First Lady Blog
President George H. W. Bush
The primary goal of Texanthropy is to encourage Texans to “find something to do” to help their communities and neighbors. President Bush talked about “a thousand points of light” – of all the individuals and organizations that are doing good and being living examples of the importance of service to others.
Small Business Saturday
Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday, so I am helping remind Texans to shop local! According to the US Small Business Administration, Texas has 2.6 million small businesses, which makes up 99.8% of all businesses in Texas. You can show your support for Texas small businesses, business owners, and the 4.7 million Texans they employee by shopping at your local, small business today. Happy shopping!
November is Adoption Month
Providing our young Texans with the care, guidance, and support they need to grow up to be successful adults and reach their full potential is our greatest responsibility, and that begins with providing a safe, nurturing environment for them to grow up in. However, many Texas children face the unfortunate reality of being parentless, a void that is filled by the thousands of Texans who have answered the call to adopt. November is Adoption Month in Texas, a time to recognize the Texans and Americans who have opened their hearts and their homes to children through adoption, and to raising awareness about adoption.
Generation SERVE’s 2nd Annual Austin Families Give Back Event
Saturday, November 17th is Family Volunteer Day, a nationwide day of service for families who volunteer together to support their communities.
Texanthropy Spotlight: United Way of San Antonio MISSION UNITED, 2018 Governor’s Volunteer Award Winner
As the entire nation celebrates Veterans Day and gives our thanks for the service and sacrifice of all of our veterans, this week’s Texanthropy Spotlight highlights the 2018 GVA winner of the Service to Veterans Award, the United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County’s MISSION UNITED Information and Referral Program.
Texanthropy Spotlight: Marissa Vogel, 2018 Governor’s Volunteer Award Winner
This week’s Texanthropy Spotlight features the Individual Community Leadership Award Winner – Marissa Vogel. This award recognizes an individual for strengthening their community through intentional partnerships and by forging collaborative solutions to meet local needs, a much-deserved award for the founder of such a groundbreaking organization here in Central Texas: Generation SERVE (formerly Little Helping Hands).
Texanthropy Spotlight: John Poston, 2018 Governor’s Volunteer Award Winner
For the next couple of months, the weekly Texanthropy Spotlights will go in-depth about the 2018 Governor's Volunteer Award winners, starting this week with John Poston, the Governor’s Lone Star Achievement Award winner. This award is given to an individual who has volunteered for a minimum of 15 years and who has shown that they are that rare Texanthropist who has the ability to recognize a community need and create new systems, programs, and/or processes to achieve positive change.
Texanthropy Spotlight: Persons with Disabilities History and Awareness Month and The Arc of Texas
October has been declared “Persons with Disabilities History and Awareness Month” in Texas, a time to celebrate the many Texans with disabilities who have influenced our history. One organization in Texas that has done a wonderful job of advocating alongside and on behalf of Texans with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is The Arc of Texas.