Amplify Austin Donors Raise A Total Of $66,775 For Three Hays County Non-Profits

By, Terra Rivers, Managing Editor

Last week, local non-profit organizations participated in an annual day of giving in the Austin Metro area.

From 6 PM on Feb. 28 to 6 PM March 1, I Live Here I Give Here held their annual fundraising event, Amplify Austin, to help raise money for over 746 nonprofits.

The 24-hour event raised $11,221,087 with the help of 31,108 generous donors.

Among the nonprofits to participate in the event were Court Appointed Special Advocates of Central Texas, Hays County Food Bank and Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center.

With the help of 47 donors, the Hays County Food Bank surpassed its goal of $5,000 and raised a total of $6,035.

HCFB provides food assistance to food-insecure residents in Hays County in an effort to fight hunger in the Greater San Marcos area.

Last year, the HCFB provided an average of 750 households with food assistance each week.

The Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center achieved its goal of $30,000 and then some.

The non-profit organization, which celebrated 40 years of providing services to victims of abuse in Hays and Caldwell Counties in 2018, raised a $56,790 through Amplify Austin this year with the help of 59 generous donors.

In 2018, the HCWC’s dedicated staff and volunteers served 2,111 victims of abuse face-to-face and experienced a 12 percent increase in calls to their helpline.  

The HCWC provides education, violence prevention services and crisis intervention to victims of family violence, sexual assault, dating violence and child abuse as well as support to victims and their families.

CASA of Central Texas participated in their 7^th annual day of giving with Amplify Austin this year. The organization aimed to raise $15,000 but regrettably did not meet its goal.

With the help of 56 donors, the organization was able to raise $3,950 to go toward the 2019 completion of their new Training and Support Center in San Marcos.

Over the last 30 years, CASA of Central Texas has provided advocacy services for local children in Central Texas.

In 2018, with 261 active volunteers serving as Guardians ad Litem, CASA helped 597 children from Caldwell, Comal, Guadalupe and Hays Counties. However, an estimated 560 children have been without the voice of a CASA.

Programs like Amplify Austin Day, See Jane Give, Give Back Jack, Giving Tuesday, and the Board Internship Program are designed to help locals find and connect with the issues they care about and take action to be part of the solution.

While the 24-hour day of giving event is over, people can still donate to participating non-profits through the Amplify Austin’s website.