Current Events

On May 17, the Marywood offices moved to the Diocese of Austin Pastoral Center as part of the future partnership with Catholic Charities of Central Texas. By combining the strengths of both agencies, Marywood can share resources, broaden our reach, and, most importantly, better serve our clients. Marywood’s mission, programs and services will remain the same, but our ability to accomplish our goals will be stronger. Look for more updates on the website as this exciting new direction develops.

In this compelling documentary, filmmaker Karen Skloss explores the meaning of family through a personal journey to understand both the legacy of her birth and the non-traditional family she created by co-parenting with her ex-boyfriend.

The much acclaimed film, Sunshine, is the true story of unplanned pregnancy and adoption, in which Marywood played an integral role. Karen Skloss, director and film maker, tells her personal story as a Marywood adoptee, reunited with her birth mother. The poignant dialogue between key players brings honesty, awareness and understanding to the issues surrounding this story.

The film received critical praise and attention at the SXSW Film Festival in 2009. The critic’s comments seemed to reflect the responses of the audience gathered,
“A beautifully made self-portrait,” Paul Stekler, Texas Monthly; and
“Profoundly affecting.,” Chris Garcia, Austin American Statesman.

Marywood’s executive director retired after 15 years on the last day of 2009. Jean Henry began at Marywood in 1994, after successful leadership in both the for-profit sector, as a bank executive, and the not-profit-sector, as the executive director of YWCA in Corpus Christi.
During Jean’s tenure at Marywood, the agency grew programmatically to address changing needs and issues within the community. Marywood was nationally accredited by the Council on Accreditation, under Jean’s leadership. Jean also supervised the merger of Lifeline into Marywood’s program services in 2005.
Jean led the agency through both good times and bad, including serious health issues for herself. The staff and board share a sense of loss because of her retirement but know that she will fill her free time with her grandchildren, genealogy research and scrapbooking.

February 23rd, 2010 · Student News · Posted by Rob Meyer
Business Honors Program sophomores Stephanie Groulde, David Wang and Nitash Hirani (left to right in photo) recently made a formal presentation to the Marywood Children and Family Services Board of Directors. Their presentation, based on a business proposal developed for Ellen Morrison’s BA 324 H Fall 2009 class, outlined a multistep plan to raise critically needed revenue for the 89-year-old, Austin-based philanthropy organization. According to Anne Kay, Marywood development director, the board is considering several aspects of the students’ proposal for implementation this spring. Honor students Brittany Johnson and Andres Contreras, who also authored the proposal, were unable to attend the board meeting.