Hidden Gems: Meet Ethan Williams of Uplift Austin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ethan Williams.

Hi Ethan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I founded a non-profit organization, Uplift Austin with my good friend, Katie Karp, in February of this year. We are both juniors at the University of Texas at Austin. During the horrific winter storm this past February, Katie raised money via Go Fund Me to purchase blankets and other necessities to help me distribute these items to the homeless around Lady Bird Lake. It was a surreal experience. Katie and I were able to speak and interact with many of these homeless Americans camped out in this area. During that winter storm most of us dealt with a lack of electricity or water, and admittedly that was bad. However, to not have basic shelter in those frigid temperatures was unimaginable for most Texans. So often, we overlook the things we have and forget about those that don’t have anything. In the critically acclaimed 2019 movie “Parasite”, there is a heavy rainstorm that causes a flood that displaces many of the cities’ marginalized low-income population. While the marginalized view the storm as a destructive, disruptive force, the wealthy in the mostly elevated city continue with their lives and see the storm as an opportunity to celebrate Spring. There is no malice among the celebrants. Their viewpoint, however, clearly paints the vastly different perspective that humans across many different socio-economic groups have, including now stress-induced lack of empathy and emotional fatigue. During the snowstorm, most Austinites were excited to expect snow, however, to Austin’s homeless population, the snow brought about trauma and a plethora of other problems. I started Uplift Austin because I wanted to energize and rejuvenate young people into doing work that could better help Austin’s most vulnerable population.

This past semester the organization has distributed blankets, PPE, water, shoes, diapers and other supplies to Austin’s homeless and underprivileged populations. In doing these events, we have worked with several different nonprofits such as Mission Impossible and Austin Diaper Bank. Additionally, at the end of December 2021, Uplift Austin donated new shoes for the children at Pickle Elementary School.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The first struggle was the implementation of proposition C to the Austin community. With the proposition, many of the homeless in downtown Austin were displaced. This made it difficult for us initially to find locations to provide food and resources to the homeless. It made establishing and planning out events difficult because we were never sure of things in terms of logistics. Initially, we would use areas such as 1st Street and Riverside to deliver food and resources to the homeless, but due to the proposition these areas were left vacant. However, thankfully we were able to solve this problem through working with Mission Impossible, which is a nonprofit organization to deliver food under I-35. Furthermore, I think some of the other struggles I have encountered personally have been with time management, especially as I was beginning to work on the nonprofit organization. I was presented with a tremendous amount of workload being pre-dental while working as a lead mentor, definitely adding a nonprofit to my additional workload made things quite difficult at first. Sleep was taking a backseat while my mind was running laps trying to stay ahead of the copious amount of things to do on my plate. What really helped me give sufficient attention to these aspects was my drive for self-evaluation. When I began to self-analyze more often, I started eliminating negative habits in order to free up more time and energy to be spent on my ambitions. Additionally, meditation and journaling helped a ton as I became more self-aware and free from the stresses that arise from the position and school.

Finally, I was faced with some personal issues that definitely added a tremendous amount to my plate. The personal issues I dealt with shaped my outlook on life as I began to come to terms of the real life strife that this world could bring. In a way, the nonprofit offered me a way to cope with these struggles as it made me feel like despite the problems and cruelty this world can often put on us that at least I am able to do something to spark a positive light and could contribute in a beneficial manner. It made me feel like despite the struggles and hardships we all might encounter, as long as your grip on who you fundamentally are and don’t allow it to alter your purpose, then you’re able to truly succeed.

We’ve been impressed with Uplift Austin, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
This past semester, the organization has distributed blankets, PPE, water, shoes, diapers and other supplies to Austin’s homeless and underprivileged populations. We’ve worked with nonprofits such as Mission Impossible and Austin Diaper Bank. Additionally, we worked with Pickle Elementary School to give shoes to the students there. I most proud of how many college students take them time out of their studies to help out people in need.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
I believe one of the most important lessons I have learned was the importance of gripping to your goals and aspirations. When I first started working on the nonprofit organization, many people didn’t really expect me to do much with it. I knew that in order to prove legitimacy for the organization, I had to put a tremendous amount of effort to earn that respect. I knew that amount of time that would have to be allotted to these specific organizations, so one of the key factors that drove me was faith in myself. While initially establishing the organization, I began to become more intertwined with myself than I ever had as I began to realize the traits and skills I possessed. In order to further understand myself, I began journaling as I was then able to pinpoint my strengths and weaknesses in order to carry out the responsibilities of the role. Additionally, the support from the people around you is the most important key in life. Being surrounded by people who care about your success is of utmost importance. Being supported by wonderful friends and family has pushed me to do things that I couldn’t have imagined. I believe what helped me to be successful in this position is my friends and family who have been extremely supportive of my vision for the nonprofit. Many of the bake sales and charity events I have hosted for the organization couldn’t have been possible without the help of my friends and classmates volunteering. Furthermore, receiving funding for the nonprofit couldn’t have been possible without generous donations from a plethora of people. Finally, without the help of amazing people to aid in planning and orchestrating events, the success we’ve had wouldn’t have been possible.

In summation, the success of the nonprofit has really shown me how grateful I am to be able to continue to help and work with others while being supported by some of the most kind and generous people I know.

Pricing:

• We raised $4,145.60 on our GoFundMe Page

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uplift.atx/

Image Credits
Taha Tyebjee, Andy Anzaldua, An Le, Emily Doctor, Micaela Aaliyah, Abdel Barbosa, Sharon Chai, Mackenzie Jones, Andrea De La Cruz, Arianna Molina