Having the required school supplies is critical to success for all our students, but not all our neighbors are able to afford this expense. For the eighth year running, LTlov communicated a call for help on behalf of these families and our community responded with generous donations of the materials necessary to the learning process.
Project Supply Pack, part of LTlov’s School Supplies Program, delivered prepackaged campus and grade specific school supplies directly to 275 LTISD students from 175 families, coded Economically Disadvantaged, on their desks at campus Back to School Night events. Following the application deadline for campus-assigned supply packs, our School Supplies Program committee set to work with the goal of providing ALL financially limited students with the supplies needed including late applications, backpacks, basic supplies for Lake Travis High School students who do not participate in the pre-packaged ordering system, supplies for the Cav Lounge and supplies for teacher’s closets at HBMS and LTES. Community donations of requested school supplies, cash and gift cards made this goal attainable and all students who requested assistance received the help they needed.
LTlov is extremely grateful to the Schoen Foundation which provided a $15,000 grant to Project Supply Pack, as well as LTISD, the Lake Travis Crisis Ministries and PODER who promoted awareness of the Project Supply Pack Application and deadline. The list of businesses, organizations and individuals who supported this year’s School Supplies Collection drive is extensive. The Pedernales Fire Department hosted 2 special events which resulted in many bags of school supplies and presented us with a $400 cash donation, Coldwell Bankers United Realtors in Lakeway and the Sonesta Hotel each collected a large box of supplies, Austin Ridge Church provided 40 filled high school backpacks, HEB donated 40 backpacks and Tuscany Village provided 12 filled backpacks. Huge thanks go to the Lakeway Veterinary Clinic, Strandz Salon, the Lake Travis Community Library, Kuper Sotheby’s, Nitro Swimming, World of Tennis, Elite Wellness, Flipnastics, Champions TX and Hill Country Indoor who hosted our collection bins. The consistent generosity of Lake Travis residents resulted in 17 bins full of supplies and just under $5,000 in cash donations. Special thanks go to the many volunteers who helped us sort, pack and distribute supplies including the Lake Travis Young Men’s Service League and the LTHS National Honor Society, the Lake Travis School District for providing a room at the LTHS Annex, and to all the volunteers who dedicated over 150 hours to this much-needed program. In total, we were honored to provide over 350 students from all LTISD campuses with the supplies required for success in the classroom.
2018 was another busy and meaningful year for LTlov! LTlov has been serving the Lake Travis area for 11 years now, and we are pleased to have provided over $1.1 million dollars in cash and in kind donations to struggling families in our Lake Travis community!
As an organization we’ve learned that education is the key to fighting poverty. Children who are consistently lacking in the resources that most of their peers take for granted are not only academically challenged, but our research indicates that these children are sidelined emotionally as well. It is our goal to make sure that these children have all of the resources they need to succeed in school.
We are proud of the fact that in 2018 we brought in $73,850 and of that, distributed $72,628. That is 98% that went back out to our Lake Travis community! And, it is important to remember that the time spent as a part of LTlov is completely voluntary. I’d like to thank our board, our many members, and our generous community for their dedication and partnerships that have helped LTlov achieve it’s goals this past year.
In the coming days, you will be receiving emails inviting you to support our one and only fundraiser, Amplify ATX. Our 24-hour event is February 28th. We need as many members as possible to join us in creating personal fundraising pages so that we can reach our $20,000 goal. We live here, so we give here!
As the new President of LTlov, I look forward to continuing the good work that Michelle and others started 11 years ago. I’m excited for the opportunity to lead LTlov into the future as we continue the work of helping our neighbors overcome limiting circumstances.
– Kim Kahle, President |
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Ho! Ho! Ho! Way to go!
Lake Travis helped Green Santa spread the joy of the season to neighbors challenged by limited finances, as once again, LTlov received an abundance of donations to provide gifts and family meals to 600 children in the Lake Travis area. Neighbors helping neighbors drives and fuels LTlov’s mission and LTlov Green Santa program chair, Sheryl Kelly and her team, witnessed this in action to serve 195 local families in need of a little extra help for the holidays with three gifts, a book and a stuffed animal for the children and H-E-B food cards to help stretch family food budgets.
The Green Santa program would not be possible without the support of the entire Lake Travis community and heartfelt thanks go out to everyone who donated time and/or resources, with special recognition to the generous businesses and organizations whose donations made the food card component possible: Ladies of Charity- Lake Travis, Point of Origin, HEB, Lakeway/Lake Travis Rotary Club, A to Z Dog Ranch, Texstar Integra Insurance, Thrash Law Firm, Eco Safe Wastewater Technologies, Lakeway A/C & Heating, Wink Medical Aesthetics, Terrel Veterinary Clinic, Woofs Pet Salon, Mangieri’s Pizza Cafe, Canyon Creek Homes, Bee Cave Family Chiropractic, Lakeway Spine Center, Kris Ancell-Batte/Allure Salon, Champion Family Chiropractic, Pinnacle Detailing and Cypress Custom Pools; and provided donation sites: LTISD school campuses, Terrell Veterinary Clinic, Lake Travis Community Library, Lakeway Activity Center, Chick-Fil-A Lake Travis, World of Tennis, Prosperity Bank, Strandz Salon, Moreland Properties, Bee Cave Family Chiropractic, Kuper Sotheby’s, Luxe Salon, Body Balance Physical Therapy, Caldwell Banker United Realtors, Point of Origin and the Lakeway Police Officer’s Association. Green Santa is also grateful to have been the beneficiary of events and collections hosted by Sing Along, Point of Origin, the Ladies Tennis Association of The World of Tennis and WCID 17.
LTlov extends sincere appreciation to the residents of the Lake Travis community for the generous outpouring of toys, gift cards, and cash donations so that each registered child would have presents and a special holiday meal, with special mention of Western Industries who donated all collection and gift boxes, Youth2Seniors who provided a stuffed animal for every child, HEB’s Read3 program for the donation of 700 books, Hudson Bend Middle School, who wrote letters from Santa to each registered family and LTISD for providing the space needed to store, sort, box and distribute the more than 2000 gifts received. Finally, a great, big Ho Ho Ho to all volunteers, with a special thank you to the Young Men’s Service League, for helping sort toys, pack family gift boxes and ensure that the distribution process went smoothly. For more information about LTlov, visit www.ltlov.org.
On June 19, 2018, LTlov awarded scholarship grants to three outstanding seniors graduating from Lake Travis High School this year. Congratulations to this year’s college scholarship recipients: Faith Putman, who will attend the University of Texas and recently made the cheer squad, Jacob McCullough, who will attend Southwestern University, and Rachel Williams, who will attend Texas A & M University in the fall. Pictured with Kelly Johnson, LTlov College Scholarships Chair, Fionnuala Stockton, LTlov VP, Programs and LTHS Principal Gordon Butler.
Thank You for an amazing Green Santa Outreach!
We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the Lake Travis community for supporting another very successful Green Santa program. Each year we are amazed by the outpouring of donations and this year was no exception as your generosity helped provide gifts and family meals to 681 children in the Lake Travis area. Community sharing ensures that everyone can have a joyous holiday, including the many volunteers who shared the gift of time by sorting donations and packing the family toy boxes. Neighbors helping neighbors is the heart of LTlov’s mission and this was fully evident over the past few weeks as together we served 224 local families in need of a little extra help for the holidays.
Green Santa could not have made young dreams come true without the support of our amazing Lake Travis businesses: our holiday meal underwriters, Ladies of Charity- Lake Travis, HEB, Woofs Pet Salon, Mangieri’s Pizza Cafe, Lakeway A/C & Heating, Terrell Veterinary Clinic, Strandz Salon, Bee Cave Family Chiropractic, Thrash Law Firm, John Pate Construction, Inc, Café Lago and Realty Austin’s Sherry Ellenbogen; and our donation stations: LTISD school campuses, Lake Travis Community Library, Lakeway Activity Center, Chick-Fil-A Lake Travis, World of Tennis, Prosperity Bank, Strandz Salon, Moreland Properties, Bee Cave Family Chiropractic, Kuper Sotheby’s, Luxe Salon, Body Balance Physical Therapy, Caldwell Banker United Realtors, Point of Origin and the Lakeway Police Officer’s Association.
We are also grateful to have been the beneficiary of events hosted by Sing Along, Point of Origin, the Ladies Tennis Association of The World of Tennis, the Lakeway/Lake Travis Rotary Club, Wink Medical Aesthetics, the Ladera Neighborhood Association and Hudson Bend Middle School.
We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to the residents of the Lake Travis community, and especially Austin Families For Families, who donated toys, gift cards, and money so that each registered child would have presents and a special holiday meal to enjoy with their family. Finally, a great, big Ho Ho Ho to Western Industries who donated our collection and gift boxes, Youth2Seniors who provided all of our stuffed animals, HEB’s Read3 program for a donation of 750 books, the Christian Compassion Canter and the Lake Travis Thrift Shop for stocking stuffers and to LTISD for providing the space needed to store, sort, box and distribute the more than 2000 gifts we received. This program was made possible by our Green Santa chair, Sheryl Kelly and her amazing committee!
What began as a simple desire to bring awareness to the existing, but mostly unknown, plight of local families living in real, economic distress, has stretched into ten years of serving those families through programs dedicated to achieving our vision of a compassionate community without economic or educational disparity. It has been an honor and a worthy challenge to guide LTlov over the past 10 years. I am indebted to the women who spent long hours directing our formation and forever grateful to the members who have joined us in our mission! I am honored by the ways that our residential and business communities have so generously supported LTlov and our mission to support neighbors helping neighbors to overcome limiting circumstances. That spirit of generosity, along with our motto of, “Do good and have fun doing it,” was in full swing at our 10th birthday celebration at the home of long-time member, Eileen Alter on October 26th.. Thank you to everyone who joined us and for your donations of personal care items for the Lake Travis and Spicewood crisis ministries, children’s pajamas for Peaceful Dreams and sneakers for Fight Club, a program for at risk LTHS students. Thank you Plate by Dzintra, Thai Spice, Mangieri’s, Little Greek, Flores, Papa Murphy’s, Toscano, Chick-fil-A, The Grove, Café Lago, The League and Tony C’s for providing delicious refreshments; Hill Country Cakery for our amazing birthday cake; Magpie, Point of Origin and Eileen Alter Art for donating wonderful door prizes; Suzanna Choffel and Black Fret for fabulous entertainment; and finally, a special shout out to the LTHS PALS students who responded cheerfully to every request for assistance throughout the event.
It has been a privilege to experience the power of ordinary people coming together to do something extraordinary with sincere hearts for those struggling in our midst. I have been a witness to countless miracles, innovative ideas and affirmative responses to requests for members to step into leadership roles. I have been thanked, hugged and recognized more than I deserve and that has been a great blessing. I would like to thank our board, the membership and our generous community for making LTlov a key player in the fight against poverty in the Lake Travis area.
With all due respect,
Michelle Zogas
On August 9th local dental professionals, LTlov and community volunteers came together for our 7th annual Kids Free Dental Day at the Lakeway Dental Office to provide oral health care to local children whose financial circumstances prevent basic dental visits. Each patient received a thorough cleaning and dentist’s exam including x-rays and sealants as needed. Services such as fillings and extractions were performed on the spot in many cases so patients went home with a healthy mouth and a sparkling smile. Over 60% of the children were return patients and 8 patients require follow-up care.
Smiles on both the patients’ and parents’ faces reflected the generous spirit of the dental professionals and support staff that made this day possible. We greatly appreciated the significant role of each volunteer including dentists and staff from our host, Dr. Robby Robinson with Dr. Chris Kimball and the staff of the Lakeway Dental Office, Dr. Trisha Kimes and the staff of Sage Dentistry Austin, Dr. Kendal Shipp with Shipp Family Dentistry, Dr. Clayton Hamilton and Dr. Trevor Hamilton with Hamilton Dental, Dr. Daniel Eaddy and Eaddy Dentistry and Dr. Walkiria Rivera from C & C Dentistry. Thank you to all who gave their time and energy to make this event a tremendous success!
Prepared and Ready to Learn!
School supplies plus love equals success in the classroom for LTISD students for the seventh year running! Each year LTlov communicates a call for help on behalf of local families who cannot afford to send their children to school with the supplies they need. Our community’s resounding “Yes!” means that our children will not lack the materials necessary to the learning process.
Project Supply Pack, part of our School Supplies Program, delivered prepackaged campus and grade specific school supplies directly to 245 students from over 100 families, coded Economically Disadvantaged, on their desks at campus Back to School Night events. Following the application deadline for campus-assigned supply packs, the School Supplies Program committee received additional requests for assistance which were filled by community donations acquired through this year’s collection drive. Collected items, including 292 backpacks, also provided basic supplies to students at Lake Travis High School who do not participate in the pre-packaged ordering system.
LTlov is extremely grateful to the Schoen Foundation which provided a $15,000 grant, Ladies of Charity-Lake Travis who provided $2,500 in funding and Lexus of Lakeway for donating a $1000 grant to fund Project Supply Pack 2017. We rely heavily on LTISD, the Lake Travis Crisis Ministries and PODER to promote awareness of the Project Supply Pack Application. The list of businesses, organizations and individuals who supported this year’s School Supplies Collection drive is extensive: First Service Residential Services Austin teamed up with Watkins Insurance, Dorsett Johnson & Swift LLP, Rough Hollow Highland Village and Tuscan Village Lakeway to provide 120 filled backpacks; Austin Ridge Church provided 30 filled high school backpacks, Sonesta Hotel donated a large box of loose supplies and Chick-fil-A, the Lakeway Veterinary Clinic, Strandz Salon, the Lake Travis Community Library, Kuper Sotheby’s, High 5, Nitro Swimming, Finley’s Barber Shop, Corrective Chiropractic, World of Tennis, Elite Wellness, HEB and Vik Complete Care hosted collection bins. For the Children, Inc., an Austin-based non profit organization, donated 12 large boxes of basic supplies. We are especially thankful for the consistent generosity of the Lake Travis community who provided 122 backpacks, basic supply items that filled 13 large bins and just under $5,000 in cash donations, including a very generous check from the West Cypress Hills Neighborhood, which will be used to fill wish list requests at LTISD campuses with the highest percentage of students who qualify for the Free & Reduced Federal Lunch Program. Special thanks go to the many volunteers who sorted, packed and distributed supplies including the Lake Travis Young Men’s Service League and the LTHS National Honor Society, to the Lake Travis School District for providing a room at the LTHS Annex to receive, sort and re-distribute supplies, and to all the volunteers who dedicated over 150 hours to this much-needed program. In total, we are honored to have served over 350 students from all LTISD campuses with the supplies they needed, with the remaining supplies used to offer a “shopping event” for LTHS teachers.
Congratulations to our 2017 College Scholarship recipients!
From left, Hunter Hundley who will attend TCU with a major in Biology, Huong Nguyen who will attend Texas A&M with a major in Biochemistry and Will Smith who will attend UT San Antonio with a major in Cybersecurity.
Congratulations to our 2016 College Scholarship recipients!
From left, Aria Nicolai, who will attend the University of Texas, Sydney DeNisio, Texas A&M University and Kayla German, Texas State University. These 3 students displayed the excellent qualities of hard work, perseverance, and dedication to the varied and rigorous criteria required to succeed in college and we are honored to help them reach their goals. Pictured with members of the LTlov College Scholarship Program committee, from left, Kelly Johnson, Julie Metscher and Nancy McDonald.
