Upcoming Volunteer Needs at Project Transitions

(This is Tim. He is cute. He volunteers with us. Photo by Tammy Perez of www.trulygreatmadness.com)

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Fall is always a busy time for our agency, and this September has been no exception. We have a veritable feast of volunteer needs coming up, all here for your choosing. Our volunteer listings are posted all over the internet, but here I’ve compiled them for you so you can select with ease where you’d like to help out. Follow the posted directions to sign up. Our office phone number is 512.454.8646:

1. Direct Client Assistance: Help a resident move out of one of our housing programs on Saturday, October 3rd at 10 am. Need: 3-4 trucks and a total of 8 volunteers (for ease and speed of task). Call Callie to sign up.

2. Pickups: Two mattress sets and a love seat sofa, in different locations in Austin, need to be picked up from donors. Call Callie to sign up.

3. The newsletter!: We begin assembling it tomorrow (Wednesday, 9/23 at 10 am) and continue until we finish! (Hopefully Friday, October 2nd). We’ll be processing it at the Village Christians Apartments, 7925 Rockwood Lane, from 10 am to 4 pm each day. AND, we’ll have a bonus day, where you can volunteer on a fine Saturday (9/26)  at Top Drawer from noon until 7 pm. Drop in, drop by and turn on! (Yes, I am referencing “tune in, turn on and drop out”). Check out the full schedule and sign up here: http://www.volunteerspot.com/login/entry/72-6265501588

4. New Volunteer Orientation for October at Top Drawer: Wednesday, October 7th, 5:30 pm to 7 pm. See our updated volunteer listing for new TD volunteer needs on Idealist!: http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/av/VolunteerOpportunity/180705-243

5. Holiday Swing: We are in full swing (pun intended) with preparations for our annual holiday fundraiser, Holiday Swing.  a few mailings coming up and many auction pickups to come. Call Callie at the office at: 512.454.8646 if you’re available and she’ll sign you right up. Sign ups for day of event volunteering are coming soon. Keep an eye out.

6. New Office Volunteers: Project Transitions is seeking a dedicated, responsible volunteer to staff our phones from 1 pm to 4:30 pm  Monday through Friday. We also seek a volunteer who can commit to a long-term project photographing eBay items from Top Drawer, posting them for sale on eBay and following through with sales. Contact Callie for more info.

Thank you all for your continued support of hospice and housing for people living with HIV/AIDS in Central Texas.

Great video on Top Drawer by the Austin School of Film!

This sweet video on Top Drawer was filmed at Top Drawer Thrift’s 16th Birthday Party in August. We love it! Thank you Austin School of Film.

Re-post from the Austin American-Statesman: Charlotte Hale retires

Charlotte Hale, photographed by Kelly West/AMERICAN-STATESMAN

This is a lovely article written by the Austin American-Statesman’s Andrea Ball about our former Executive Director, Charlotte Hale. Charlotte served Project Transitions for twenty years. She will be missed.

Our new Executive Director, Alan Washington, comes to us from similar work in New York and New Orleans. His bio can be found on our website, here.

Here’s an excerpt of the Statesman article:

Charlotte Hale doesn’t want this story to be about her.

She wants to talk about Project Transitions — the nonprofit AIDS services organization she has led for nearly 20 years — and not the fact that she was raised on a cattle ranch or that she has two siblings or that her parents were big into volunteerism. Even her retirement (the entire purpose of this article) shouldn’t be the focus, she says.

“Let’s make this all about Project Transitions,” Hale said.

Sorry, Charlotte. Not going to happen.

Read the rest here!

Charlotte, we will miss you.

Accountant by day, charity bar manager by night; Texas Swing ‘09 Volunteer Spotlight.

The sawdust has finally settled on the dance floor and most auction items have been picked up from our office. Now we turn to our thank you’s, honoring the community for the support that made Texas Swing possible.

As I closed out my part of Texas Swing I noticed the continued engagement of a particular volunteer who has managed the bars for many of our events and has been volunteering with Project Transitions for more than six years. Kristina Arce is an accountant by day and multi-tasking bar manager by night for Holiday Swing and Texas Swing. We are tremendously grateful for her continued involvement and interviewed her to share her volunteering story:

Project Transitions: How did you get involved initially?

Kristina Arce: I saw an ad on TV for Holiday Swing, and it indicated that there was a need for volunteers. …I wanted to get involved with an organization that helped those with HIV/AIDS, and it was so great to have that ad pop up.  When I was about ten or so my family found out that my step brother, Warren, had AIDS.  It came on really quickly, as happened back in the 80’s.  He lived with us, and we cared for him as much as we could.  After a point, he became blind and would get very sick from the medications he was on, and began to experience bouts of dementia.  [Eventually he entered] a hospice here in Austin.  We were living in San Antonio at the time. When I was a freshman in high school, my brother lost his battle with the disease. He was, from what I can remember, barely 30. He and I also, coincidently, shared a birthday.  We were quite close, for not being blood related.

PT: Have you seen the agency change over the course of your volunteering with us?

KA: I have seen an increasing amount of volunteer participation. Especially young people.  I also find it nice to see the media involved.  I was at a [Doug's House] clean-up a couple of years back and there were news crews and staff from News 8 there to help.

PT: What are some highlights of your volunteer work with Project Transitions? Any low points?

KA: Mainly, the fun of the job. The people I get to work with are amazing.  Janice Morgan is one of those wonderful people.  I really enjoyed some Swing events, a couple year’s back, when we were so slammed at the bars I had to step in and help my crew.  I got sweaty and dirty, but it was so worth it.  It meant that there was a crowd, which meant that there was money to be given to PT.

Also, working that clean up at Doug’s House was a great experience.  Realizing that people depend on volunteers to make their remaining days pleasant and full, and realizing the great joy it brings to said volunteers, is fantastic.

The only low points are when we don’t get enough volunteers for events.  Or when turnout at the events aren’t what we expected.  Those are the times when it can be tough.

PT: What does volunteering give back to you?

KA: I just love doing for others.  I am a Christian, and believe in doing for my fellow man.  I once heard that doing good works doesn’t make you a Christian, but being a Christian leads to good works.  The love of people and the belief in the innate good in us all drives me to try and do all I can to make a positive impact on peoples’ lives and hearts. I’m also a very Type A personality.  I can’t sit still for too long.  What better way to use my free time, the little that I have, to do something positive.  I currently work full-time, and am in graduate school, along with my other church activities.  I still try to do what I can for PT.  It may only be a couple events a year now, but I do what I can.

PT: Finally, any particularly funny/memorable moments you’d like to share?

KA: There was one TGRA Golf Tournament I was volunteering at and I was riding in a cart with one of the TGRA members to fill up the beverage containers at the holes.  I was giving directions and said that we needed to go “straight down this way.”  I was then told “I can go forward, but I don’t go straight.”  I just cracked up laughing.

Most of the events that I work are memorable.  But another particular memory was when my mom and I did the AIDS Walk in Austin together for PT.

Kristina, thank you for your 6+ years of assisting this agency and the clients we serve. We are lucky to have you on board and grateful to you for all your help.

Texas Swing Preview: Alvin Crow, Nancy Scott and more!

Texas Swing 2009

Friday, June 5th

Saengerrunde Hall, 1607 San Jacinto, Austin TX

7 pm dance lessons, music from 8 pm to midnight!

An entourage of kind Austinites help make Texas Swing possible each year, and this 14th year of its existence on the first Friday in June, is no exception.

Texas Swing 2008 raised $46,500 for Project Transitions’ programs for people living with HIV/AIDS in Central Texas. It’s a very fun night, for a very important cause, and almost 200 volunteers make it physically possible for our agency to put on a fundraiser of this magnitude. Thank you volunteers for the gift of your time!

In addition to volunteers staffing the event, we have many in-kind donors who give us their best skills to make the event a success. This year, Matthew Gavin Walsh, a Cranbrook Academy of Art graphic design grad who lives in Portland, donated all the graphics for Texas Swing. You’ve seen his Texas Swing postcard, invite and poster; for a taste of his other work, go to his website.

We also have the ever-adorable Justin Elledge, of Max Photo Studio, on board this year as a photographer. Texas Swing will be the third event that Justin will be documenting for us as a donation of his time and talent. His photography is gracefully adept. Here is one of his Holiday Swing 2008 photos. For more, see his website here.

If you arrive at Texas Swing at 7 pm you can partake in the free two-step boot-scooting lessons that Rowdy Dufrene of Dance Dimensions has donated to us annually.

Then, at 8 pm, the ever-lively Alvin Crow will take the stage with his band inside, while Nancy Scott takes the stage on the outdoor stage in the Bier Garten. Alvin Crow has performed at Texas Swing enough times to become an institution. We are ever grateful. Nancy Scott has been playing her beautiful blend of folk and blues in Austin for over thirty years. We’re lucky to have her on board and it promises to be a great show.

All evening you can partake in the delicious BBQ from Sholz’s, and margaritas, beer and wine from the three bars, as well as bid on the vast silent auction (almost 200 items and counting), or two-step until your boots fall off.

Texas Swing 2009 will be a wonderful night of new and old friends, gathering to support those living with HIV/AIDS in Central Texas.

To buy your tickets for the 14th Annual Texas Swing, call Project Transitions at: 512.454.8646

OR purchase your tickets at Tape Lenders, BookWoman or Top Drawer Thrift.

Donate your time! Help us raise money for HIV/AIDS services, at the 14th Annual Texas Swing!

Come help raise money for housing and hospice for people living with HIV/AIDS right here in Travis County!!

This event raised $46,500 last year for Project Transitions’ compassionate care and programs for people and families living with HIV/AIDS. We need about 150 130 more volunteers to fill all the spots. Join us! (Thank you to the 20 who just signed up!)

The 14th Annual Texas Swing!

Friday, June 5, 2009, 8 pm to midnight (volunteer shifts all day and evening)

sign up online now at our VolunteerSpot page:

Come enjoy BBQ, free two-step lessons, three bars, two bands, a huge silent auction, lots of hot cowboys and cowgirls, an incredible photographer roving through the crowd, and 700 people coming together to support people living with HIV/AIDS in Travis County.

As a volunteer you will get into the $40/ticket event for free as a thank you for your help.

• Friday, June 5th – Help set up for the event
  • 35 volunteers from 8:00am-1:00pm
  • 20 volunteers from 12:00pm-4:00pm
• Friday, June 5th – Help with tasks during event
  • Front Entry/Tickets, Greeters, Drink Ticket Sales, Table Bussers, Silent Auction Monitors, Bartenders, Barbacks, Personal Waiters, Table Guards, etc…
  • 60 volunteers from 6:00pm-9:30pm
  • 60 volunteers from 9:30pm-Midnight
• Friday, June 5th – Help with pack up after event
  • 20 volunteers from 11:30pm-1:30am
• Monday, June 8th – Help unload the van/truck
  • 4 volunteers from 9:00am-Noon

Come have fun with us and our crew of 200 volunteers!

It’s a great way to meet people, help out the community, have fun, and help raise money for a great cause.

Sign up now online!

Or call Callie Thompson, the Project Transitions Volunteer Coordinator, at: 512.454.8646

See you at Texas Swing! Bring your boots!

Accounting Firm + Local Church = Happy Non-Profit

It isn’t often that a non-profit is approached by two incredible service groups at once. But when it happens, one understands the full meaning of gratitude.

In March, a representative of Deloitte & Touche, the accounting firm, contacted me to propose a one day project for April 17th. One of our housing programs, Roosevelt Gardens, was in dire need of some landscaping in the front area. Thankfully Deloitte had a budget for the project and was willing to purchase every bit of the materials we needed.  This included plants, mulch, soil, landscaping rocks, weed cloth, shovels, gloves, water, snacks etc. Quite impressive and very generous. Deloitte & Touche has an office-wide service day called “Impact Day,” and luckily, the Austin United Way had let Deloitte & Touche know about Project Transitions. We are so glad we could work together.

April 17th arrived with dark, thick thunderstorms and a tornado watch so we moved the Deloitte group indoors to the relative calm of Top Drawer. Some Deloitte professionals were there, as well as UT recruits getting a taste for the community involvement of their potential future employer. The fifteen-person group did an incredible job at Top Drawer. They rearranged the store: moving and installing shelving, moving electronics, merchandising items, pricing books, and installing new clothing racks for men’s clothing.

By the end of the day, Top Drawer was transformed. Thank you Deloitte and your UT recruits!

As for the plants Deloitte had purchased for Roosevelt Gardens, they were waiting to be planted and we needed someone to do it. First Evangelical Free Church, FEFC, had already planned a day of service with us for May 3rd so we asked them for help with the landscaping.

May 3rd rolled around as a beautiful, bright sunny day. FEFC brought twenty-two volunteers to work at Roosevelt Gardens. The group set to work chopping up the grass, digging holes, pruning vines in the courtyard. Before we could blink the project was complete. The FEFC group managed to crank out all the landscaping in just two and a half hours. It was lovely to see what a large group of people can accomplish in a short time, when all are focused on the same goal.

FEFC has volunteered with our agency many times; their singles group is one of the main helpers during second shift and teardown at Holiday and Texas Swings. We’ve come to know the strength of their numbers and the power of their devotion to service. And we are very grateful.

In both instances, it was inspiring to see the power of humans when working together for a common cause. Deloitte & Touche and FEFC each gave a big gift to the  HIV/AIDS community and contributed to our ability to house and provide hospice care for people in need, here in Travis County.

Before.

After!

More photos can be found on our Flickr at the bottom of the page.

Thank you to both groups!

Fitch Estate Sales, Making Furniture Charitable.

On April 19th, we received a tremendous donation for Top Drawer, arranged by Fitch Estate Sales.  Elaine, Chris and Jennifer helped me for most of the day that Sunday, packing it up and transporting it to Top Drawer in two trucks, an SUV and our giant van. Thank you Elaine, Chris and Jennifer for your kind efforts.

The estate sale donation was arranged by Bill and Lori Goodpasture of Room Service and Fitch Estate Sales. Bill and Lori have been supporters of Project Transitions for years. They arranged for the items remaining from their April 19th estate sale to go to Top Drawer as a show of their continued support. It was, by far, the largest furniture donation of this year. Bill and Lori even helped us pack the boxes and load them up.

Watch this spot for an interview with Bill and Lori, soon to come.

For now, enjoy the photos of the seven hours of wild furniture packing! Some of the items are still  left at Top Drawer, go check it out!

PT has some things in common with Kanye West

Kanye West likes the Black and White Years as much as we do, though he may not know the extent of the award-winning Austin band’s charitable pursuits. Recently Kanye posted the Black and White Years video “Zeroes & Ones” to his blog. We’re glad that the Black and White Years are getting the praise and attention they deserve and we are thankful for their involvement in Living City 2008.

Amy Cook, another Living City performer, was also recently featured in Out’s 100 most influential people of 2008. We are grateful to have so many tremendously talented performers willing to donate their time and art to our cause.

Last fall, the Black and White Years played at our benefit concert, Living City, along with three other phenomenal bands: Amy Cook, Corto Maltese and Zest of Yore. Living City 2008 was our inaugural benefit concert to raise money for Project Transitions’ programs and services. The intention of Living City was to extend the knowledge of the HIV/AIDS epidemic to a younger set here in Austin. And, to remind young people in Austin that HIV/AIDS is in no way a problem solely happening abroad; people right here in Travis County need our help.

Ryan Willis, of FlatCrabs, provided the graphics, (see below) and we were lucky enough to host the event at Club de Ville, through Transmission Entertainment. Be on the lookout for details on the next Living City, which will surely be as entertaining and beneficial as the first.

by Ryan Willis of FlatCrabs

Hill Country Ride for AIDS! Coming up this weekend.

The 10th Annual Hill Country Ride for AIDS is this coming weekend, April 25th. The Ride covers many scenic miles across the hill country, then ends at beautiful Krause Springs.

At the time of this post, the registered riders have raised $426,348.58 this year for local HIV/AIDS services, including Project Transitions. For the full list of beneficiaries, see here.

Project Transitions has a team, the PT Cruisers. It’s not too late to donate! Here’s the PT Cruisers page if you’d like to sponsor.

The Hill Country Ride for AIDS has raised more than $3 million over the last ten years, all to support the lives of HIV+ people in Central Texas. Project Transitions would like to thank the generous community of riders and supporters who make this benefit ride so bountiful.

UPDATE: The Hill Country Ride raised over $650,000! See their website for info on the celebration  of the success of the Ride, at Whole Foods on May 1st.