Many businesses are at the forefront of the community response to the pandemic, donating time and money to those whose lives are being affected. We’d like to highlight a few organizations making a difference in our community.
Over the past several months we have experienced unprecedented times. COVID-19 hit just about every business in Austin and many have had to shut down permanently. Just like that, overnight, iconic Austin businesses closed for good.
We’ve sheltered-in-place, cutting off our friends, our family, and our community. We’ve watched as our community and others across the world have been ripped apart by injustices and violence.
Below is a roundup of some of the businesses supporting our community as well as vital resources that could be beneficial to the business community.
Baylor Scott & White Health has added more than $1.5 million to its long-established employee emergency assistance fund to aid staff dealing with the impacts of the coronavirus. The Employees 1st Emergency Assistance Fund is available to assist frontline BS&W employees with virus-related expenses, including housing, meals and childcare. Funding comes from the health system’s board members as well as CEO Jim Hinton, who has pledged 25% of his salary to the fund. Others who have given at least $100,000 to the fund include The Crowley Carter Foundation, Hilltop Holdings and its family of companies (including PlainsCapital Bank, PrimeLending, HilltopSecurities and National Lloyds), Ross McKnight, The Meadows Foundation, Moody Foundation and Annette Simmons.
The Austin Diaper Bank is working to get diapers to families in Central Texas who need help. If you need diapers you can go to one of the food pantries listed below or to our Diaper Pick-Up Day for Families.
If you and your family have been impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic and need temporary assistance with diapers, adult incontinence supplies or period supplies please fill out this form. An Austin Diaper Bank staff member will contact you to make an appointment to pick up diapers.
While H-E-B is serving customers and communities, we’re also committed to helping find a solution to coronavirus. H-E-B will dedicate $300,000 to assist Texas Biomedical Research Institute, a San Antonio-based organization with a team dedicated to coronavirus research that will have a global impact. Texas Biomed has launched a unique research project to be among the first in the nation to develop the laboratory model necessary for testing diagnostics, vaccines and treatments to combat coronavirus. We are proud to be a part of this innovative effort to accelerate discoveries, moving science from the lab to the patient.
H-E-B has partnered with the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Central Texas Food Bank to deliver meals to the elderly and disabled. H-E-B has donated $150,000 as part of the effort and Capital Metro will deliver the food to those who use its MetroAccess program, which provides transit for people with disabilities or other health conditions that prevent them from using regular public transit. The “Help-at-Home kits” come with shelf stable items such as peanut butter, rice, soup and canned vegetables.
RELATED READING :: From Our Community, Thank you HEB
For every purchase of these masks, we’ll donate one mask to a frontline worker. Kendra Scott LLC is donating 50% of proceeds from sales of its Everlyne Bracelets to Feeding America’s COVID-19 Response Fund, which is supporting food banks around the country. The company also announced on LinkedIn it donated 500,000 meals as part of the campaign, adding: “Let’s stand together and support our communities in these unprecedented times.”
Titos – We have produced, packaged and donated over 325 total tons of hand sanitizer to those in need across the United States. It has been donated to:
– Well over 400 organizations throughout Austin and Central Texas, including nursing homes, police and fire stations, food banks, construction crews, hospitals and healthcare facilities, the United States Postal Service, and more. By working with emergency response teams in Austin and across Texas to help distribute, we’ve been able to get it to many more organizations in addition to those 400.
– 25 states and counting across the US.
In light of the COVID-19 crisis, many workers in the Austin’s hospitality industry have been affected by closures and layoffs. Inspired by the Houston Shift Meal team, Austin Shift Meal is dedicated to providing these individuals with meals so that no one goes hungry. We are accepting monetary sponsorships and donations from suppliers, businesses, and individuals who wish to help. These sponsorships will go to our restaurant partners to help offset their costs as they take care of our industry family during these difficult times. For every $250 sponsorship received, a restaurant will be able to produce anywhere between 50-75 meals. Read more about our vision here. For any questions, email us at a[email protected] Thank you for supporting Austin’s hospitality community. We are all in this together.
In an ongoing effort to support the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, IDEA Public Schools will continue to serve curbside meals at all of their campuses throughout Texas and Louisiana during the summer.
IDEA Public Schools has served over three million meals since March 19 to children throughout communities in the following areas: Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, Austin, El Paso, Tarrant County, Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
Beginning Monday, May 25 and through the summer, all IDEA schools in Texas will offer breakfast & lunch available for curbside pick-up from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., Monday – Friday. Weekend bundled meals are also available on Fridays.
Austin Free-Net and Ruckify have partnered to provide community relief efforts such as providing assistance to Austin area children struggling to complete virtual learning requirements due to a lack of proper technology. Austin Free-Net assists under-served, low income communities gain access to free public computers and computer training and provide the technology tools needed to be successful in the digital age. As the world’s largest peer-to-peer rental marketplace, Ruckify offers the opportunity for individuals and companies to rent their items out at a low cost to local communities. Everyone has a door at home with extra electronics, such as laptops and tablets, that are new or unused.
More organizations doing good in our community
- Austin Justice Coalition | Austin Justice Coalition is a Racial Justice Group that educates and builds community power for people of color who live in Austin, Texas that need support, community, and liberation during a time of systemic injustice in America.
- Six Square | Six Square is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that celebrates and preserves the great arts, culture and history of Central East Austin. Named for the six square miles of the former “negro” district, Six Square is a visionary leader and powerful partner for major projects that preserve, promote, and sustain black arts, history and culture. We are the only state designated black cultural district in Texas.
- GAVA | GAVA is a coalition of neighbors and community partners breaking down barriers to healthy living and strengthening neighborhood stability in Austin’s Eastern Crescent (Dove Springs, South Austin, the Rundberg area and St. Johns neighborhood).
- Capital Area Food Bank | We believe there’s strength in numbers and in working together. We are members of Feeding America and Feeding Texas (formerly the Texas Food Bank Network). Our service territory includes: Bastrop, Bell, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Coryell, Falls, Fayette, Freestone, Gillespie, Hays, Lampasas, Lee, Limestone, Llano, McLennan, Milam, Mills, San Saba, Travis and Williamson counties. Roughly 300 Partner Agencies have joined us to serve families in 21 Central Texas counties at soup kitchens, food pantries, after-school programs, snack programs and other service sites.
- Financial Literacy Coalition | Financial capability is the capacity, based on knowledge, skills, and access, to manage financial resources effectively. Our approach seeks to provide education, but also increase access to financial products and services by removing the barriers that prevent people from achieving their goals.
- Mocha Moms | Welcome to our sisterhood! Mocha Moms, Inc. is the premier voice for mothers of color. Through chapters and online, Mocha Moms, Inc. provides support for women of color as they journey through all phases of motherhood while advocating for them nationally. Mocha Moms, Inc. also encourages the spirit of community activism and service among its members. Mocha Moms, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Mocha Moms, Inc. does not discriminate against any person, regardless of demographic status. Anyone who supports the mission and purpose of Mocha Moms is welcome to join.
