About the East Austin Community Development Center
Southwest Key’s national headquarters is located at the East Austin Community Development Center at 6002 Jain Lane, Austin, Texas. Southwest Key completed construction on the $8 million facility in the economically disadvantaged Govalle/Johnston Terrace neighborhood in 2007 to be a launching pad for increasing the educational attainment and employability of residents, leading to higher paid employees, increased tax revenues and civic and economic engagement of residents. The Center is home to a Boys & Girls Club, GED and ESL classes, the AMD Community Technology Center, an outdoor amphitheater and Latino arts program, and a variety of educational programs and recreational facilities.
Southwest Key's Community Center (Centro de Familia) in East Austin is now the official Polling Site for Precinct #123. Early voting for the Texas Primary Elections February 16-26, 2010, and Election Day is March 2nd. View Southwest Key's Voters Guide to Contested Judicial Races here.
East Austin Childrens Promise
Austin enjoys a reputation as one of the country’s most livable cities and
frequently occupies numerous top 10 lists of places to live and work.
Although that is true for many, the realities for the children of East Austin
paint a different picture. East Austin has suffered from systematic economic
under-investment for many years. The result is that children in these
communities fall behind their peers early on and struggle to keep up to
reach their potential.
Southwest Key Programs launched its East Austin Children’s Promise to ensure that for all East Austin children, that the best that Austin has to offer will also be available to them. To achieve this goal, Southwest Key Programs (SWK) is identifying partners who are interested in working together to provide a support
network that transforms neighborhoods and provides opportunities for all children to succeed.
The Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ) is an internationally renowned
program in New York City that operates an integrated system of education,
social services and community-building programs within Harlem, (a pipeline if you will) to help
all children achieve their potential.
Here at Southwest Key’s, we have already begun to replicate this model starting in the Govalle/Johnston neighborhood where we are located, have a strong foothold and enjoy considerable community support and trust. Then, along with our partners, we envision building capacity to expand into other East Austin neighborhoods that need help. Through this model, wrap-around programs create a comprehensive support network that has the potential to transform a neighborhood.
We invite you to become one of our partners, and help make the East
Austin Children’s Promise a reality. Please contact Joella Brooks at
512.583.2518 or jbrooks@swkey.org or Esther Reyes at 512.583.2563or reyese@swkey.org for more information.
East Austin College Prep Academy
From the start, a cornerstone of all of our programs has been culturally-relevant education. For 12 years we have refined our model by operating leading alternative schools throughout Texas, preventing hundreds of youth from dropping out of school by providing them with individualized education in a therapeutic setting. Our innovative educational model was fully realized with the opening our charter middle school, the East Austin College Prep Academy, in 2009.
Southwest Key Social Enterprises
Just as we help our families to become self-sufficient, Southwest Key is taking innovative steps toward greater self-sufficiency itself. We operate two small businesses at the Center: Southwest Key Maintenance & Janitorial and Café del Sol (menu PDF). These social enterprises serve a double bottom line creating jobs for low income residents while bringing in funds to support the nonprofit mis-sion. Our Social Enterprise Complex, creating over 100 jobs and housing these and other workforce development initiatives, will be first of its kind in the country when construction is com-pleted at our East Austin Headquarters in 2011.
For more information about the Southwest Key East Austin Community Center, contact Melissa Villarreal, Cultural Arts and Community Enrichment Coordinator, at mvillarreal@swkey.org or 512-583-2505.
Mailing List
To receive updates on Southwest Key’s work in East Austin, send an email “Subscribe” in the subject field to subscribe@swkey.org.
The East Austin Community Development Project was made possible through the generous support of: |
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