For 36 years the Junior League of Austin has held a cherished and nationally renowned event in Austin on the same weekend in November. A Christmas Affair brings upwards of 30,000 people to downtown Austin to attend the holiday market, making it a holiday tradition for many families.

But now, the Austin City Council is considering granting a permit for a concert on the same weekend, which raises a great deal of traffic gridlock and public safety concerns. The concert could easily take place at another venue which would not conflict with the traffic and crowds that are already expected for A Christmas Affair.

The Junior League of Austin has more than 2,300 members who volunteer 100,000 hours annually. Funds generated from A Christmas Affair provide more than $750,000 to area non-profits (including Mobile Loaves & Fishes) and making the wrong decision about a concert location could negatively impact this signature fundraiser.

City council will vote on the permit this THURSDAY, AUGUST 7. Mobile Loaves & Fishes, however, feels that the citizens of Austin should be allowed a fair amount of time to consider this proposal and have a public discussion. We encourage you to email City Council Members by Clicking Here. Tell them to vote NO on agenda item # 77 and protect A Christmas Affair.

Again, City Council will vote on granting this permit THURSDAY NIGHT. We urge you to email or call City Council immediately to voice your support of The Junior League of Austin’s A Christmas Affair.

Link to Thursday’s City Council Meeting Agenda:

https://austin.siretechnologies.com/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=258&doctype=AGENDA

Link to the agenda item language:

https://austin.siretechnologies.com/sirepub/cache/2/wxiei355ni4ny155nqxpwx55/2885740731201209052985.PDF

Link to the resolution under consideration:

https://austin.siretechnologies.com/sirepub/cache/2/wxiei355ni4ny155nqxpwx55/28857507312012090551908.PDF  (draft resolution)

Tags: A Christmas Affair, Junior League of Austin

Attention Austin Friends!

The City of Austin is holding a Welcome Home Parade for Iraqi Vetarans followed by a Job Resource Fair for ALL veterans on July 7, 2012.

Please come and bring notes/cards as well as non-perishable goodies for care-packages to be sent to our troops in Afghanistan.

The flyer below outlines the specifics for the day’s events, and the organizers are currently looking for volunteers to help manage the donation tables along the parade route between 8:00 am and Noon.  Contact Rosanne Scott at 817-313-7994 or at paraderesourcefair@gmail.com to learn more!

Tags: homeless veterans, iraq war veterans, parade for veterans in Austin, Veterans

Mobile Loaves & Fishes has unique fundraising opportunities called House Parties–where our staff hosts a casual, relaxed event in your home and spends time telling our story to your guests.  There’s always food and libation, as well as entertainment and an opportunity to hear from the people who have benefited from our work.

Learn more about our House Parties–email us at info@mlf.org.

Tags: homeless fundraiser, homelessness in Austin, House Party fundraiser, MLF house party, MLF in Austin

Join Mobile Loaves & Fishes and the ROADS project for a benefit concert for the homeless, by the homeless. You’ll enjoy music, art, and the fellowship of some of Austin’s most talented undiscovered artists. The evening promises to be a great time for the whole family!

St. Edward’s University Hilltop Leadership Development will host its third REACH OUT Homeless Resource Fair on Saturday, March 24^th, 2012 from 10:00am-2:00pm at St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic Church. REACH OUT stands for Responding Effectively Against Community Homelessness through Outreach, Understanding, and Transformation. The Homeless Resource Fair is the result of the collaboration between non-profit Mobile Loaves & Fishes, the St. Ignatius Parish, and Hilltop Leadership Development at St. Edward’s University. Last year, the fair served over 300 area homeless, provided services such as haircuts, showers, meals, massages, and foot baths, and collected over 5,000 donation items including bags of toiletries, clothes, shoes and socks.

The Homeless Resource Fair was first organized by the Hilltop Leaders program at St. Edward’s University in the spring of 2010 as a way to turn their leadership skills into action by means of a community service project. The students saw a need in the area to reach out to the homeless community and also saw the value of collaborating with entities in the Austin area in order to make the event truly impactful. This year, the REACH OUT Homeless Resource Fair aims to serve over 500 homeless in the community and double its volunteer efforts from last year.

Hilltop Leadership Development, Mobile Loaves and Fishes, and St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic Church are excited about continuing their collaborative efforts in support of the Austin area homeless and leaving a positive effect on our community.

Needed items for the 2012 Reach Out Homeless Resource Fair such as, socks, clothing, shoes, shampoo, deodorant, backpacks, blankets, and toiletries, can be donated to the St. Ignatius Parish Office.

The 5th Annual Women’s Resource Fair is sponsored by the Austin Young Lawyers Association to provide free services for low-income and homeless women and children!

WHEN: Saturday, March 3, 2012, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.  {THIS WEEKEND!}

WHERE: Schmidt-Jones Family Life Center (across from the First United Methodist Church in downtown Austin) on the northwest corner of 13th Street and Lavaca.

WHAT: Services for homeless and low-income women and children include:
•FREE medical services (mammograms, pap smears, well women exams, eye exams, and wellness visits)
•FREE confidential legal services (family law, immigration law, criminal law, estate planning, and consumer issues)
•FREE mental health services
•FREE education and employment counseling
•FREE debt and credit counseling
•FREE clothing closet and haircuts
•FREE bus passes to get to the event (upon request at the Goodwill Rosewood Job Help Center located at 2001

Please circulate these flyers and let your communities know!

FLYER – ENGLISH

FLYER – SPANISH

It’s time for the 2012 Point-in-Time Homeless Count that’s mandated by HUD for our community to receive funding.  Over 200 volunteers are needed to canvass the city and count/survey individuals experiencing homelessness on Sunday, January 22, 2012 from 3-9pm.

This is an important effort for our community to make sure the voices of our homeless neighbors are heard and efforts are made to provide appropriate services.  It’s also a great opportunity to meet and join other enthusiastic community members in a commitment to end homelessness.

If you haven’t been involved in the Homeless Count in the past here is a brief description of the importance of this event:

• Provides annual statistics about the homeless population from communities across the country.
• Satisfies HUD requirements needed for federal funding to flow to our local community
• Provides hundreds of Austinites area residents with an opportunity to volunteer to help end homelessness.

The national results of the 2011 Point-in-Time count can be found at www.endhomelessness.org.  More information on local efforts as well as a link to the volunteer registration can be found at www.austinecho.org.

Also, here’s a direct link to the volunteer application.  Count Me In!

And a link to the .pdf flyer for you to print out:  2012 Homeless Count Recruitment Flyer

We would like to recruit 300 volunteers for this effort, so please help us recruit and spread the word to family, friends, and colleagues.  A recruitment flyer is attached.

Questions?  Contact us at homelesscountaustin@gmail.com or call Tera at 512-247-8678.

Tags: Austin texas homeless, census, ECHO, Homeless, Homelessness, how many homeless, survey, volnteer

This weekend!

Davenport Shopping Center in Austin is holding a day of Family Fun benefiting Mobile Loaves & Fishes.

There will be dance and choir performances, kids’ activities, and treats.

Free entry with donation!

Click here to view the Davenport Holiday Poster

Tags: Christmas, Davenport Village, event, fair, fun day, holiday

At Mobile Loaves & Fishes, we make the effort to spend time on the streets with our homeless brothers and sisters as a show of solidarity, and to experience what it feels like to ‘walk a mile in their shoes’.

In 2012 we invite you to join us on one of four  retreats on the streets of Austin with no food, water, telephones, credit cards, or cash.  It is an experience you will never forget.

Most of us will never fully know what it’s like to live on the streets, cold and hungry with no place to call home.  But our street retreats give us a glimpse into a world where our love and support are desperately needed.

CLICK HERE to read more about past retreats, and to register for one of our 2012 retreats on the following dates:

48 hr, January 6-8 (Notre Dame Urban Plunge experience)
48 hr, March 9-11
72 hr, April 1-4 (Holy Week retreat)
48 hr, April 20-22

“A Feast of Giving” is about helping our brothers and sisters in need receive a great traditional Thanksgiving meal, on Thanksgiving Day.   This year our feast will be on November 24, 2011 at Wozniak Hall from 7:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. or until the food runs out, we start serving around 11:00 a.m.

Last year we served over 500 individuals and had over 200 volunteers mostly from other areas ofAustin, outside of Austin; families and individuals. We hardly have any volunteers from St. Louis Church, we pray that you will want to come out and have a great time.  The act of sharing does not only allow us to give of ourselves to others, but it also allows us to realize the significance of this very special day.

We ask at least 2 hours of your time.  We prepare food and decorate the night before, Wednesday evening from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.  We start warming up and cooking the rest of the food at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday morning.

THANK YOU ALL FOR VOLUNTEERING, WE HAVE ALL VOLUNTEER POSITIONS FILLED.  HAPPY THANKSGIVING AND BLESSINGS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES.