Impact Austin's 2017 Community Partners include:

Culture

The Contemporary Austin

Program: Seeing Special Things

Seeing Special Things is The Contemporary Austin’s innovative outreach program for Title I schools in the Austin Independent School District. Throughout the 37 year history of Seeing Special Things, more than 18,000 children have participated in this art education program designed to build visual literacy skills and inspire learning in the museum environment. This grant would allow The Contemporary Austin to engage more deeply with the community by bringing exhibitions of student work to every school served through the program, where more students, families, and members of the surrounding community can participate, and by hiring a bilingual educator for Seeing Special Things.

Education

Interfaith Action of Central Texas

Program: iLearn - Refugee Youth Education Program

Interfaith Action of Central Texas cultivates peace and respect through interfaith dialogue, service, and celebration. As one of its four core programs, iACT teaches English as a Second Language and cultural skills to newly-arrived refugees. Its youth component, the iLearn Refugee Youth Education Program, provides refugee children language and cultural orientation in summer day camp, Saturday drop-in tutoring, and year-round teen mentoring. Interfaith Action will hire a Refugee Youth Program Coordinator to recruit, train, and manage youth volunteers and mentors. During the summer, 50 students will participate in the summer camp program and many will be provided on-going mentoring throughout the upcoming school year.

Family

Any Baby Can

Program: Nurse-Family Partnership

Each year in Central Texas, one in three women receive no or late prenatal care, leading to health problems for both mother and child. Any Baby Can’s Nurse-Family Partnership® enrolls first-time moms before the 28th week of gestation and serves them through their child’s second birthday. This long-term, free health service provides information, support and counseling, while enhancing prenatal care, focusing on the child’s development and mother’s growth. This grant will allow Any Baby Can’s Nurse-Family Partnership® to serve 22 families through this evidence-based program with proven results.

Health & Wellness

The SAFE Alliance

Program: Alumni Services

SAFE is a merger of Austin Children’s Shelter and SafePlace, two longstanding, human service agencies in Austin. SAFE’s mission is to lead in ending sexual assault and exploitation, child abuse and domestic violence through prevention, intervention and advocacy for change. This grant will pilot a new Alumni Services program for former foster care youth previously served by SAFE, who are now struggling with homelessness and/or other barriers to living on their own. The program will provide outreach to up to 60 Austin-area youth per year; work with up to 40 youth per year to become self-sufficient and be leaders for their peers; and help youth gain skills to build independent, healthy futures.

Catalyst

Seedling Foundation

Program: Building Seedling's Brand and Business Case

Seedling Foundation supports children challenged by parental incarceration through innovative, research driven, school­-based mentoring. Each year, the program helps more than 600 students in over 100 schools. The Catalyst Grant will sustain and grow this program by increasing awareness of this vulnerable population through enhanced marketing efforts to recruit mentors and engaging new school districts as potential partners. 

Congratulations to all these amazing organizations!