Westcreek Neighborhood Association

If you have duplicate DVD movies or just want to recycle them the Rotary Club at Ft. Hood has started a project “Operation A Bit of Home” which is creating DVD libraries for the troops overseas.  You can check them out at http://www.operationabitofhome.com/.

Sandra Baldridge has about 100 DVD’s that she’s collected and if anyone in the hood would like to drop off their surplus DVD’s for this purpose, please leave them at her door, 4505 Grider Pass.  This will be an ongoing project.

Thanks for your consideration and may each of you have a safe and peace-filled Holiday Season.

Karen Gregory, our long time Editor of the Westcreek Newsletter, is stepping down from that position at the end of the year.  Karen has not only been the Editor of our newsletter, but an ardent activist on issues that affect the Westcreek neighborhood.  The Executive Board is looking for a replacement for the Editor position.  If you are interested, please email Karen at kgregory@att.net to get more information on what the position involves.

Thank you to everyone who hosted a gathering in Westcreek for National Night Out. If you have pictures of your event, please send them to webmaster@westcreekna.org along with names and places for captions and we will add them to the website.

Kayli M. at the Fair Valley Trail National Night Out party.

Westcreek’s APD neighborhood liaison, Officer Zachary LaHood, brings out a police car for the neighbors at the Fair Valley Trail party.

Westcreek neighborhood kids get to know the Austin Police force.

The Austin Fire Department gives a tour of their vehicle.

Thank you, Austin Fire Department, for being a part of the festivities!  And a very special thanks to Rose who hosted the Fair Valley Trail National Night Out event.

Keep Austin Beautiful (KAB) staff is impressed and inspired by volunteers on a daily basis, which is why we are upping the ante on volunteering. Take volunteering to the next level – become a KAB Ambassador. On Thursday, October 28th KAB will lead a FREE 3-hour Volunteer Project Leader Training. Build the confidence, knowledge and skills necessary to lead an effective cleanup, school garden workday, or education activities. The 3-hour workshop will include a 2-hour session on effective project management and a 1-hour breakout session specializing on KAB focus area of your choice: clean, beautify, and educate. All participants are required to lead 2 projects within 6 months of the training.

Leadership Training
Date and Time: Thursday, October 28th, 6:15-9pm
Location: KAB office – 55 North I-35, Suite 235, 78702
Contact: Monica Lopez Magee, at 512.391.0619 or monica@keepaustinbeautiful.org
More Information: www.keepaustinbeautiful.org/VolunteerLeaderTraining1028
To Register: Registration is through the Hands on Central Texas website. Please click on Volunteer Projects in the left bar menu, select Browse Projects, filter by Environment and Travis County, and select KAB Volunteer Leader Training.

2-hour Volunteer Project Leader Training – Learn how you can become a leader & advocate in the community, address critical social issues, & develop the skills, knowledge and abilities to organize projects and lead educational activities in the Austin community. Space is limited to 45 participants.

1-hour breakout sessions provide specialization in the following areas. Space is limited in each session to 15 participants.
• Clean–Is litter a pet peeve that you want to eradicate, or have you already led cleanups but want to take them to the next level? Learn how to get supplies and logistical support, enrich your cleanup with engaging activities, and visit a nearby waterway to identify site logistics, address safety concerns, and spot trash pockets.
• Beautify – School gardens are valuable teaching tools for youth but need lots of maintenance. In this session learn how to conduct a site assessment to identify garden needs, organize volunteers in groups, get the supplies you need, and walk through basics of garden maintenance. For completing the project commitment after the training, trainees in this area may connect with a KAB school garden project or work with a school of their choice.
• Educate – Delve into hands-on activities on compost, bugs, recycling, and litter to prepare yourself to represent KAB while leading tabling activities at school, corporate, community and city-wide festivals and fairs.

All participants are required to attend the full 3-hour training and lead 2 projects within 6 months of the course. The project may be in your trained area or in any of the KAB focus areas. As a KAB Ambassador you are assisting us as we grow our outreach, raise environmental awareness, and support community projects. KAB relies on leaders like you to achieve its mission.

Trained Volunteer Project Leaders are eligible for mini-grants from Hands on Central Texas. Grants are up to $250 and aimed at covering the cost of supplies to carry out an effective second project.

Reserve your spot at www.handsoncentraltexas.org . Registration is through the Hands on Central Texas website. Please click on Volunteer Projects in the left bar menu, select Browse Projects, filter by Environment and Travis County, and select KAB Volunteer Leader Training. You will need to create a login in order to register. More details will be sent to you once your registration is received.

For questions contact: Monica Lopez Magee, KAB Education Program Manager at 512.391.0619 or at monica@keepaustinbeautiful.org.

The Volunteer Project Leader Training made possible by a grant from United Way Capital Area – Hands on Central Texas.