Features
A Subscription Box with a Mission
Mamas are busy. Very. We have so many tiny things to take care of that worrying about something as huge as the environment can be overwhelming. What can we do? Where do we start? Sure […]
Mommy Mob
Austin
Give Back: Keep Austin Beautiful
We are thankful to live in such a fabulous place. How can we make sure it stays that way? We’ll be bringing you ideas on how you can keep Austin a special place all year […]
Austin
Give Back: Capital Area Food Bank
We are thankful to live in such a fabulous place. How can we make sure it stays that way? We’ll be bringing you ideas on how you can help our fellow Austinites all year long […]
Austin
It’s Giving Tuesday. How Will You Give?
We have a day for giving thanks. We have two for getting deals. Now, we have #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back. #GivingTuesday inspires people to take collaborative action to improve their local […]
Events
Event: Austin Empty Bowl Project, 11/22
The Austin Empty Bowl Project is an effort by Austin area potters to fight hunger. Always the Sunday before Thanksgiving, this annual family-friendly event invites you to select your favorite from thousands of locally crafted […]
Austin
Adopt-A-Child & Adopt-A-Family Opportunities In Greater Austin, 2015
Many of us are thinking of ways we can give back as a family this holiday season. One way to make the holidays a little brighter for all Austin families is to sign up to […]
Events
Event: Meals On Wheels Caregivers Drive Until December 4
Cook-Walden Funeral Homes are collecting items for Meals on Wheels and More during its annual Caregivers Drive. Donate the following items from 8am-5pm until December 4, 2015: new blankets socks Ensure toiletries pet items (food, […]
Austin
2015 Holiday Family-Friendly Volunteer Opportunities in Central Texas
The holidays are coming, and for many families, that means giving. Before you fill your family calendar for the remainder of the year, check out the following volunteer opportunities that will make you feel good […]
Events
Event: Style, Beauty & Baubles Benefiting The Shade Project, 11/5
Style, Beauty and Baubles is an evening filled with the latest in Fall/Winter fashions, original and inspired jewelry creations and beauty and skin care tips for the season. Light bites and sips as well as […]
Events
Event: FARE Walk for Food Allergy, 11/7
When my son was little, a girl in his playgroup was diagnosed with a gluten allergy. At the time, I didn’t know much about food allergies. Hearing her mom’s story and better understanding the way […]
Events
Event: Austin Bat Cave’s Bat-to-School Bash 2015, 10/25
Austin Bat Cave, a non-profit that teaches free writing programs for kids ages 6-18, is hosting its Bat-to-School Bash 2015, featuring Jackie Venson, on Sunday, October 25 from 4-7:30pm at ONE-2-ONE on S. Lamar. The […]
Events
Event: 4th Annual Spooktober 5k & Fall Fest, 10/17
The Friends of Austin State Supported Living Center is hosting the 4th annual Spooktober event on October 17th, a family-friendly event which includes a 5K run/walk, a Kids K, and a fall festival for everyone! […]
Austin Music Mama
Event: Groundwork Music Project’s Fall Family Fun-Raiser, 10/18
Groundwork Music Project is hosting an afternoon of music and fun at Nutty Brown Café on Sunday, October 18th from 3 to 6 p.m. The 6th Annual Family FUN-raiser will feature local favorite Elizabeth McQueen […]
Volunteer
BookPeople Partnering To Fight Childhood Hunger In October
Inspired by Crenshaw, the new book by Newbery Medalist Katherine Applegate, BookPeople is partnering with Macmillan Children’s Group and bookstores around the country to raise awareness of childhood hunger. Throughout the month of October, BookPeople […]
Events
Event: Happy Birthdays First Birthday Bash, 10/25
Recently, we told you about Sharing Happy Birthdays, the non-profit organization that Suzanne Gladden started with the hopes that, one day, every child in Austin would be able to have a birthday party. Happy Birthdays […]
Events
Event: Little Helping Hands Big Night Out 2015, 9/26
Time to call those babysitters, because one of our favorite non-profits in town, Little Helping Hands, is having its 4th annual Big Night Out on Saturday, September 26 from 6:30-10:30pm at the Mexican American Cultural […]
Volunteer
How To Help Refugees Internationally And In Austin
Many of us have felt heartsick, seeing images of families fleeing the Middle East and making their way over land and water in search of a better life. The inevitable questions come: how can we […]
Austin Music Mama
Event: 2015 HAAM Benefit Day, 9/1
HAAM Benefit Day is a nationally recognized city-wide musical celebration that helps keep music in Austin alive and well. Businesses large and small take part on HAAM Benefit Day by agreeing to make a cash […]
Austin
2015 List of Austin-Area School Supply Drives
This post originally appeared on GivingCityAustin. Please check the post for updates. There could never be enough school supply drives. Here’s why: According to the Texas Education Agency, this past school year, 47 percent of […]
Austin
Report from Austin Delegate Berkeley Barnett on the 2015 JDRF Children’s Congress
Hanging out at the pool. Watching movies with friends. Going to a concert. Berkeley Barnett, a rising junior at Westlake High School, has probably been doing a lot of the things other teens in Austin […]
Volunteer
Backpacks for Hope
Donate NEW backpacks and school supplies, and bring HOPE to kids and their moms for the new school year during the 5th Annual Backpacks for Hope Drive. The Texas Advocacy Project is collecting NEW backpacks […]
Events
Event: National Trails Day, June 6, 2015
On June 6, 2015, Austin Parks Foundation, Hill Country Conservancy, and Texas Conservation Corps are partnering to host Austin’s local National Trails Day (NTD), the American Hiking Society’s nationwide trails awareness program. Each year Austin […]
Austin
Little Helping Hands’ New Headquarters Helps Expand Services
After launching a successful fundraising campaign, local nonprofit Little Helping Hands now has a space of its own. As Allison Johnson, the organization’s Marketing Coordinator, explained, “We have been operating out of our Executive Director’s […]
Austin
Kid Entrepeneurs Share Lemonade Day Lessons Learned
Running a lemonade stand is a childhood rite of passage. The memories of that jar filling up with coins evoke strong feelings of nostalgia for many of us, even as adults. Lots of lessons can […]
Features
Four Tips For Raising a Green Child From Doing Good Together™
As you are probably well aware, Earth Day is Wednesday, April 22nd. I’m quite certain you can find 10,000 Earth Day crafts on Pinterest, but what things can you as a family do every day […]
Austin
Making Birthdays Brighter for Austin Kids in Foster Care and Shelters
We recently celebrated my son’s birthday. Between all the why-don’t-people-RSVP-alreadys, worrying about how to get a donut cake to the venue without toppling over, realizing the kid-written invitations were slightly illegible (and that at least […]
Mommy Mob
Sick of the STAAR Tests? Here’s What Some Parents Are Doing
Editor’s Note: This article initially included a passage, provided by a TAMSA official, which suggested that children are required by law in the state of Texas to take the STAAR test. At this time, we […]
Events
Event: Children’s Climate March
Junior Scout Troop 471 is organizing a Children’s Climate March for April 25th which is supported by two City Council Members, Save Barton Creek Association, the Sierra Club, the City of Austin Music Office, and […]
Volunteer
8th Annual Handbags for Hope Drive
Donate your new & gently used handbags, and bring HOPE to women & children this Mother’s Day. Children in shelters across Texas will select a donated handbag, courtesy of The Texas Advocacy Project, to give […]
Events
Event: It’s My Park Day
Each year, the Austin Parks Foundation mobilizes thousands of volunteers across the city to improve parks and greenbelts throughout the city in their biggest volunteer event, It’s My Park Day. This year’s event will take […]
Austin
Blood Drives at Barton Creek and Lakeline Malls
The Blood and Tissue Center of Central Texas‘s Bloodmobile will be coming to the back parking area between Nordstrom and Sears over the next few days for holiday blood drives. Donate blood on Monday, December […]
Events
Plant Trees with TreeFolks and the City of Austin in 2015
Thinking about giving back in 2015? Volunteers are sought for “Ready, Set, Plant,” a partnership between the city of Austin Urban Forestry Division, the city of Austin Watershed Protection and TreeFolks to plant small tree […]
Volunteer
Giving Back This Holiday Season While Maintaining Your Sanity
‘Tis the season for articles about giving back. Whether it’s raising kind kids, finding ways to give financially and involve your children or what food banks actually need, my email box and Facebook Newsfeed is […]
Austin
Women and Girls Working To Build a Better Austin
This time of year, many of us think about giving back. With a growing number of Austinites still reeling from the economic downturn and a social services infrastructure struggling to keep up with sustained growth, […]
Austin
Austin-Area Schools Bringing Fresh and Healthy Food to Students
Although Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution has faded into the background since its run ended in 2011, food in schools continues to be a contentious issue. At around the same time, First Lady Michelle Obama founded […]
Volunteer
Do Good With Your Kids This Summer: Little Helping Hands’ Summer Volunteer-a-Thon Challenge
One of our favorite local non-profits, Little Helping Hands, is “turning” 5 in June and celebrating by issuing a Summer Volunteer-a-Thon Challenge. The organization is encouraging Austin kids to spend their summertime making our city […]
Mommy Mob
A Letter From a Mom About STAAR Testing
How do you feel about STAAR testing? Do your kids get stressed to the max when testing time rolls around? Do you agree with the rigors that children have to go through in order to […]
Austin
Season of Giving: #GivingTuesday
At the risk of sounding cliché, we are so lucky. We live in a fabulous city, with all kinds of things for families to do. We sometimes get to wear flip flops in December. We […]
Volunteer
Volunteer Opportunity at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is looking for volunteers to help plant 400-plus native plants to start the Nectar Garden of the Luci and Ian Family Garden, scheduled to open in spring 2014. This first installment for […]
Mommy Mob
The Scoop on What’s Changing for Health Care
Passions run pretty strong when it comes to the nation’s health reform law, the Affordable Care Act (OK, Obamacare). Still, a lot of families don’t know much about the law or what’s set to change […]
Mommy Mob
Back to School: What’s new in Texas schools this year
If asked about what’s different this school year, the kids in your household will probably talk about new teachers, classrooms and school supplies. But parents should know some other changes are on the way since […]
Mommy Mob
11 Hits and Misses for Families from this Year’s Texas Legislature
The results of the recent legislative session for this group or that seem to be everywhere in the news, so how about a look at what happened this session for families? True, the governor called […]
Mommy Mob
Moms Making a Difference
Ever heard of the activist roots for Mother’s Day? Back in 1870, Julia Ward Howe, an advocate for equality, women’s rights, peace, and the abolition of slavery, put out a proclamation on what some say was the first Mother’s Day. […]
Features
Libraries of Love Builds a Brighter Future for African Kids, One Book at a Time
I’ve always been an avid reader. Admittedly, I’m the daughter of an English teacher, and have fond memories of summers spent at the library, leaving with arms full of books. As a mother, I can […]
Mommy Mob
Three Moms Every Lawmaker Should Meet
About a year ago, fellow LiveMom blogger Nicole introduced me to Alexandria Garza. A single mother to a little girl, Alexandria was uninsured when doctors diagnosed her with some serious health problems, including a heart […]
Austin
Resources on May 11th AISD Bond Package
It’s that time again. Early voting is already underway for the May 11th Joint General and Special Elections, which for Austinites means a vote on whether to approve $890 million in bonds to fund a […]
Mommy Mob
Raising a Budding Activist
Think back: What’s your earliest memory of wanting to change the world? Chances are, long before you could cast a ballot, you were a kid who cared deeply about something. You truly believed you could […]
Mommy Mob
A Fit Family With Help from the School
Oh, right . . . fitness. Am I the only one who needs reminding about this? When it comes to my family’s health, lots of things manage to get my attention regularly. Runny noses serve […]
Mommy Mob
Mental Health Spotlight: What’s At Stake and Why Lessons in Car Repair Apply
Last fall, my husband informed me my car was leaking something in our driveway. Being responsible, I (eventually) got around to taking the car into our neighborhood garage and asked them to check it out. […]
Mommy Mob
Is it quality? How to know if your preschool is any good
It’s got play dough. It’s got snacks. It’s got swings and slides. But does it have teachers who know what makes little kids tick and can handle my child when she inevitably freaks out? There’s […]