Episode 1: Policy and Advocacy work with United Ways of Texas

We chatted with Adrianna Cuellar Rojas, Ashley Harris, and Molly Weiner with United Ways of Texas about the 88th Texas Legislative Session. United Ways of Texas works closely with Lubbock Area United Way and United Ways across Texas to ensure that local needs are being addressed on the state level.

The United Ways of Texas team shares what they are working on for the legislative session and how people can get involved in advocating for legislation that will address key priority areas in the areas of education, health, and financial stability. Our VP of Community Impact, Devin McCain, also joined in the conversation to share about what we're working on for West Texans and how to get involved.

Register for Texas United Virtual Advocacy Days on February 23-25.

Meet your local Representatives:

Senator Charles Perry

District Address:
11003 Quaker Avenue, #101
Lubbock, TX 79424
806.783.9934

Representative Dustin Burrows

District Address:
10507 Quaker Avenue, Suite 103
Lubbock, Texas 79424
806.795.0635

Representative John Frullo

District Address:
5717 66th Street, Suite 116-117
Lubbock, Texas 79424
806.763.2366

Episode 2: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with Chris Boutwell and Nedra Hotchkins

We sat down last week to record a video with board members Chris Boutwell and Nedra Hotchkins about United Way's new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Nedra is also the Executive Director for Lubbock Children's Health Clinic, and Chris is chairing the new committee.

We intended to release the conversation in video format only, but the full conversation was so good that we decided to share it on the podcast. The format is a little different than the first episode, but we hope you enjoy listening.

To learn more about what United Way is doing to address diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism, click here.

Episode 3: The Status of Women on the South Plains with Cristy Martinez, Jennifer Riley, Sabrina Robbins, and Lena Scaff

For International Women's Day and Women's History Month, we wanted to talk with our Community Partners about the status of women on the South Plains. We chatted with Cristy Martinez with Family Counseling Services, Jennifer Riley with the YWCA, Sabrina Robbins with Catholic Charities, and Lena Scaff with Early Learning Centers. From jobs to child care to health, we tackled a number of issues facing women on the South Plains and the ways we'll be celebrating women this month.

As mentioned in the episode:

Affordable, quality healthcare:

• Breast and cervical cancer screening and breast cancer patient navigation: YWCA of Lubbock
• General adult healthcare: TTUHSC Free Clinic at Lubbock Impact
• Children's healthcare: Lubbock Children's Health Clinic

Affordable mental health care:

• Family Counseling Services

Support to complete college degree:

• Catholic Charities' Parent Empowerment Program

Affordable, high-quality Spring Break opportunities: 

• Boys and Girls Clubs
• Early Learning Centers
• YWCA of Lubbock

Episode 4: Lubbock County Care Coordination Team with Derek Danner, Kristin Murray, and Veronica Lowenberg

Today, we are rebroadcasting a video interview we release on our social media in January for Human Trafficking Awareness Month. We visited with Kristin Murray with Voice of Hope, Derek Danner with Children's Advocacy Center, and Veronica Lowenberg with Governor Greg Abbott's Child Sex Trafficking Team about the newly formed Lubbock County Care Coordination Team that was set up to specifically address the needs of victims of child sex trafficking in our area.

If you have questions or need help, please call:

Children's Advocacy Center of the South Plains, 806.740.0251

Voice of Hope, 806.763.3232

Episode 5: Child Abuse Prevention Month with Dr. Amy Thompson and Dr. Brian Payne

Trigger Warning: This episode discusses child abuse and child neglect.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and the Go Blue Lubbock Campaign. We visited with Dr. Amy Thompson with Covenant Children's Hospital and Dr. Brian Payne with UMC Children's Hospital about child abuse and neglect in Lubbock and the surrounding area, how 2020 impacted families, and how we can all be involved in preventing child abuse.

Episode Resources:

• Texas Abuse Hotline: report online or call 1-800-252-5400 
• South Plains Coalition for Child Abuse Prevention and Go Blue Lubbock 
• UMC Children's Hospital Community Resources 
• UMC Children's Hospital Child Abuse Resources 
• Family Counseling Services 
• Parenting Cottage 
• Children's Advocacy Center

Episode 6: Sexual Assault Prevention Month with Leslie Timmons and Kenneth Castillo

Trigger warning: In this episode, we discuss sexual violence.

April is Sexual Assault Prevention Month, so we visited with Leslie Timmons and Kenneth Castillo with our Community Partner Voice of Hope about their prevention efforts. Prevention is the best solution to ending sexual violence in our community. Along with other stakeholders in the community, Voice of Hope is putting forth innovative prevention efforts.

As mentioned in the episode:

• Voice of Hope Hotline: 806.763.7273
• National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673
• Roots Garden on Instagram: @rootsgardenlbk

 Episode 7: Celebrating 75 Years of United Way with Gary Bain, Heather Smith, and Amy Berry

In 2021, Lubbock Area United Way is celebrating its 75th Anniversary. We sat down with Heather Smith with Covenant Medical Group and the chair for our 75th Anniversary Committee and Gary Bain with GMAN Creative and the videographer for our anniversary film. Amy Berry from our team also joins us for a fun conversation on preparing for the anniversary and all the fun things we have planned for the year.

Learn more about United Way and our first 75 years on our website at https://www.liveunitedlubbock.org/anniversary

vs.

Episode 8: Mental Health Awareness Month with Nancy Trevino and Brad Hunt

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. We visited with Dr. Nancy Trevino with the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center and Brad Hunt with NAMI Lubbock about mental health on the South Plains, how we can help fight stigma, and what resources are available for those in need of mental health support.

Mentioned in the episode:

• NAMI Lubbock: namilubbock@gmail.com 
• Family Counseling Services 
• Voucher Program through Catholic Charities: Call 806.765.8475 
• StarCare Specialty Health System Mental Health Hotline: Call 806.740.1450 or text StarCare to 67634
• Sign the Stigma Free Me pledge Pledge to be a Stigma Free Company

Episode 9: Community Volunteering with Tyler Young and Sharon Bass

The summer is a great time to get out and volunteer and a great opportunity to visit with our 2021 Loaned Executive Chair Tyler Young with Texas Tech Credit Union and Sharon Bass with the Volunteer Center of Lubbock. Volunteering is good for your physical and mental health and makes a huge impact on those around you. We hope this conversation inspires you to find your perfect volunteer fit.

Volunteer Center of Lubbock Find opportunities to volunteer: https://getconnected.volunteerlubbock.org/ Loaned Executive Program United Way Youth Division Volunteer with United Way and IRONMAN 70.3 Lubbock

Episode 10: Summer Reading with Devin McCain

Today, on the podcast, we're talking with Vice President of Community Impact, Devin McCain, about our Summer Reading Calendar, why incorporating reading into your summer routine matters, and some easy ways you can add it in. When summer hits, we often talk about "summer slide" or summer learning loss. But this year, we want to turn the conversation around to talk about helping students make learning leaps.

As mentioned in the episode:

• Check out the summer reading calendar, sign-up for the weekly email, learn about summer programs and camps, and find at-home activities.

• Find even at-home activities on our Pinterest.

• Learn about Literacy Lubbock's adult education programs.

Episode 11: How United Way builds strong communities with the Cade Fowler, Lesli Spears and Teresa Smith from the Lubbock Association of Realtors

The Lubbock Association of Realtors (LAR) and the many companies they represent are long-time supporters of Lubbock Area United Way. LAR kicked off their United Way campaign in May, and today we're visiting with their Executive Officer Cade Fowler, Board President Teresa Smith with Exit Realty, and Campaign Chair Lesli Spears with Williams & Co Real Estate. Cade, Teresa, and Lesli share why they are personally involved with United Way, about LAR's support, and the impact that they see United Way making on realty, business, economics, and so much more on the South Plains.

Episode 12: The United Way Kids Take Over with Caroline McAfee, Rhylee Green, and Lincoln McCain

At United Way, we've been working hard through the month of July to prepare for a fantastic fall with lots of opportunities for you to get involved and support our community. So today on the podcast, the United Way kids are taking over and telling us their favorite things about reading. Hosting is Amanda's daughter Caroline McAfee, she is a student at Talkington School for Younger Leaders. Joining her are Rhylee Green, a student at Rise Academy, and Lincoln McCain, a student at Waters Elementary. Caroline, Rhylee, and Lincoln share a little about their favorite books, other reading activities they love, and the impact reading makes in their own lives.

Episode notes:

• Rhylee's favorite book: The Only Black Girls in Town 
• Lincoln's favorite book: The Color Kittens 
• Caroline's favorite book: The Hunger Games Trilogy 
• Rhylee is currently reading Serena Says.
• Lincoln is currently reading The Word Collector.
• Caroling is currently reading Frankly in Love.

Check out the Summer Reading Calendar

Episode 13: Why transparency and accountability matter with Chris Hook and Devin McCain

We're back in your feed! We took a break during July to focus on the fall and the many opportunities we have for you to get involved. So today on the podcast, we thought it was a good time to jump in and talk about our commitment to transparency and accountability and why that matters. Whether you are a donor or a volunteer, you run a nonprofit, or you're thinking about starting one - there is a lot in this episode for you.

As mentioned in the podcast:

• Volunteer for United We Read on October 21
• Make your gift to inspire new stories every day
• Join us for our 75th Anniversary Celebration, Moments of Hope

Episode 14: A preview of the 2021 Annual Campaign with Mark Griffin and Lynn Owens

Our 75th United Way Campaign kicks off this Thursday with a luncheon at the Civic Center and a special keynote from Dr. Jim Jackson. Before everything gets going, we wanted to sit down with 2021 Campaign Chair Mark Griffin and our VP of the Annual Campaign Lynn Owens to talk about why it matters. Mark's love for this community and the great people of the South Plains shows through in this episode. Hear from him how the close to $6million raised in the campaign impacts lives more than 115,000 times annually.

Learn more https://www.liveunitedlubbock.org/campaign

Episode 15: United We Read with Liz Morgan and Devin McCain

On October 21st, we're celebrating literacy with our 4th Annual United We Read. On that day, more than 500 volunteers will be in every second-grade classroom in Lubbock County reading the same book at the same time. Thanks to our sponsors, every student will go home with a copy of the book. Today, we're talking with Liz Morgan, 2021 Chair of our Start Smart Workgroup, and Devin McCain, Vice President of Community Impact about United We Read and other Start Smart programs in the works.

Sign-up to volunteer for United We Read

Learn more about our Start Smart Initiative

Episode 16: The Community Status Report with Sarah Self-Walbrick and Devin McCain

Today on the podcast, we're sharing an interview from TTU Public Media with our own Devin McCain about the release of the 2021 Community Status Report.

Learn more and read the Community Status Report

Episode 17: Domestic Violence Awareness Month with Jason Henry

We visited with Jason Henry, Executive Director with Women's Protective Services. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. We talked with Jason about what domestic and family violence looks like on the South Plains and ways we can all get involved to help prevent violence and raise awareness around the issue.

Learn more about Women's Protective Services at https://www.wpslubbock.org/

Episode 18: The Boys & Girls Club of Lubbock with Tom Vermillion and Rachel Elbert

On this podcast, we're starting a new series to celebrate four of our Community Partners who have been with us since Lubbock Area United Way was founded in 1946. It's the perfect way to finish out our 75th Anniversary. For this episode, we're catching up with Tom Vermillion and Rachel Elbert at the Boys and Girls Club of Lubbock. Tom is the organization's Executive Director, and Rachel is the Unit Director for the J.T. & Margaret Talkington Club.

You can learn more about the Boys and Girls Club of Lubbock and how to get involved at https://lubbockbgc.org/

Episode 19: The Salvation Army with Major David Worthy and Erica Hitt

In this episode, we're continuing our series with our original four Community Partners. Today, we're joined by Major David Worthy and Erica Hitt with the Salvation Army. Major Worthy is the organization's Executive Director and Erica is the Social Services Manager.

You can learn more about the Salvation Army and how to get involved at https://www.salvationarmytexas.org/lubbock/

Episode 20: The Boy Scouts with Nathan Baie and Chuck Heinz

In this episode, we're continuing our series with our original four Community Partners. Today, we're joined by Nathan Baie and Chuck Heinz with the Boy Scouts, South Plains Council. Nathan is the Executive Director for the South Plains Council and Chuck is the 2021 Board Chair. Both are themselves Eagle Scouts and have a long history with the organization.

You can learn more about the South Plains Council and how to get involved at www.southplainscouncil.org/

Episode 21: The Girl Scouts with Becky Burton, Nekisha Henry, Shannon Spencer, and Marilyn Jones

In this episode, we're continuing our series with our original four Community Partners. Today, we're joined by Becky Burton, Nekisha Henry, Shannon Spencer, and Marilyn Jones with the Girl Scouts. Becky is the Chief Executive Officer, Marilyn is the Chief Development and Community Relations Officer, Nekisha is the Vice President of Mission Delivery, and Shannon is the Staff Development and Volunteer Experience Coordinator.

You can learn more about the Girl Scouts of the Texas Oklahoma Plains and how to get involved at https://www.gs-top.org/