http://www.capitalidea.org

Capital IDEA lifts working families out of poverty by sponsoring educational services for adults that lead to life-long financial independence. Sooch has sponsored many of its programs including scholarships for students pursuing careers in rapidly expanding fields, the College Preparatory Academy, and the donor expansion project.

The College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) at St. Edward’s University is “designed to help end the cycle of poverty by opening the doors of higher education to the sons and daughters of migrant and seasonal farm workers.”  The creation of the Sooch Foundation Endowed Scholarships provides two deserving students with financial support to complete their education.

http://www.humanitiesinstitute.utexas.edu

The mission of the Free Minds Project is to "offer adults traditionally underserved in higher education an opportunity to discover their educational potential in a classroom setting, explore their passions, and plan their own pathways to further education."  Over the course of two semesters, Austin-area adults facing economic and educational barriers receive college-level humanities instruction from top UT-Austin and ACC professors.

http://www.americanyouthworks.org/casa%20verde.htm

American Youthworks mission is building productive lives and better communities.  The Sooch Foundation funds the Casa Verde Builders program, which "transforms young people into self-sufficient adults through education, job training, and community service."  Program participants learn hands-on construction skills to build affordable housing in East Austin communities while simultaneously earning their high school diploma or GED.

www.lifeworksweb.org

Lifeworks' mission is to transition youth and families from crisis to safety and success. Sooch Foundation specifically funds the Ben and Jerry's Partnershop, a youth job skills training program. Participants receive pre-employment and on-the-job training in the store and support to transition to career-oriented training, employment, and higher education. LIfeworks has also recently incorporated Literacy Austin, a Sooch-supported organization since 2006. This program provides instruction for basic literacy and English as a Second Language (ESL) to adults who read below the fifth-grade level, thereby enabling them to be independent, self-sufficient members of our community.

http://www.kippaustinprep.org

KIPP is an innovative charter school in east Austin whose aim is to help all students develop the academic skills, intellectual habits, and character traits needed to succeed in academic and life endeavors. The Sooch Foundation’s recent contribution will create a comprehensive library for student use.

http://www.alegacyofgiving.org

A Legacy's of Giving's (ALOG) mission is to empower children through philanthropy education to become more engaged in improving their communities and world. The Sooch Foundation created the Sooch Foundation Student Empowerment Challenge in collaboration with ALOG, where students at five AISD Title I schools submitted their most creative ideas for improving their schools and communities. In April 2008, a winning project at each of the five schools was awarded a $1,000 grant to make the students' vision a reality.

http://www.ALAustin.org

The Assistance League of Austin draws upon an extensive network of volunteers to provide direct services for basic needs of Austin-area children and adults in schools, hospitals, and senior facilities.  The Sooch Foundation provided financial assistance to attend ACC to ten Assistance League—Sooch Scholars, as well as supporting the organization’s Operation School Bell program.

http://www.juandiegoprep.org

San Juan Diego offers an effective college preparatory education in a uniquely personal environment, made affordable through the students’ own work in the innovative Corporate Internship Program (CIP). Students work five full business days per month at local firms to earn the majority of their tuition and gain valuable real-world, professional experience. Sooch Foundation recently funded a new data collection and analysis system for the campus.

www.hearthouse.org

Heart House is a "free afterschool program dedicated to providing a safe haven and afterschool support to low-income children and encouraging them to become good citizens." It provides daily afterschool tutoring, supervision, and structured activities to children in two Austin-area locations.

http://www.austinpartners.org

Austin Partners in Education (APIE) programs deliver classroom-based, small group processes that accelerate academic achievement for struggling learners.  Programs such as Partners in Math and Partners in Literature are supported by an extensive network of volunteers who assist in classrooms each week.  Sooch Foundation funding helped increase the Partners in Reading program to include two additional Title I schools.

http://www.badgerdog.org

Badgerdog was created to publish and to teach.  Its mission is ‘to publish literary art that furthers our culture’s collective vision and to teach at-risk children the language skills necessary to become author of their own lives.”  The Sooch Foundation provided funding for a two-year metrics development program providing quantitative assessment of Language Arts support for grades 3-12.

http://www.sunshinecamps.org

The Austin YMBL Sunshine Camps’ mission is “to provide deserving children of Austin , and of the surrounding areas, with programs that provide them opportunities for personal development, necessary skills in order to succeed in school as well as in life, and the hope for a better future.”  The Sooch Foundation supports the academically-based Sunrise Leadership Program, which supports high school students towards the goals of reducing the high school dropout rate and increasing college enrollment.

http://www.genaustin.org

GENAustin’s mission is “to foster healthy self-esteem in girls by engaging them to explore and define their personal values and to build skills that empower them with confidence and courage to make wise choices.”  The Sooch Foundation supports the ClubGEN Program, which uses critical thinking skills to decrease pregnancy rates, eating disorders, and juvenile delinquency in girls, and increase their academic performance.

http://www.collegeforward.org

College Forward’s mission is to provide free college preparatory services to motivated, economically-disadvantaged students in order to facilitate their transition to college. These services include ACT/SAT test prep, college visits, and assistance with applications. The Sooch Foundation supports College Forward’s East Austin College Readiness Program at Travis High School .

http://www.citizenschools.org

Citizen Schools is a Boston-founded initiative for middle-school students, working to increase academic achievement via after-school instruction and apprenticeship programs taught by volunteers from the business community. The Sooch Foundation funded the inauguration of Citizen School’s program in the Austin area at Bedichek Middle School.

www.wholeplanetfoundation.org

Sooch Foundation collaborates with Austin's Whole Planet Foundation to fund an India-based project of Grameen Trust. This project establishes a microfinance lending program in the Kerala district of India, thereby providing nearly 10,000 families in poverty the access to capital necessary to lift themselves out of the cycle of poverty.