Service Projects & Site Sessions

Service Projects

Tuesday, October 12

Service Project

Mobile Loaves and Fishes
Tuesday, October 12
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Time approximate

In September 1998, six members of St. John Neumann Catholic Community made 75 sack lunches, loaded them into a minivan, and ventured into the streets of Austin to help the homeless and indigent working poor. Today Mobile Loaves & Fishes (MLF) provides food, clothing, and dignity to people in need in a variety of cities across the country. In addition to delivering meals, MLF offers literacy programs, reclaims barren and underutilized land for backyard farming, and provides recreational vehicle housing. Join MLF during lunch to deliver meals.

Service Project

Marbridge Foundation
Tuesday, October 12
2:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Founded in 1953 by Ed and Marge Bridges, Marbridge Foundation began as a small working ranch for young men with cognitive disorders. Today Marbridge provides a unique spectrum of residential care, education, and training for more than 220 adults with various cognitive challenges. Lend a hand around their beautiful 170-acre campus, located just 12 miles from downtown Austin. Work in the greenhouse, be a horse whisperer or an iWalk buddy, or help clear brush from a creek bed.

Site Sessions

Tuesday, October 12
2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Site sessions give you insights and inspiration from Austin, up-close and firsthand! Participate in one of three thematic site sessions, combining a site visit with on-site discussion to integrate and apply learning from the visit.

Wheels of Giving

Texas, all 268, 820 square miles of it, is the largest state in the contiguous United States. It’s no wonder that is has an official vehicle, the chuck wagon, invented by Texas rancher Charles Goodnight and used to carry food and cooking equipment across the United States in the 1800s. The chuck wagon meets 21st century at this site session, where we meet mobile vehicles used for education, housing, and medical care.

The Austin Community College Go Center is a trailer that brings college-related information, motivation, and assistance directly to students and their families—at schools, malls, and other locations. Austin-based Mobile Loaves & Fishes uses recreational vehicles to provide the homeless with housing in a supportive community setting. And the mobile dental vans of St. David’s Foundation spread healthy smiles to children and adults in the greater Austin area.

Circuits of Collaboration

We all know that Austin is a high-tech center. Maybe all those circuits sparked the city’s philanthropic collaboration! This site session highlights three innovative collaborative efforts that are bringing new resources to the community, promoting cross-sector partnerships, and expanding the definition of philanthropist.

The individual donors of FuturoFund Austin are diverse in their backgrounds and united in their commitment to organizations serving Austin’s Hispanic community. Impact Austin is a leader in women’s philanthropy, funding multiple grants of more than $100,000 each year to local causes. And mindPOP expands arts education for children and teens across Austin, engaging arts education organizations, donors, education administrators, parents, and community leaders in collaborative problem solving and funding.

Community of Opportunity

One in five East Austin households lives below the poverty line—an example of how economic and urban policy can negatively impact a community and limit residents’ opportunities. But the community is changing and opportunity is growing.

This site session focuses on two organizations working in East Austin PeopleFund and Sustainable Food Center. PeopleFund, a community development financial institution, helps residents build small businesses and purchase homes. Sustainable Food Center promotes community health through organic food gardening, farmers markets accessible to low-income residents, and nutrition education.