No one would deny that 2020 has been a year of incredible challenge and change. At the heart of our belief in community schools is the idea that, in good times and bad, we can all come together to break down barriers and build opportunities for youth. The challenges will continue in 2021, but we want to take a moment to reflect on the many ways Austin Voices has been able to work with partners to support youth and families this year. We also want to thank the amazing teachers, administrators, staff, and school board trustees for the unbelievable efforts they have put in to make the best of this school year for every child.

  • 15,190 families were provided food, children’s books, school supplies and other resources at our 46 drive-through food distributions this year in partnership with Central Texas Food Bank and Burnet MS, Dobie MS and Navarro HS.
  • Over 400 volunteers provided 10,125 hours of volunteer help at AVEY events.
  • Working with Coats for Kids, we provided 3,293 coats at 12 schools.
  • Over 25,000 new and used books for children and youth were distributed.
  • 753 Thanksgiving turkeys and 350 Christmas family meals were provided.
  • School supplies, including backpacks, were given to over 2,000 students with support from Gaspedal, Austin FC, Celebration Church and Austin Chinese Church.
  • Over 2,000 families were connected with Blue Santa Christmas outreach.
  • AVEY contacted 67,250 people contacted about completing the census.
  • Sponsored drive-through back to school events at Burnet MS, Dobie MS, and Walnut Creek Elementary for over 1,500 families, as well as a drive-through HopeFest event at Northeast Early College High School.
  • Trained 57 community block leaders through weekly virtual trainings. Each block leader supported an average of 20 families with information about resources, health, voting, educational technology, parenting challenges, and supporting student education.
  • Hosted 22 digital literacy classes in partnership with ACC. 236 students enrolled for 51,290 hours of instruction.
  • Awarded 150 refurbished laptop computers to families in partnership with the Mexican Consulate and AllTogether ATX.
  • Worked with ACC and AISD to hold 10 virtual ESL classes with ACC, as well as bilingual parenting classes with Phoenix House.
  • Helped families with $341,915 in utility assistance through Austin Energy.
  • Helped families with $20,000 in rent assistance through the Assistance League of Austin.
  • Helped 373 families with $368,416 in financial and rent assistance in partnership with Austin Public Health.
  • Began a high-risk worker call center, with support from Austin Public Health, that connected 1,466 families with rent and financial assistance, legal aid, COVID testing, Blue Santa and other supports.
  • Held a student planned and led virtual school board candidate forum in October.
  • Held an Innovation Summit for community schools across Texas last June that brought together over 200 participants and 21 campuses that focused on innovative strategies to support students and families during virtual learning.
  • Held a Housing, Health and Hunger Virtual Summit in December that brought 225 participants and over 50 organizations together to improve collaboration during the pandemic.
  • Continued to case-manage 356 high-need families through our eight campus-based Family Resource Centers, and provided services to 2,397 individuals.
  • Piloted virtual mentoring programs at two schools in Dallas ISD.