PLACES TO GO Around the Neighborhood Pages 6-7
WEST SIDE STORIES Ruth Seeger
RIVERCITY The Admirals Club of Austin
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VOLUME 36 ISSUE 9 - SINCE 1986
W E S TA U S T I N N E W S . C O M
SEPTEMBER 28, 2023
Honduras Good Works Receives $100K Challenge Grant From Rathgeber A West Austin legend is again making headlines with his signature generosity. Dick Rathgeber, who is reported to have given over $200 million in charitable contributions, has found a new cause close to his heart: Honduras Good Works. In its 24th year of operation, Honduras Good Works leads an annual Medical Mission Brigade that includes doctors, nurses and dentists from the USA and Honduras, along with Honduran students who translate for the team. Typically, some 2,000 rural villagers are treated through the course of one week. Other programs include scholarships for 225 children annually to attend school beyond sixth grade, in-home water filters which provide 10 years of clean water for 225 families a year, and an annual vitamin program for 2,000 elementary school children. Rathgeber was recruited as an advisor to Honduras Good Works by Celeste Hubert so that this volunteer organization could benefit from his years of wisdom and experience in the nonprofit world, as well as his personal experience as a visitor to Honduras with his St. Martin’s Lutheran congregation. After learning more about this charity and its impact, he decided to issue a Challenge Grant: if Honduras Good Works could raise $200,000 in one calendar year, he would gift them $100,000 and christen the fund Money for Medicine. “There’s an old saying that there’s never a good market for
bad merchandise,” Rathgeber said, “which means that there is always a good market for great merchandise, and HGW is great merchandise. Honduras Good Works has a fantastic ROI - Return On Investment - when they can treat 2000 patients in a week and educate 225 children a year. I’m proud to put my name on their roster of supporters, and encourage my neighbors and friends to do the same.” The Rathgeber name is legendary in West Austin circles. In addition to Dick and Sara’s Rathgeber Village in the Mueller development, their names also grace the Meals on Wheels of Central Texas’ headquarters, as well as Salvation Army Rathgeber Center for Families, and the future Rathgeber Natural Resource Park, 300 acres of pristine Texas Hill Country outside Dripping Springs. He is also the author of Deal Making for Good: Smart Giving = Significant Living. Dr. Brenda Towell, a retired oncologist and Chair Emeritus of Honduras Good Works, said , “Mr. Rathgeber’s gift will allow us to provide higher education to more Honduran children, deliver more water filters to village families, and purchase more prescription drugs so that our patients can have enough medicine to last them a full calendar year rather than the 6-month supply we currently prescribe. He is the answer to our prayers.” Honduras Good Works encourages West Austinites to join their mission in a fun way -- the “Chip-In For HGW” annual fundraiser to be held
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at TopGolf Austin on Sunday, October 29. Among the top sponsors of this event are Per Stirling Capital Management, H-E-B, Maxwell Locke & Ritter, Bartlett Sails & Canvas,
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Reliable Pools and Cornerstone Government Affairs. The evening includes golf games, dinner and drinks, a silent and a live auction featuring vacation stays in The Cayman
Islands, Lake Tahoe, Puerto Vallarta and more. And the tanzanite, diamond, and Australian opal ring raffle prize is bound to be a big hit. Visit https://www.better-
unite.com/hgw-2023-chipin to purchase sponsorships and tickets - all guests are welcome. To learn more about Honduras Good Works, see hondurasgoodworks.org.
Eagle Scout Morgan Jones earns Congressional Gold Medal Award By Alana Moehring Mallard
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Austin Troop 1 Eagle Scout Morgan Jones went to Washington, DC, with his family this summer, where he received a Congressional Gold Medal from Congressman Lloyd Doggett. The Congressional Gold Medal tied together outdoor and environmental awards he has earned and community service he performed and logged to earn the awards. “The road was a long one,” Morgan said of working toward the Congressional Medal, “two years of service and logging. I was honored by the trip, and seeing it pay off was amazing.” Morgan earned more than 400 hours of community service over the 24 months of working toward the Congressional Gold Medal, and logged his research and activities weekly for two years. The Congressional Gold Medal also requires 200 hours of personal development, 200 hours of physical fitness, and a five-day overnight expedition. Morgan fulfilled the expedition requirement with a 12-day overnight backpacking trip in New Mexico. Morgan also recently received a Lockhart Eagle Scholarship from the Capitol Area Council and was named a Spectrum News Scholar Athlete of the month. Morgan graduated from Concordia High School, where he played soccer and baseball, and he now attends SMU to study environmental engineering. His parents are Drs. David and Jennifer Jones. His Troop 1 mentor and Gold Award advisor is Heather Ball. “It was an amazing trip,” Morgan said of his visit to Washington this summer, “and I met so many amazing people. Meeting Congressman Doggett was amazing.”
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