Growing up between India and the United States, my parents taught me to value moral and heart-centered living over material and financial achievement. Our family, our community and our faith traditions all reinforced a simple idea: what you accumulate is never the full measure of your life. What matters is […]
Read MoreDoing Good Together
Doing Good Together: Sara Hickman
Building Community Conversations in a Volatile Time Four years ago, my husband and I moved to Smithville, Texas, nestled off Highway 71 between Bastrop and LaGrange. With extensive tree canopies, vintage shops, historic homes and a close community of artists, the minute we landed here, we became part of an active, caring community. […]
Read MoreDoing Good Together: Rabbi Marie Betcher
What’s Love Got To Do With It Most — if not all — of us in this room have lost someone we loved so dearly. The ache remains as fresh as the day they left us. A little bit of us died with them. We feel that vacuum, that emptiness, […]
Read MoreiACT for Refugees: World Refugee Day
World Refugee Day is a day of celebration designated by the United Nations to honor refugees around the globe. The international day is always June 20, and Austin’s celebration falls on a Saturday in June and is organized by the Austin Refugee Roundtable, a group of organizations and individuals working […]
Read MoreHands on Housing: Antonio & Maria Carbajal
Antonio and Maria Carbajal are pictured in their backyard. Antonio built their chicken coop which holds their three chickens. The couple lives at home with their two adult children who both have special needs. The Carbajal family needed some home repair and new accessibility improvements in their home. Hands on […]
Read MoreBoard Spotlight: Paul Hudson
Where are you from? How long have you lived in Austin?I was born at St. David’s Hospital here in Austin and have lived here my whole life, other than one year in Brasilia, Brazil when I was 11 years old, and 4 years in College Station, attending Texas A&M University. […]
Read MoreStaff Spotlight: Farida Naqshbandi
Q: Where are you from? I’m originally from Kabul, Afghanistan. Q: How long have you been in Austin? I Came to Austin in November 2021. Q: What do you do at iACT? I’m the Refugee Program ELI Coordinator. Q: What is the most challenging thing about the work you do […]
Read MoreDoing Good Together: iACT Board of Directors
To Those Who Lead Interfaith Action of Central Texas (iACT) is an organization rooted in the belief that peace is possible when we choose respect, understanding, and compassion for one another. Through interfaith dialogue, service, and celebration, we work every day to cultivate communities where people of all backgrounds and […]
Read MoreDoing Good Together: Ajit Giani
Oneness Is Not an Ideal—It Is Our Responsibility We Baha’is believe that the most important task before us is bringing about the oneness of humankind. And perhaps there has never been a time in our history when this principle —this idea — is more critical. I’ll tell you honestly, I got to a point where I felt depressed. I stopped […]
Read MoreDoing Good Together: Lubna Zeidan
Growing Up Technically and legally, you are considered an adult at age 18 in the US. But we all know that a button is not pushed on our 18th birthdays to make us instant adults. I’ve been a legal adult for over 50 years now and I am a different adult today than I […]
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