austin, and they will blow you away with their stories. These are the kind of stories an older person might tell you that make you want to go out and get a life, too.

There’s the man who lived through desegregation in Austin and four wars. There’s the woman who was a foster parent to more than 200 children. And there’s the man who was a POW for three years and marched three days with a wounded leg to keep from being shot.

What have you done with your life so far?

Sarah continues…

And we’re in the middle of a $5 million building expansion campaign. Based on population projections from the city demographer, we expect that we will need to prepare 2.1 million meals by 2020 to keep up with the demand for services – over twice what we prepare now. The addition to our building will allow us to primarily expand our kitchen facilities and client services department.

The least we can do is help these people and other Central Texans like them. They aren’t mobile enough to get their own meals, and that’s where MOWAM comes in. Consider donating and/or volunteering…. or at least watching the documentary.

However you go, you’ll learn a lot about Austin.

In our first issue, Elizabeth Eckstein wrote about her participation in the MS 150 and what the ride means to her. She’s done three at this point, and she tends to be the star, with random people handing her presents, slapping her high-fives and cheering her on.

She’s not a rider, though. She’s an observer from a wheelchair. She was diagnosed with MS three years ago and she’s made a point to attend the ride to show support for the thousands who bike from San Antonio to Corpus Christi. Her friend, Bruce, is one of the riders, and she’s often accompanied by her sister.

No doubt Mimi has star power. Once again at this year’s ride, she drew the attention of total strangers, one being a reported from the San Antonio Express-News. You can read the story here.

More importantly, you can show you support for Mimi and the thousands of Texans who ride for MS and live with MS by donating.

Nicki, graduate student, wiht a great new haircut

You might have heard that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. You might have also heard the statistics – the ones that scare the bejeesus out of you: “The National Cancer Institute, a component of the National Institutes of Health, estimates that, based on current rates, 12.7 percent of women born today will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some time in their lives.”

I like this from the national Komen website, too. Do you fall into one of these categories? If so, follow this link to find out how breast cancer can affect you. (Note: EVERYONE falls into one of these categories.)

African Americans
Ashkenazi Jewish Women
Asian Americans
Hispanics/Latinas
Lesbians
Native Americans
Older Women
Younger Women
Pregnant Women
Men

SO THE POINT IS that we need to learn more about breast cancer. How to avoid it, cure it, help others through it and help others recover from it. Even if it doesn’t affect you, it will affect someone you love. Take this opportunity to learn a little bit more about it.

I’m meeting with Nicki today to talk about her diagnosis and treatment. She’s 24 years old, a biology graduate student, and a blogger. Here’s an excerpt from her blog:

They take out lots of lymph nodes and test them all for cancer. If a lot of them are infected that means the cancer is further, and you might have to do more treatments, like radiation to that area. For me they took out 15 nodes and 7 ended up being positive. Technically that puts my cancer at a stage 3A instead of two. When the doctor gave me the news he said that they were still really hoping for a cure and that my chances were really good. For some reason though, hearing this news was the first time I really lost it and cried. Like uncontrollably cried. I knew that the survival rates for stage 3 were not nearly as good as stage 2 and it was the first time it occurred to me that I might not get better. I don’t think about that anymore though, b/c I know I will get better. The statistics don’t matter, b/c I am nothing like the statistics and treatments are better now, and I am barely a stage three anyways. So I was bummed that so many were positive, but it doesn’t really matter, I will still get better. I was on the bus anyways, I just have a slightly worse seat now.

If you donate or volunteer or run the race or learn more about breast cancer this month, remember that you’re not only putting us all one step closer to a cure, but you’re also putting an arm around Nicki’s shoulder, letting her know that we all care and we’re going to pull together to get her through this. For more about Breast Cancer Awareness Month, you might check out this really informative, well done blog about breast cancer. Ausitn Komen’s doing a great job of keeping it chatty and engaging.

There are people who talk about poverty every day in Central Texas, and there are people who live in poverty every day in Central Texas, and for the most part they are not the same people. They don’t even look like the same people.

All that is to say what I think lots of people don’t know how to say which is this: Poverty seems to be the lot of African-American and Hispanic Austinites, but the folks trying to lead the change are white.

You gotta give it to white Austin, though. They do try. I mean, go to any gathering of nonprofiteers and do-gooders and such, and it’s just about all white folks in the audience. This is a huge generalization, of course.

But this is why Mando’s videos are so compelling to me. He’s talking to the non-white people who are trying to have an effect on poverty and disparity.

In the interest of full disclosure, which is neither here nor there, I am Hispanic, from San Antonio, third generation Texican, and my husband is white. Just for whatever that means.

The important thing is to WATCH THE VIDEOS. If you do nothing else for poverty today, at least watch these videos. “Dialog!” as they say.