Community Shares of Texas Member Affiliates: COMMUNITY ADVOCATES & EDUCATION We promote services/rights which assist disabled Texans living at home--not nursing homes. We work to increase accessibility to public places, transportation, and housing.ADAPT of Texas is a grassroots disability rights group. With the cry "We Will Ride!" ADAPT of Texas started in 1985 with the fight for lifts on buses. We just had our 21st Anniversary. ADAPT's advocacy lead to Capital Metro becoming the first fully accessible mainline transit system in Texas. Since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA, in 1990 ADAPT has turned our main focus to community attendant services. Our new mottos are: "Our Homes, Not Nursing Homes" and "Free Our People." We tackle other issues as well. Visit ADAPT on the web today! Operating under the philosophy that everyone has a right to safe, decent, fair, and affordable housing, the Austin Tenants’ Council fulfills thousands of requests each year for help with housing problems. ATC programs, which serve residents of the city of Austin and some of its surrounding communities, focus on housing discrimination; tenant-landlord education and information; and housing repair and rehabilitation.
For more than twenty years, the Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) has been a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization committed to improving public policies and private practices to better the economic and social conditions of low- and moderate-income Texans. The center pursues this mission through independent research, policy analysis and development, public education, advocacy, and technical assistance. The center neither supports nor opposes any political party or candidate for office. We focus solely on evaluating public policy as it affects low- and moderate-income Texans. The center's work is divided into workforce and economic development; access to public benefits, including health care, food, and cash assistance; child protection; school finance; state and federal tax and budget analysis; and family economic security. CPPP is also the Texas home to KIDS COUNT, a state-by-state effort to track and promote the well-being of children. Our timely, accessible, and credible research informs policy makers, opinion leaders, the press, and the general public. Visit CPPP on the web today! Genaustin (the Girls Empowerment Network) seeks to ensure that economically-disadvantaged girls will have the skills and confidence to become self-sufficient and lit themselves from poverty. Every year, Genaustin reaches out to more than 1000 mostly low-income girls (67%AISD participants) in 24 schools with each of its major programs: the after-school weekly clubGEN and the in-school speakers series, Girl Talk. Originally called The Ophelia Project, GENaustin (the Girls Empowerment Network) was created in 1996 by 12 concerned mothers raising adolescent girls in Austin, Texas. These mothers met after reading Reviving Ophelia, a book by Dr. Mary Pipher, to address an increasing trend among middle school aged girls - a systematic decline and sometimes permanent loss of self-esteem. The outcome of which can be devastating: epidemic levels of anorexia/bulimia, self mutilation, depression, low academic achievement, teen pregnancy, and drug abuse.
In August of 1970, Maggie Kuhn convened a group of five friends, all of whom were retiring from national religious and social work organizations. This first "Network" of friends gathered to look at the common problems faced by retirees — loss of income, loss of contact with associates and loss of one of our society's most distinguishing social roles, one's job. They also discovered a new kind of freedom in their retirement — the freedom to speak personally and passionately about what they believed in, such as their collective opposition to the Vietnam War. Gathering with college student opposed to the War, this new group, self-named the Consultation of Older and Younger Adults for Social Change met to discuss their common beliefs and values in Philadelphia. One year later more than 100 people joined their Consultation.
Our mission is enhancing the dignity and independence of the elderly and disabled by providing compassionate, quality non-medical in-home care. As our population ages, there is an increasing need for in-home help. For over 30 years, SFTE has provided affordable, quality care to residents of Travis County and portions of Hays and Williamson counties when they are beginning to have trouble keeping up with the tasks of everyday life. We serve the elderly and disabled and women who are recovering from breast cancer surgery or chemo or radiation therapy. We also help family members locate resources needed by their aging parents. We provide employment opportunities for dependable, caring people who enjoy helping older or disabled people. As a non-profit, we provide these services with the help of generous assistance from the community. Personal assistance services can help clients maintain a high quality of life. Sometimes all that is needed is help with tasks that require lifting, such as laundry, or bending, such as mopping floors. Our services and schedules are tailored to individual needs. Visit HAND on the web today! Texas Educational Broadcasting Co-operative / KOOP Radio KOOP is a community radio station owned and operated by its members. Any member of the community can apply to produce a radio program, and KOOP provides facilities and training. KOOP has about 60 different locally-produced programs airing every week, in time slots of 30, 60, 90, or 120 minutes. Each of these programs is produced by an individual member or by a collective of members. KOOP provides a diverse array of programming, emphasizing programs that deal with local issues and/or serve communities which are under-served by the mainstream media. We generally schedule music programs during the day, and news/public affairs programs in the late afternoon.
Texas Folklife is a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and presenting the diverse cultures and living heritage of the Lone Star State. For 23 years, Texas Folklife has honored the authentic cultural traditions passed down within communities and explored their importance in contemporary society. Texas Folklife has been called “one of the state’s true cultural treasures” by the Austin American-Statesman for the accessible, joyful arts experiences we provide. TEXAS R.O.S.E. (Ratepayers Organization to Save Electricity) We are the only public interest group in Texas dedicated to providing straightforward, plain language information, representation before the Public Utility Commission of Texas, advocacy for low-income consumers, and education and training. Texas ROSE has been operating since 1992 and has hundreds of members in all parts of Texas.Texas ROSE works with other consumer groups, consumers, the Public Utility Commission, electric companies, and others to develop programs and policies that benefit consumers, low-income consumers, and the environment.
The Writers' League of Texas is a nonprofit professional organization whose primary purpose is to provide a forum for information, support, and sharing among writers, to help members improve and market their writing skills, and to promote the interests of writers and the writing community.Established in 1981, the Writers' League of Texas is a nonprofit professional organization whose primary purpose is to provide a forum for information, support, and sharing among writers, to help members improve and market their writing skills, and to promote the interests of writers and the writing community. With approximately 1,500 members nationwide, we are composed of published and unpublished writers as well as those who recognize the written word as art and simply love to read. Our name, Writers' League of Texas (formerly Austin Writers' League), reflects our membership base, over 50% of which resides outside the Central Texas area, and represents the numerous programs we offer to the entire community of Texas writers.  Texas Low Income Housing Information Service TxLIHIS is a dynamic organization which responds to problems and opportunities. We look for opportunities where we can apply our resources to develop model solutions to solve critical housing and community development problems. Our values dictate that we seek opportunities for low-income people and communities to solve unmet challenges through a self-help approach. Our recent areas of work, outlined below, illustrate our application of our values to problems and opportunities. Zachary Scott Theatre Center (ZACH) operates two theatre buildings located at the corner of Riverside Dr. & S. Lamar Blvd. on scenic Town Lake. Free parking is available in front of both theatres. Founded in 1932, ZACH is one of Austin's most vibrant and innovative arts organizations and Central Texas' oldest professional theatre. ZACH's mission is to engage Central Texas in a dialogue by producing professional theatre of the highest artistic quality, inspired by a unique artistic vision and to offer a diverse theatre experience which is accessible to the community as a whole. In addition, ZACH fosters artistic education, expression, and development in children, teens and adults through a variety of outreach opportunities. Join the Voice of Social Justice.... BECOME A MEMBER AFFILIATE TODAY!
Community Shares of Texas Member Affiliates: EQUALITY & JUSTICE The ACLU of Texas is at the forefront of advocacy for a variety of civil rights and civil liberties issues. ACLU programs and projects focus on protecting fundamental rights and liberties in the Lone Star State, bringing focused attention to specific threats to rights and liberties and building diverse coalitions of groups to leverage collective power. The ACLU of Texas delves deeply into the causes of threats to civil rights and individual liberty in Texas. The ACLU works in the areas of racial profiling and police accountability - indeed the entire spectrum of Texans' criminal justice concerns - has become a national model, and hasbrought common sense reforms in a conservative state. Likewise, the ACLU of Texas has reached beyond ACLU's traditional courtroom environment. With continued support of members and donors, the ACLU of Texas will continue to exceed expectations and to broaden our reach until no one is above the law's authority and no one is beneath the law's protection. Vist the ACLU on the web today!
Equality Texas is a statewide political advocacy organization working to advance the cause of equality for all Texans. The Equality Texas Foundation conducts research and educates Texans about issues of equality, and helps to coordinate efforts of LGBT and allied organizations across the state. The people of Esperanza dream of a world where everyone has civil rights and economic justice, where the environment is cared for, where cultures are honored and communities are safe. The Esperanza advocates for those wounded by domination and inequality — women, people of color, lesbians and gay men, the working class and poor. We believe in creating bridges between people by exchanging ideas and educating and empowering each other. We believe it is vital to share our visions of hope...we are esperanza. TCADP is a statewide grassroots organization working to end the death penalty in Texas through education and action. We welcome your participation in this work in any capacity. Learn about the death penalty in the Resource section. Check out our many programs and see where your expertise can be most utilized.TCADP has many chapters across Texas doing a lot of the on the ground work, your involvement in a city chapter would be welcomed. If you are in an area not served by a chapter, contact us and consider becoming a regional representative. TCADP has also developed an international committee to help organize our overseas support. We have some documents translated for your consideration and use. Support TCADP's work in Texas through the TCADP international committee. Visit TCADP on the web today!
Established in 1970, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) is a nonprofit organization that provides free legal services to low-income and disadvantaged clients in a 68-county service area that covers the southwestern third of the state, including the entire Texas-Mexico border region. TRLA's mission is to promote the dignity, self-sufficiency, safety and stability of low-income Texans by providing high quality legal services and related educational services. Visit TRLA on the web today! Join the Voice of Social Justice.... BECOME A MEMBER AFFILIATE TODAY!
Community Shares of Texas Member Affiliates: PUBLIC HEALTH & WELLNESS 
Animal Trustees of Austin, Inc. (ATA) is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt, non-profit animal welfare organization. ATA was founded in May of 1993 by concerned citizens desiring to help lost, abused, and abandoned animals in Austin and surrounding counties and to end the crisis of animal overpopulation through sterilization. ATA began with the rescue of Keller, a tiny Chihuahua, born with no eyes. Her spirit sparked the creation of this group of caring women who wanted to help shelter animals, especially special-needs animals. These dedicated "founding mothers" started what is now Animal Trustees of Austin. The organization has grown to include clinics for both wellness and spay/neuter services, provides several programs for animal welfare, and hosts several events throughout the year. Since March 1997, the Spay/Neuter Clinic has safely performed over 72,000 surgeries. Since its inception in June 2002, the Wellness Clinic has provided services to over 85,000 animals.Animal Trustees of Austin has been chosen to be a part of the ASPCA's Mission: Orange program, a focused effort to create a country of humane communities where animals receive the compassion and respect due to them. The ASPCA targets communities nationwide by including and cooperating with area animal-welfare agencies and organizations. ATA is proud to be a partner organization in ASPCA's Mission: Orange program in Central Texas along with Town Lake Animal Shelter, the Austin Humane Society, and EmanciPET. 
BEAT AIDS was founded in 1987 as Black Effort Against The Threat of AIDS. As the name suggests, the founders of BEAT AIDS were pioneers in perceiving how disproportionately vulnerable the African American community (and African American women in particular) was to the threat of HIV/AIDS. Starting with door-to-door outreach and person-to-person connections, the founders of BEAT AIDS started a conversation about HIV/AIDS at a time when it was a taboo subject, and in a community that no one was serving. We held and helped those whom others were afraid to touch, and in those difficult early years, our work included many funerals.In the first ten years of the epidemic, many believed that a cure or a vaccine was around the corner. Unfortunately, while remarkable advances in treatment mean that HIV infection is no longer the death sentence is was, neither a permanent cure nor a preventive vaccine have been forthcoming. Today, as in the days when the founders of BEAT AIDS were walking door-to-door handing hand-made pamphlets, prevention remains our most powerful protection against HIV. Compassion, perseverance and hope are still the weapons we have to fight for life in the face of AIDS.  Casa Marianella opened its doors on January 6, 1986. The Austin Interfaith Task Force for Central America initiated the project in response to the arrival in Austin of refugees fleeing from Central America. Marianella Garcia Villas, for whom the house is named, was a human rights lawyer in El Salvador who was slain by death squads in 1983. The actual building used as the Casa was donated by developer Ed Wendler to the Diocese of Austin for use as a shelter. The original facility of Casa Marianella is located on Gunter Street in Austin, Texas. In addition to beds, Casa has been offering food, clothing, and English classes. At this facility nightly occupancy is 21-30 people, and the average length of stay is 30 days. The majority of persons leaving the shelter are able to find stable housing when they leave.In 2003 Casa Marianella opened a new facility to provide emergency shelter and support to homeless immigrant women and their children.  The Central Texas SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) provides shelter, food, medical care, and adoption services for homeless and abandoned dogs and cats. These services are funded solely by private donations and adoption fees. We receive no government funding and are not contracted as animal control with any local municipality or county. We accept strays as well as owner release animals in addition to rescuing from local "open-door" (kill) facilities on a space available basis. The Central Texas SPCA does not kill shelter pets to make room for more animals, and we can only accept animals as size appropriate space is available in either our cat condos or dog flats. The CTSPCA regards its no-kill mission seriously. In addition to the standard release and rescue, we are able to offer a second chance at life to many animals thanks to our established Special Needs Fund and Foster Care Program. These key elements provide us the opportunity to rescue the occasional injured or sick animals that others may discard as unadoptable. We only face the heart wrenching decision of euthanasia when it is in the most humane medical interest of the animal as deemed necessary by two separate veterinary opinions. These opinions are brought before our Rainbow Committee, comprised of three Board Members, for consideration and a unanimous decision. House The Homeless, Inc., an educational and advocacy group, was founded in Austin, TX in 1989. House The Homeless considers all homeless and formerly homeless individuals to be members of this 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit Corporation. At no time does the makeup of our Board of Directors ever fall below 60% of homeless and formerly homeless people. The Human Potential Center is a nonprofit Fitness Center for the Mind and Heart. We offer programs designed to tap the creativity, the love and the playfulness of the human spirit.The Center is based on the work of humanistic and transpersonal psychologists like Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow and Virginia Satir. Rather than trying to convince you that any one technique or approach to personal growth is the best, we aim to help you find and follow your own personal growth path. We have also written a vision for the Center to help people imagine what we will be like in the future. NARAL Pro-Choice Texas Foundation’s mission is to support and protect, as a fundamental right and value, Texan families’ ability to make personal and private decisions regarding reproductive health through public education, training, organizing, and research. NARAL Pro-Choice Texas is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization and the political arm of the pro-choice movement in Texas. Our mission is to recruit, develop, and sustain a constituency that uses the political process to promote public health policies that guarantee every woman access to the full range of reproductive healthcare. This includes responsible sexuality education, short and long term contraceptive methods, adequate pre-and post-natal care, and legal abortion.
Visit NARAL on the web today. 
Project MEND (Medical Equipment Network for those with Disabilities) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that has assisted many low-income people with disabilities obtain medical equipment and fitted mobility devices for over 12 years. Project MEND understands that in many cases people with disabilities have to depend on family, friends, and the increasingly limited healthcare system when the daily activities of life become insurmountable chores. Through it's recycle and reuse program and financial assistance services, Project MEND helps people with disabilities get through these obstacles. Mobility and independence are basic human rights, and Project MEND encourages that for all people. 
From seed to table, Sustainable Food Center creates opportunities for individuals to make healthy food choices and to participate in a vibrant local food system. Through organic food gardening, relationships with area farmers, interactive cooking classes and nutrition education, children and adults have increased access to locally grown food and are empowered to improve the long-term health of Central Texans and our environment. Join the Voice of Social Justice.... BECOME A MEMBER AFFILIATE TODAY!
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