Community Relations Committee

2006 - The Year in Review

Your Community Relations Committee would like to give you a brief overview of the activities and contributions which ALA has been involved in this year. Our goal has been to give something back to our community with our time and money and to involve as many people as possible. Here are the projects and organizations we have helped in 2006:

Read about ALA National's Community Challenge events

April
Relay for Life of Westlake/West Austin
See photos

On Saturday, April 22, Amanda Korte joined your ALA Community Relations Committee members Shannon Athey, Kelly Barker, Sandy Gable, Ellen Gross and Bonnie Zook and freinds for a fun and heartwarming evening at the Westlake Chaps Stadium. The group participated in the American Cancer Society "Relay for Life," an annual event held in communities around the nation to fight cancer through education, advocacy, patient services and research. At the Austin-Westlake Relay, 50 teams with over 500 members participated. We made luminarias to honor or memorialize people who had battled cancer, then listened as bagpipes led a survivors' walk around the track, with only luminarias glowing in the dark.

Our chapter donated $1,000 to the American Cancer Society, and Rebekah Brown, Chrissie Eastin and Amanda Korte raised an additional $1,930. These ladies were each presented a certificate of Appreciation for going beyond the call of duty to raise money. Special thanks also go to our team captain Peggy Shaw.

Declaring the event a huge success, the local American Cancer Society chapter announced that funds raised at the Relay for Life of Westlake/West Austin exceeded $100,000. We're looking forward to participating in this event next April and hope to inspire more of you to join us.

July
Austin Children's Shelter
The Committee sponsored an afternoon of fun making pottery at Ceramics Bayou.

September
Phase I - Community Challenge Weekend
The Committee held a bowling "tournament" at Dart Bowl and collected 90 toys for the Children's Hospital as an entry fee from the chapter members, business partners and friends who attended.

October
Phase II - Community Challenge Weekend
On October 26, the Committee hosted a Halloween Magic Show for the patients, siblings and future patients of the Children's Hospital.

The Chapter also donated $1,000 to the Children's Hospital, and we were told that our contribution will help build the state-of-the-art medical facility that will open in June, 2007.

October 28
Habitat for Humanity
Served lunch to about 25 workers in East Austin