This July, El Buen is celebrating a monumental milestone! On July 19th, we mark Dr. Rosamaria Murillo’s five-year anniversary as our fearless CEO — five years of visionary leadership, unwavering commitment to social justice, and remarkable impact on Central Texas. Affectionately known as Dr. M by her staff, she joined El Buen at a pivotal moment in our history.
Shortly after Dr. M accepted the call to lead El Buen, she faced the unimaginable challenges of the pandemic. She stepped up to the challenge, guiding El Buen and our community with grace and courage. Her love language is “resources” and, guided by that, she secured millions of dollars to serve our neighbors. Dr. M invested this critical funding directly into the community and the many partner organizations that, like El Buen, were bearing the weight of the pandemic.
Dr. M is a force of love, joy, and hope for our beloved community. She inspires everyone around her to believe that the impossible is possible. She loves to surprise staff with her “Manager Specials” – unexpected solutions and creative ideas that keep us moving forward and advance our mission. Thank you, Dr. M, for your tireless work, your love for us all, and your vision for a thriving and equitable future. Here’s to many more years of transformative leadership and community impact.“
Avanzando Futuros!”
Dear Friends and Supporters,
It brings me great joy to share with you our quarterly newsletter “Al Dia.” It was a busy Spring season at El Buen, leading into our Summer programming and the joy of welcoming our campers to our campus. Their smiling, inquisitive faces have fueled our commitment to “Advance the Future!”
In April, El Buen’s 35th anniversary brunch (Avanzando Futuros) and Outdoor Families festival brought together nearly 600friends, supporters, and families for a day of magic, happiness, and belonging. It was a day full of fellowship and fun!
In May, we celebrated the graduation of 15 community members who completed El Buen’s Community Health Worker (CHW)certification program. For over 20 years, El Buen has grown the CHW workforce in Central Texas, facilitating their certification and providing continuing education training sessions. El Buen is proud to serve as a leader in this movement, empowering individuals to serve their communities and create healthier futures.
Throughout the Spring, we united forces with eight powerful nonprofit organizations to create educational opportunities from early childhood through college. Together we established the Cradle to Contributor (C2C) Collaborative, a strategic partnership providing comprehensive services from birth to K12 education, post-secondary education and workforce development. Our collaborative efforts will ensure academic and economic advancement for all the families we serve.
As I write this, I can see 71 students enjoying El Buen’s youth summer camp – students from elementary school all the way through high school. They are engaged in STEM programming, water games, basketball, soccer, arts, and social-emotional learning. It is a joy to see them having fun, forging friendships, and learning skills that will fuel their academic success in theFall. Our Summer will wrap up with our annual back-to-school backpack distribution event on Saturday, August 3rd. We are grateful for the community’s generosity that allows us to send over 1,000 students to their classrooms ready to learn!
Throughout all this excitement, we are also planning for our favorite time of year, Hands for Hope season. We look forward to the cooler Fall weather, the spirit of giving, and the nourishment that food and friendship provide. We thank you for your unwavering support and hope to see you soon on campus soon!
35th Anniversary
April 13th was a day to remember, bringing together more than 300 of our closest friends, donors, volunteers, and community champions. We began the day by celebrating El Buen’s 35th Anniversary with our inaugural Avanzando Futuros brunch. The morning culminated in the unveiling of a beautiful and meaningful mural by internationally renowned muralist Rex Hamilton. The mural symbolizes El Buen’s rich history, our present, and the bountiful future ahead. Highlights included Judge DeniseHernandez’s keynote remarks, reminding us to always be “good ancestors” and the inspiring words of our Excellence Award recipient and Youth Education participant, Andres. He is an example of the bright future ahead of us!
Thank you for taking part in ¡Avanzando Futuros! for our community.
Click here to see the highlights and save the date for Avazando Futuros 2025 on April 5th!
Outdoor Families
After our Avanzando Futuros Celebration, the day continued as we welcomed 250 parents, children, community partners, and vendors to our campus to celebrate Outdoor Families. This event truly symbolizes a community where everyone feels welcomed and experiences a sense of belonging, not to mention fellowship and fun. This annual event brings opportunities for families to access summer camps and other outdoor extracurricular summer activities. We love seeing our families having fun and staying active and healthy together.
C2C Collaborative
This Spring El Buen continued to develop the Cradle to Contributor (C2C) Collaborative. The C2C Collaborative is a strategic partnership of eight BIPOC-led nonprofits, working together to create an ecosystem that provides comprehensive and seamless services to individuals and families. Together we offer high-quality care and support by addressing service gaps across the developmental continuum – from early childhood to post-secondary education, workforce development, and economic advancement opportunities. The C2C Collaborative is transforming systems through innovation, co-creation, and connection, guided by the principle of “nothing about us without us.”
Congratulations to our newest Community Health Worker grads!
During the Spring, fifteen amazing community members from across Central Texas completed El Buen’s 160-hr Community Health Worker certification program and earned their certification as CHW’s. Our newly certified CHW’s work in both urban and rural settings and come from diverse backgrounds and communities. To support CHW’s in maintaining their certification, El Buen partnered with CARDEA, UT School of Nursing, Planned Parenthood, and Literacy Coalition of Central Texas to provide continuing education (CEUs) to over 150 CHW’s in Central Texas. Check out our Spring 2024 graduates here! We are excited to already have a cohort of 15 individuals enrolled for our Fall training.
May Open House
We were so pleased to open our doors on May 14th for El Buen’s first Open House and Campus Tour. It was our privilege to welcome our valued donors, volunteers, and community partners for an informative presentation on the challenges faced byLatino youth in the Central Texas education system. Dr. Rosamaria Murillo (CEO) and Emily Ledesma (Associate Director ofEducation) shared the latest data and how El Buen is providing opportunities for the youth and families we serve. Cathy Greenlaw, El Buen Board member, commented “A friend and I attended the May Open House which not only provided an eye-opening introduction to El Buen’s mission, programs and services, but also was a great opportunity to see El Buen in action -community helping community.”
We would like to extend an invitation for you to join us at El Buen’s Quarterly Open House series, each focused on a different pillar of our work!
Focus: Food Access
August 6th at 9am
7000 Woodhue Drive, Austin, TX 78745
Summer Fun is Here!
We hope you enjoy a glimpse of the fun at El Buen’s Summer camp, where kids are enjoying an exciting water day! Splashes and smiles are everywhere as campers beat the heat with water games and activities. When our students aren’t engaging in STEM programming, we ensure a well-rounded experience by incorporating social-emotional learning opportunities, fostering both academic and personal growth. Full-day summer camps cost on average $800 per week. El Buen’s donors allow us to provide full scholarships for eight weeks of all-day summer camp programming. This year we increased the number of youth served from 45 to 71! In the words of one of our middle school students, “My favorite part of camp is the friends that I have made in class and my teachers for having fun activities for us to do.” We are grateful for the staff, volunteers and interns who are making the magic happen for our youth.
Back to School
Hands For Hope
Volunteer and donation opportunities – sponsor a backpack ($50/each)
We invite you to participate in our annual En el Juego: Back to School Campaign – raising awareness about the power of education. Help us provide year-round access to state-of-the-art education services for our youth.
Volunteer and donation opportunities – sponsor a tent for our Hands for Hope event in November or sponsor a holiday meal for a family ($70/each)
Hands for Hope (H4H) season is around the corner and as you prepare for this season of giving, we invite you to join us in loving and nourishing our neighbors by volunteering at our H4H meal distribution event on November 23rd– volunteer applications go live on October 2nd!
Somos El Buen – Join Us Today
Everything we do at El Buen is thanks to the generosity of our supporters. A monthly recurring gift is an easy way to invest in our mission and ensure that families have access to healthy food, education, healthcare and the essential services they need to thrive. Together we can build a stronger community. Together, We Are El Buen!
Look for El Buen in your workplace giving campaign this Fall!
Join us for a fun shopping event with 20% of sales benefiting El Buen Samaritano. Enjoy bubbles and light bites while you shop! If you can’t join us in person, you can call the store number listed below to make your purchase.
Saturday, July 13th, 2024 1:00 – 4:00 PM Consuela Flagship Store 3500 Guadalupe St. Suite B Austin, TX, 78705 (512)201-8024
Connect With Us
Connect with us at development@elbuen.org and schedule a time to tour ourcampus and learn more about our programs and how you can get involved!
