Sale of custom home to help youth group

Zbranek Custom Homes and Haythem Dawlett of Legend Communities will partner to build a home to help benefit the Lake Travis Youth Association, which serves more than 6,000 young people annually with 12 sports leagues and several other programs.

The association says it was defrauded of more than $200,000 last year by a company hired to process credit card transactions.

Zbranek Custom Homes has set a goal of donating $150,000 to the youth association from the sale of the house to help recoup the lost money. The benefit home will be built in the Bluffs at Rough Hollow master-planned community in Lakeway.

AT&T gives $1.5 million to science academy

AT&T donated $1.5 million to the endowment fund for the Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas, an organization dedicated to fostering interchange among science, engineering and medical professionals and to better position Texas as a national research leader.

The academy, founded in 2004, encourages the promotion of those fields through recognition programs, scholarships and other initiatives.

"Texas' future depends on our state becoming more competitive in the critical fields of science, technology, engineering and math," said U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a co-founder and honorary chairwoman for the academy. "AT&T's contribution will benefit researchers and students alike."

3M, Randalls donate to Meals on Wheels

Meals on Wheels and More, which provides meals and other services for Austin-area residents who are elderly, have disabilities or are homebound, received donations from 3M and Randalls with a total value of over $22,000.

3M donated four digital projectors, worth more than $21,000, for use in the nonprofit organization's new building addition.

Randalls donated $1,500 worth of gift cards for distribution to clients of Groceries to Go, a program in which volunteers purchase groceries for those who cannot shop for themselves.

Cricket workers fix up cancer patient's home

More than 20 Cricket Communications employees helped provide home repairs for Teresa Rivera, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, on Sept. 12.

The repairs were part of a nationwide partnership between Cricket and nonprofit organization Rebuilding Together, which provides needed repairs to the homes of low-income residents.

Rivera's home is one of 43 homes in 37 cities to be renovated by Cricket employees this year.

Workers helped with exterior painting, siding repair, landscaping and general cleanup for Rivera's home, located in East Austin.

Cricket will also underwrite several professional interior repairs, including the remodeling of two bathrooms and roof replacement, and provide a cellular phone and one year of service.