Category: News

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Free At-Home Covid Tests

Hey, It’s Announcements!

Free test kits mailed to you

Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order free at-⁠home COVID-⁠19 tests. The tests are completely free. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days.

Order your tests now so you have them when you need them. www.covidtests.gov

African American Youth Harvest Foundation has FREE at-home Covid Test Kits in Austin

AAYHF still has COVID-19 Home Test Kits available for FREE while supplies last until May 2022!

Let them know you’re stopping by our office to pick up, Monday-Friday, 9am-2pm.

Limit 5 per family.

Register with this link: REGISTER HERE!

AAYHF Office

6633 Hwy 290 E., #307, Austin, TX 78723

email: [email protected]

AAYHF Covid Vaccine Clinic

The African American Youth Harvest Foundation has a free COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic that’s open Monday – Friday, 9am – 2pm,

AAYHF Office 6633 Hwy 290 E., #307/303, Austin, TX 78723

A $25 HEB gift card will be given to first time vaccinations after completing a survey.

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Habari Gani? What’s the News?

Imani (ee-mah-nee)!

On the seventh day of Kwanzaa, January 1, we celebrate Faith.imani

To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

The ancient Egyptian double symbol of the ankh (life) and djed pillar (stability, endurance) serves here as a symbol of steadfastness in commitment to the Good, the Right, and the Beautiful in life

Today we light a green candle symbolizing Imani, one of the Nguzo Saba (seven principles) that represent a guide for daily living to be practiced throughout the year.

Harambee! Let’s all pull together!

 

“CELEBRATING KWANZAA, CELEBRATING COMMUNITY” (excerpt)

— by Marian Wright Edelman, Founder and President Emerita of CDF

“The New Year is marked with many kinds of celebrations, but for Black families and communities who celebrate Kwanzaa from December 26-January 1, every New Year’s Day marks a renewed dedication to community. Kwanzaa is a unique celebration because it is not a religious or a national holiday but a cultural one, and it doesn’t celebrate a person or an event but a set of ideas….

…During that final Day of Meditation in Kwanzaa, people are supposed to ask themselves three questions: “Who am I? Am I really who I say I am? And am I all I ought to be?” Everyone answers these questions as an individual, but their answers should reflect how well they are playing their part in making their community function as a whole. A person’s success is deeply connected to how much value they are giving to others. At a time when our children desperately need adults to reweave the fabric of community for them, many of us need to ask ourselves the same questions. Think about how you might answer these questions—and how your own community might answer them, or how our nation would.

Are we all that we ought to be?”

Read the full essay here: “CELEBRATING KWANZAA, CELEBRATING COMMUNITY” — Children’s Defense Fund (childrensdefense.org)

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Habari Gani? What’s the News?

Kuumba (koo-oom-bah)!

On the sixth day of Kwanzaa, December 31, we celebrate Creativity.

kuumba

To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

The seven vibrations of divine creation – the Dogon symbol of creativity

Today we light a red candle symbolizing Kuumba, one of the Nguzo Saba (seven principles) that represent a guide for daily living to be practiced throughout the year.

Harambee! Let’s all pull together!

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Habari Gani? What’s the News?

Nia (nee-ah)!

On the fifth day of Kwanzaa, December 30, we celebrate Purpose.nia

To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

The heiroglyph Nefer – Ancient Egyptian symbol of beauty and good.

Today we light a green candle symbolizing Nia, one of the Nguzo Saba (seven principles) that represent a guide for daily living to be practiced throughout the year.

Harambee! Let’s all pull together!

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Habari Gani? What’s the News?

Ujamaa (oo-ja-mah)!

On the fourth day of Kwanzaa, December 29, we celebrate Cooperative Economics.ujamaa

To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.

Two interlocking half circles – the Nsibidi symbol of togetherness and family.

Today we light a red candle symbolizing Ujamaa, one of the Nguzo Saba (seven principles) that represent a guide for daily living to be practiced throughout the year.

Harambee! Let’s all pull together!

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Habari Gani? What’s the News?

Ujima (oo-gee-mah)!

On the third day of Kwanzaa, December 28, we celebrate Collective Work & Responsibility.ujima

To build and maintain our community together and make our sibling’s problems our problems and to solve them together.

Akoma ntoaso – the Adinkra symbol of shared effort and obligation

Today we light a green candle symbolizing Ujima, one of the Nguzo Saba (seven principles) that represent a guide for daily living to be practiced throughout the year.

Harambee! Let’s all pull together!

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Habari Gani? What’s the news?

Kujichagulia (koo-gee-cha-goo-lee-ah)!

On the second day of Kwanzaa, December 27, we celebrate self-determination.Kujichagulia

To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.

Ahenwa, the Akan throne, is symbol of national identity, cultural groundedness and rightful governance.

Today we light a red candle symbolizing Kujichagulia, one of the Nguzo Saba (seven principles) that represent a guide for daily living to be practiced throughout the year.

Harambee! Let’s all pull together!

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Habari Gani? What’s the news?

Umoja (oo-moe-jah)!

On the first day of Kwanzaa, December 26, we celebrate unity.

Umoja Unity dagi knot

To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.

The dagi knot, pictured above, is a Pan African symbol of unity found in several African cultures (Yoruba, Hausa, Bushongo, and more).

Today we light a black candle symbolizing Umoja, the first principle of the Nguzo Saba (seven principles) that represent a guide for daily living to be practiced throughout the year.

Harambee! Let’s all pull together!

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Joyous Kwanzaa!

Kwanzaa kinara and symbolsKwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday which celebrates family, community and culture. Celebrated from December 26 thru January 1, its origins are in the first harvest celebrations of Africa from which it takes its name. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili, a Pan-African language which is the most widely spoken African language.

Like Freedom Schools, St James’ Episcopal Church Austin, and Welcome Table, Inc., Kwanzaa is a story of self-determination. Kwanzaa started during a time when people in the US weren’t allowed to celebrate the traditions or languages or faith of the African diaspora, nor encouraged to learn about our rich and diverse heritage.

Today we uplift the Nguzo Saba, seven principles that represent a guide for daily living studied during Kwanzaa to be practiced throughout the year.

The Greeting

Habari gani? (Swahili for what’s the news) is the official greeting spoken during the 7 days of Kwanzaa. The response is the principle of the day.

Learn More

Click here to learn more about Kwanzaa.

And be sure to visit this blog daily from December 26 to Jan 1, to learn about the Kwanzaa principle of the day.

And please join CDF Freedom Schools Austin at the Carver Museum on Wednesday, December 29, 4 pm – 8:30 pm for the annual Ujamaa Marketplace and Kwanzaa Celebration.

And Sunday, December 26, 11:30 am – 12 pm, join St James’ Episcopal Church and the Union of Black Episcopalians – Myra McDaniel Chapter for the annual Kwanzaa Celebration. Participate in-person (masks required) or online (Zoom).

 

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Mildred Monreal named Welcome Table’s Development Coordinator

Welcome Table is excited to announce the arrival of our new Development Coordinator, Mildred Monreal.

Mildred “Millie” Monreal is a fundraising professional in the San Antonio area. After receiving her Masters of Public Administration from The University of Texas at San Antonio, her ultimate goal is to assist in bridging the gaps in  vulnerable communities. This led her into the world of fundraising, development, and nonprofits.

Mildred’s presence on the Welcome Table staff will expand our capacity in grants writing and management, and will assist us in following a coordinated development plan.  She will be actively seeking out new funding partners for both Neighbor 2 Neighbor and CDF Freedom School -Austin.  If you would like to partner with her in this effort or if you have funders in mind who might be a good fit, reach out to her at [email protected].

 

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