Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead book cover

It’s Toast Time in Austin, the wonderful season when exceptional parties bloom around town in support of the St. David’s Foundation Neal Kocurek Scholarship Fund.

I had the distinct pleasure of participating in the first two parties this year.  I moderated a discussion with Karan Mahajan, author of The Association Small Bombs, at Saturday afternoon’s event, then appeared on Tuesday night with Shaka at a party where he was the featured speaker. Both were great opportunities to show support for Central Texas students like Jona Mata and Tevon Hood in their quests for healthcare careers.

The St. David’s Neal Kocurek Scholarship Fund supports students from Travis, Hays, Williamson, Bastrop and Caldwell counties. Since the program launched in 2005, more than 340 students have received the scholarships to study medicine, nursing, physical therapy, biomedical engineering and other health-related careers. If you’d like to make a special donation in honor of students like those pictured, click here. We are only $10,000 away from reaching our goal of raising $500,000 for scholarships. Moreover, these dollars will be matched 2 to 1 by St. David’s Foundation, providing $1.5 million for students.

Visit toastaustin.org in the coming days to view photos from each incredible Toast of the Town Party.