Our charity for disadvantaged AISD school students has accomplished many goals for the year and we continue to make changes to our processes as we learn new lessons.  Our Resource Comfort Closet participation increased from 2 schools to 4 schools – Crockett and Navarro high schools and Allison and Dawson elementary schools.  Our Sports Bra program has garnered more interest from the girls sports teams at the high schools and we gratefully continue to receive support from the non – profit I Support The Girls.  Our Clothing Distribution program was able to help 3 schools this year – Navarro HS and Allison and Dawson elementary schools. The parents and children were thrilled to pick out items especially prior to the winter months. The students were really interested in the hooded sweatshirts and jackets that were available.

   We are half way through the school year and will begin collecting clothing donations in January and add them to our December collections from the Eanes ISD elementary schools and high school.  We are looking for adult clothing for the high school students and will take shoes too and you receive a tax deductible receipt when you donate.  We are like Goodwill but we give away the clothes for free to those in need.  We will be collecting men’s suits/ ls shirts for Travis High School young men for their graduation and prom in the next few months  They truly appreciate the assistance as these items are expensive and not affordable to many.  Be on the lookout for our Annual Football Helmet fundraiser for Travis HS starting in January.  This enables the athletic director to stagger a limited amount of helmet purchases over the years as the older ones are retired.

    A BIG THANK YOU to EISD schools, the non-profit I Support The Girls, Kendra Scott Philanthropy, community donors and all our volunteers.  Without my right hand women Debbie D., Debbie P., Mary Lou B.,  Dona G. and Tina C. our non-profit would exist.  ALL of you make our charity run successfully.  We already have a date, March 13, to partner with Kendra Scott Philanthropy.   From 6-8pm that evening, we will receive 20% of the sales at her three Austin stores.  People can also purchase online from March 13-14 and enter the code that will be provided to our charity as the event gets closer.  We have several grant applications pending and are hopeful that some funding will be received.  Every donation helps our charity run.

     Our community truly helps other communities in need and they are very grateful for the support. That is our goal – mission accomplished!

Happy New Year!

Regards,

Greta

   We will be inviting additional high schools and middle schools to join the Resource Comfort Closet Program for the upcoming school year.  We hope these items relieve some stresses that the students and families face.

   A BIG Thank You to all my clothing donors, EISD schools, non profit I Support The Girls and the numerous volunteers who help with all aspects of the clothing drive sorting and onsite distribution at the schools.  The students and families are so grateful for the donations and support.  One community helping another community is our goal and the results have been rewarding.

If you can donate please do the following so my volunteers maintain their sanity: Label your bag as Elementary or HS & Summer or Winter. Next, boy or girl, then, size sm, med, lg or xl Also, sizes 6, 8, 10, 12 or 30×30 pants, etc I can take donations any time since I have a large front porch at my home in Barton Creek West.

If you need to, we can arrange a place and time to meet for me to gather your donations. Please private message me for my address. Also, if you are a college graduate and are now willing to give up your treasured college tee shirts or accessories, we want them! We distribute those to disadvantaged high school seniors who are entering the various colleges. That’s a wrap up for now. Thank you to all the folks who have volunteered for various tasks and those who have donated clothes. You are helping students who do not have resources for extras. Your donations are tax deductible and there are donation receipts on my porch for pick up. Have a good weekend!

Greta

Infants:         – Mariposa Development Center – E. Austin
Elementary:  – Allison Elementary – E. Austin 
High School: – Juan Navarro HS – N. Austin

   Due to lessons we learned during the summer clothing drive, it would be easier if the donation bags are labeled girl or boy –  infant, elementary, or high school, and the sizing for that particular bag. We do accept shoes and boots. Thank you so much for your donations. You can drop stuff on my porch with your name so that you can be thanked. The parents and children truly appreciate them!

Pictured below: Homeless bags/kits that were donated by the Brookdale Senior Living Community in Westlake. They were eagerly taken by the men and women at the camp this morning. Thank you, residents, for your donations.

Your support of this campaign will enable us to improve equipment for our growing program. Travis does not have an active Booster Club, which at many schools would provide support for additional equipment needs throughout the year. Our goal is to provide the best and most updated equipment for our student-athletes. For example, it costs approximately $400 to purchase a Riddell SpeedFlex helmet.
All donations to this campaign are tax-deductible via the Austin Ed Fund, AISD’s public education foundation. The Austin Ed Fund’s tax ID number is 74-2654168.

We are on our way to reaching our $20k goal so that William B. Travis HS can purchase 50 new football helmets to replace their aging helmets. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this effort to help young players stay safe when they are competing.

  Thank you to all those who have contributed to the helmet fundraiser at William B. Travis HS as $7.3k has been raised to date.  Our goal is to raise $20k to purchase new helmets that will replace the 10-year-old helmets that will be retired. The athletes will truly appreciate the new equipment. In mid-February, we delivered winter clothes to Allison Elementary (E. Austin) and Juan Navarro HS (N. Austin). Thank you to all who followed our new donation instructions that made the volunteer’s efforts much more manageable. Debbie P., Gayle C., and I hung the clothes and coats with care in a reasonable amount of time.  The clothing will certainly help those families with few resources to keep their kids warm during this unpredictable winter season. Donations are tax-deductible and your help is appreciated more than you know during this difficult economy. It is comforting to see several villages helping other villages in need.   The Comfort Closet pilot program at Crockett HS is going well. Students are able to complete a checklist of items needed from the closet and pick up is scheduled on Friday afternoons. The closet is being run by several student coordinators and has been well received. With continued success, we hope to introduce the program in various disadvantaged AISD high schools and middle schools at the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year.   That is the wrap-up for the month. Any ideas or suggestions on other programs that have the potential of helping disadvantaged students in the area are welcome and appreciated. Please forward them to glirvin@austin.rr.com. Have a great week!

Greta

We had a terrific response to our summer clothing drive for Allison Elementary and Juan Navarro High School in North Austin. Thank you to all the families who contributed much-needed clothes, shoes, and hangers. Everything will truly be appreciated.   

In mid-September, we delivered summer clothes to Allison Elementary (East Austin) and to Mariposa Child Development Center (Also East Austin). The staff were so grateful and said the students will truly appreciate all that was
donated.

We will have a winter clothing drive in October/ November for both of these schools and hope that you will consider donating again. Thank you for helping your neighboring village!

Greta

UPDATE!

At the end of September, clothing was distributed at Juan Navarro HS. Many thanks to volunteers Debbie D., Nina, and Debbie P for hours of sorting and Michaela, Larry and Debbie D for their time hanging the clothes at the school. Also, thanks to PromRack for lending us the clothing racks to make the project a success.

Thanks, Mrs. Irvin