Community Comes Together to “Save Play” in East Austin
EAPrep student Naomi kicks off the build
Right now in this country, we are experiencing a serious play deficit and our children are playing less than any previous generation. Only 1 in 5 children live within walking distance of a park or playground and this lack of play is causing physical, intellectual, social, and emotional harm. On top of this, not enough playspaces are being built and those that do exist are often in disrepair and subsequently not safe for our children to play on. In many schools recess is being eliminated, kids are overscheduled, and in their free time, many choose to stay indoors lulled by television, computers, and video games.
Volunteer team standing on Mulch Mountain
KaBOOM! is a national non-profit organization that has been fighting the play deficit for 15 years and is dedicated to saving play for America’s children. A little over two months ago, KaBOOM! asked the Southwest Key familia to collaborate with them to bring a safe playground to the children in the Govalle/Johnston Terrace neighborhood. The dedicated staff at Southwest Key partnered with KaBOOM! and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) to make this project a reality. This project would not have been possible without the amazing support of BCBSTX and their dedication to helping Texas become a healthier place to live, work and most importantly, play.
NBA Star TJ Ford Speaks with Students and Helps with the Build
The playground build commenced on Saturday, September 24th with almost 250 volunteers here at Southwest Key’s Centro De Familia in East Austin. We were also lucky to welcome honorary VIP’s on the day of the build to help support this endeavor including Mayor Lee Leffingwell, Representative Joaquin Castro, UT alum and NBA star TJ Ford, City Council member Kathy Tovo, Libby Doggett, and board members Ed Cline and Elizabeth Gonzales. It was amazing to see all the different volunteer teams working together to create this one of a kind playground in an astonishing 6 hours. Teams came from: St. Edward’s University, Texas Wrangler Darlins, PODER, Better Bodies, Springdale Garden Apartments, and the Rotary Club, among others. We began with a mountain of mulch and an infinite number of playground pieces, but with help from local musicians, some good food and equally good attitudes, we were able to complete a playground designed by local children and families!
The playground against the back drop of Southwest Key's new Social Enterprise Complex in East Austin, with Debbie Cox of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas
In only 6 hours look at all we accomplished:
- Moved 135 cubic yards of mulch by hand
- Mixed 22,000 lbs of concrete by hand
- Built 4 picnic tables
- Created 4 game tops
- Erected 1 shade structure with a rain water collection system
- Built 1 tree bench
- Produced 4 fence panels with murals
- Built 1 outdoor classroom with chalkboard
- Created and painted murals on 4 trash can containers
- Built a PLAYGROUND!
6 hours and 250 volunteers later, the playground is finished!
This event was a huge success thanks to the hard work of so many people and organizations and what we produced together in such a short amount of time is a testament to the power of community. We will soon announce the grand opening of the playground and look forward to seeing the many smiling faces of the children who will be able to enjoy this beautiful new addition to our community.
View photos of the Build Day: flickr.com/photos/southwestkey and media coverage at YNN & Fox 7.
by Aleah Penn, Southwest Key Programs
CASA’s Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration at Southwest Key
Dancers at Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration - Photo from CASA
Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the vast culture and traditions of U.S residents who trace their roots to various countries such as Spain, Mexico and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Last Saturday, CASA of Travis County held its First Annual Hispanic Heritage celebration for its youth and volunteers at Southwest Key’s Centro de Familia in East Austin. Volunteers helped them connect with their own culture and educated them about other cultures. Children were introduced to the environments of various Latin American countries.
Loteria at Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration - Photo from CASA
Food has often been the center point of family gatherings and events in the Latino culture. One former CASA youth came to share his own food heritage. Edwin is originally from Honduras and for the event he prepared baleadas, a traditional Honduran street food. Edwin filled these flour tortillas with refried black beans and mantequilla (a Honduran sour cream) and topped them with hot sauce for all the participants to try.
Participants were able to sample delicious traditional foods and were entertained by Southwest Key Ballet Folklorico adult and youth dancers with a beautiful live performance, elaborate costumes and loud ‘gritos’ or yells. One of the CASA youth even joined in the fun by sharing his own grito. Evelina Solis emceed and additional performances included Brazillian Forro music, Salsa and break dancing.
Cultural Display at Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration - Photo from CASA
Guests learned about Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) which is a holiday celebrated thru out Latin America. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where it attains the quality of a National Holiday. Participants did video blogging with Latinitas which is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering young Latinas through media and technology. They played games of Loteria, a Mexican game of chance, similar to Bingo, but using images on a deck of cards instead of plain numbers on ping pong balls. There was a station to create ‘papel picado,’ and many other activities throughout the event. Southwest Key looks forward to future community events being held at El Centro De Familia.
Click here for photos of the event.
-Angelica Noyola, Community Builder, Southwest Key Programs, anoyola@swkey.org
Girl Scouts Make an Impact in East Austin
Mention the words “Girl Scouts” and most people’s minds will jump to the one thing they know and love best about the organization: the cookies. But behind the iconic, brightly colored boxes filled with those mysteriously irresistible confections are real girls with real stories who have joined the Girl Scouts on their way to becoming strong, responsible women.
For nearly a century, the Girl Scouts of America have helped girls of all ages develop confidence, social conscience, and leadership skills that they can use and build on for the rest of their lives. The Girl Scouts of Central Texas continue this mission daily through tight-knit troops all over Austin and various neighborhood initiatives. One such initiative is taking place in East Austin, where girls at East Austin College Prep and the surrounding Govalle/Johnston Terrace neighborhood are given the opportunity to spend time with and learn from Girl Scout leaders.
Over the 2010-2011 school year, girls at East Austin Prep completed a leadership curriculum taught by local Girl Scout volunteers. While the Girl Scout program was a requirement for girls in the fall, they were given the choice to continue or opt out during the spring. The girls formed two troops, one for each the 6th and 7th grade. Although the girls participating in the Girl Scouts have their fees waived, they engage in many of the activities of a typical troop, including the ever-anticipated cookie sales. In addition, the girls took an active lead in community service by setting up games for kids to play at the monthly Capital Area Food Bank Mobile Food Pantry offered at the Southwest Key Headquarters. Another significant accomplishment was a vegetable garden that they planted and continue to tend to in front of the Café del Sol. Vegetables grown in the garden are then routinely used in the Café’s menu items.
This summer, the Girl Scouts continue their leadership program in conjunction with the 2011 STEM Summer Institute taking place at East Austin College Prep. The Girl Scouts have proven a valuable partner to East Austin College Prep and their program promises to continue to flourish.
- Kelle Kampa Communications InternCommunity Health Spotlight: Rosewood Zaragosa Neighborhood Center
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, has become increasingly prevalent in the United States as stress, poor diet, lack of exercise, and other risk factors become more common. According to the Centers for Disease Control, as of 2008, one in three adults over age 20 suffers from hypertension. Many of the poorest Americans may go undiagnosed, a troubling thought since hypertension can be a contributing factor to many other illnesses. For those who cannot see their doctor regularly, it is important that they find a way to routinely monitor their blood pressure. The Rosewood Zaragosa Neighborhood Center provides just this service for residents of East Austin.
Every second Friday of the month, volunteers from Rosewood Zaragosa offer free blood pressure screenings to recipients of the Capital Area Food Bank’s Mobile Food Pantry, hosted at the Southwest Key Headquarters in East Austin. As the line for food distribution accumulates, volunteers can check individuals’ blood pressure for them so they can know whether it is within the healthy range or not.
By providing this simple, easily-accessible service to those in need, Rosewood Zaragosa Neighborhood Center is taking a small but substantial step in improving health knowledge in East Austin. The more residents know about their blood pressure status and the risks of hypertension, the more empowered they are to be proactive in addressing their personal health and the health of their families.
- Kelle Kampa Communications InternUT School of Social Work Addresses Mental Health for Middle Schoolers
Mental health and physical health are two sides of the same coin. So why is it that it’s hard to escape messages about one when the public is almost silent on the other? Mental health has long been stigmatized not just in the United States, but around the world. If you admit to having a mental illness, it’s as if society has smacked a giant label that reads “CRAZY” on your forehead. And yet, mental illness is incredibly commonplace; according to the National Institute of Mental Health, in any given year 26.2% of adults and 46.3% of 13- to 18-year-olds suffer from some form of mental illness, the most prevalent being anxiety disorders.
East Austin Prep is working to eliminate mental illness stigma while caring for the mental health of its middle students by offering counseling provided by the UT School of Social Work. In neighborhoods like East Austin, where a large proportion of families are living in poverty and the unemployment rate is astronomical, it is especially important that kids have access to mental health resources. Social work interns at East Austin Prep are readily accessible to students for one-on-one counseling, group counseling, and specialized counseling for children of incarcerated parents and stress management.
Good health is part of the foundation for living a happy, successful life, and mental health – though oft overlooked – is just as key a component to good health as physical fitness. By offering mental health resources at the middle school level, East Austin Prep and the UT School of Social Work are doing their part to break the mental illness taboo and ensure that students have the resources they need to address any mental health issues they may be dealing with.
- Kelle Kampa Communications Intern
