Local Austin infill builders raised $10,000 to help pay off the lunch debts of Austin ISD students. This effort by the Austin Infill Coalition was spearheaded by Ed Ishmael—a local lawyer and developer who builds houses on Austin’s east side.
“While our members are already contributing to our city in various ways, we wanted to find a way, as a group, to give back to this City we all love and to the communities in which we build. Paying off student lunch debt seemed perfect for our first effort,” states Mr. Ishmael who formed the non-profit “Builders Care Austin” as a vehicle for philanthropy from the infill building community.
Austin ISD allows students to buy their lunches on credit. Austin ISD will be receiving the Builders Care check at a presentation Tuesday, May 8, at Blackshear Elementary, at 12:30 PM.
“We are so grateful to Builders Care Austin for their generosity and support of our students. This is huge,” said AISD’s Executive Director of Food Services and Warehouse Operations Anneliese Tanner. “We estimate this $10,000 will pay for 3,400 student lunches and reduce the districtwide student lunch debt considerably.”
As of April 20, the total student lunch debt for AISD was about $31,000. Builders Care hopes to eventually help retire the remaining debt, as well, and possibly, make this an annual effort.
Initially, Builders Care Austin set a goal to raise $1,500 to retire all student lunch debts in east Austin’s 78702 ZIP code, but within hours of sending the first contribution request, the group blew past that goal.
“What an incredibly generous group. Austin infill builders don’t just build in Austin’s neighborhoods, we care about our communities,” Chairperson of the Austin Infill Coalition, Lex Zwarun, said. “The response was immediate, tremendous and heartwarming. Within hours of sending the initial email, we crushed our original goal, so we decided to raise the goal to $5,000. But before we could even send out that challenge, we surpassed that amount, as well.”
Within the first 72 hours, the group raised $7,500 and aimed higher at $10,000, which they have now reached. So far, Builders Care Austin has received donations from more than 50 builders and those affiliated with infill building in Austin.
“It is frustrating in a prosperous city to know families are struggling at the basic level of a school lunch. You can’t overstate the importance of a meal here. This group of builders helped alleviate a financial burden for their neighbors and that feels good. It was the easiest, most enthusiastic fundraising effort I’ve witnessed,” said David Whitworth, local infill builder and contributor.
Infill builders deliver housing inside the city in existing neighborhoods near job centers, which is easier on the environment than suburban building and less of a strain on the municipal budget, since infill building optimizes existing infrastructure and city service areas.