KidsDay in the Park will be held on Saturday, April 18, 2009, at San Pedro Springs Park. The free event for parents and children age 10 and under will feature food, entertainment, information booths and fun. Funding for KidsDay is provided by United Way’s Women’s Leadership Council and supported by the Blue Ribbon Task Force and United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County. For more information contact Sandra Imery at simery@unitedwaysatx.org or 352-7097.

April 19 – 25, 2009, is National Volunteer Week! The Volunteer Center at United Way wishes to thank all volunteers throughout San Antonio and Bexar County for the work they do in the community. Don’t let the week pass without thanking a volunteer!

San Antonio youth will join millions of volunteers for the 10th Annual Global Youth Service Day, April 18-26, 2009. Seventy local agencies are planning youth volunteer projects and celebrations. The lead agency is CityYear of San Antonio, collaborating with the Volunteer Center at United Way. Over 1,200 youth will participate in more than 50 environmentally-based projects across San Antonio.  For more information, contact Mary Elyse Farah at 247-4426 or mfarah@cityyear.org or George Mayes at gmayes@unitedwaysatx.org .

The Annual Volunteer of the Year Awards, presented by the Volunteer Center at United Way, honors and recognizes the outstanding achievement of individuals, families, civic groups and organizations that make unique and meaningful contributions to the community through volunteer service. This year’s event will take place on June 25, 2009, at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center. Nominations must be submitted by April 15. Please click here to complete a simple, online nomination form.

The Letter Carriers’ Annual Food Drive is set for Saturday, May 9, 2009. Letter carriers will collect non-perishable donations from homes as they deliver mail along their postal routes. The one-day food drive locally benefits the San Antonio Food Bank, a United Way agency that distributes food boxes to more than 40,000 families every month. Donations are especially needed during the summer months when children are not receiving their primary meals at school. For more information, contact Katherine Thompson-Garcia at 352-7092 or ktgarcia@unitedwaysatx.org

Cribs to College (C2C) is a pilot program to create college savings accounts for children under the age of one. The program helps establish college savings accounts for babies at a local Citibank branch. Parents add to the accounts and earn matching dollars when their children reach annual developmental goals and other milestones. C2C is a partnership between the City of San Antonio, United Way, Citibank and the San Antonio Children’s Museum, with support from the Mayor’s Office. Photo: Mary Jane Reyes with Noah and Madison and Amanda Guerra with Jesus Jr. attend a news conference where Mayor Phil Hardberger announced the kick off of the C2C program.

Members of the United Way Women’s Leadership Council Next Generation recently participated in a luncheon tour of Respite Care San Antonio. The group of young philanthropists is learning about United Way and how they can make a difference in their community. To learn more about Generation Next, please contact Rhonda Spurlock Dahlke at 352-7043 or rsdahlke@unitedwaysatx.org

The United Way Women’s Leadership Council is hosting its 10th Annual Kentucky Derby Day at Retama Park on Saturday, May 2, 2009, from 3:30 - 6 p.m. For reservations, please contact Rhonda Spurlock Dahlke at 352-7043 or rsdahlke@unitedwaysatx.org

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A young Iraqi war veteran,* his wife and four-year-old daughter recently made the long drive from El Paso’s Ft. Bliss to San Antonio to be with their 10-day-old son who had been airlifted to CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital for emergency heart surgery.

When the family arrived, they were in immediate need of financial assistance for food, gasoline, and hotel accommodations. Over the course of the next several weeks, the Texas Military Family Access Project (TMFAP) staff of the local United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County would provide multiple referral services to help the young family cope.**

2-1-1 connected the struggling family with the San Antonio Food Bank, the Inman Christian Center for a care package of diapers and baby wipes, and the Army Emergency Relief program for an interest-free loan.
 
The family is now safely back in El Paso, the baby is recuperating and his father is grateful to the 2-1-1 Military Help Line for seeing him through an anxious and challenging time in his life.

2-1-1 Military call specialists help veterans of Iran and Afghanistan and their families before, during and after deployment.  The 2-1-1 help line is free, confidential and operates 24/7. A new website with 24/7 online chat services was recently developed for military members or their families who prefer to communicate via computer.  The web address is www.military211help.org or simply dial 2-1-1.

*Names withheld to honor the family’s privacy.  ** TMFAP is funded by the Texas Resources for Iraq-Afghanistan Deployment (TRIAD) Fund of the San Antonio Area Foundation.

United Way is proud to support the CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Center for Children and Families.  The David Christopher Goldsbury Center for Children and Families is comprised of over 30 pediatric specialty clinics. The Children’s Kidney Center handles 32 hemodialysis patients, and the Howard A. Britton, M.D. Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center provides state-of-the-art treatment to affected children and adolescents.

Jasmine, 7,  is a young artist and loves playing games at CHRISTUS. In this photo she has just completed her last day of radiation for a brain tumor.

Sixteen-year-old Elizabeth wants to be a fashion designer. She also loves Guitar Hero and all music, which she listens to during her Monday-Wednesday-Friday dialysis visits to CHRISTUS’ Children’s Kidney Center. The staff at CHRISTUS make something really hard a lot easier. "The employees are super-cool,” says Elizabeth with a bright smile and positive attitude.

Nicholas, 7, (center) loves to play chess, Legos, and is a Star Wars fan. In this photo he enjoys a game with his younger brother, Douglas, while on his monthly trip to CHRISTUS Santa Rosa for antibody replacement therapy.

Angel is four years old and visits CHRISTUS for the help she needs with a rare blood disease, histiocytosis. Multidisciplinary teams at CHRISTUS include hematologists, oncologists, immunologists, surgeons, nurses, psychologists, social workers, child life specialists and chaplains.

Carmelo, 2, naps while at CHRISTUS for kidney dialysis, which he’s undergone since birth. Carmelo is well known throughout CHRISTUS and will undergo a transplant in mid-April with a kidney donated by his father. Mom Nicole says that “CHRISTUS has done any miracle I’ve needed. They do wonders.”

CHRISTUS helps four-year-old Genesis manage sickle cell disease. The hematology program encompasses bleeding and thrombotic disorders, sickle cell disease and a variety of hematological disorders.

For more information on the CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Center for Children and Families, a United Way partner agency, please visit www.christussantarosa.org.

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Car-X Auto Service is the winner of the 2008 Small Business Volunteer of the Year Award. The company is an avid supporter of the San Antonio community, and more specifically, San Antonio’s military communities.  In 2008, the Car-X staff provided over 450 hours of volunteer service and reached over 35,000 military members -- but has touched the lives and made a difference in many, many more.

Helping military families identify critical automotive needs, Car-X also provides personal consultation visits for spouses of deployed warriors to ease the stress of car maintenance.  In conjunction with the Army’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs, Car-X offers military members and families a balance of work and leisure – from entertainment programs to competitive and recreational programs.

Operating four San Antonio locations, Car-X provides in-kind support of time, volunteers, equipment, cash and giveaways, such as tickets to local events and the car they gave away to one lucky soldier last year!

For more information, visit the Car-X website.  If you would like to attend the 2009 Volunteer of the Year Awards,  please contact Karen Day at 352-7041 or kday@unitedwaysatx.org