Austin, TX

Family of Austin 8-year-old who died after car crash sets up foundation in his memory

Published

2 years ago

May 16, 2023

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Family of Austin 8-year-old who died after car crash sets up foundation in his memory

Family of 8-year-old who died after crash sets up foundation

The family of a boy who died after a car wreck in December has set up a new foundation in his memory.

AUSTIN, Texas – The family of a boy who died after a car wreck in December has set up a new foundation in his memory. At just eight-years-old, Jude Calley left his mark.

“He was just so joyful and bubbly, and a light to everybody, he’s the kind of kid that if a kid needed help, he would be the first one to go help him, he was also so happy and giggly and smiley,” Jude’s mother, Mary Grace Calley said.

In December, Jude and his father, Brandon Calley, were in a roll-over crash on FM 1626 near Hays County. Jude was taken by STAR Flight to Dell Children’s Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.

The family of a boy who died after a car wreck in December has set up a new foundation in his memory. At just eight-years-old, Jude Calley left his mark.

“The community rallied behind us, came together like a team to support us, and we’ll never forget that,” Brandon Calley said.

Jude played on the Austin Raptors Baseball Team. When he was fighting for his life in the hospital, the baseball community was there to support.

“Jude was still in the hospital, he was on life support, the whole entire community just rallied around us, and they wore Jerseys for Jude,” Mary Grace Calley said.

Jude died in the hospital, but his organs were donated to help two adults and two kids’ lives.

“He died a hero, he was always into superheroes, and he didn’t even know he was one in death,” Mary Grace Calley said.

Eight-year-old Jude Calley died following a roll-over crash in Hays County. His family has now set up a foundation in his honor.

His parents continue to shine his light.

“When you go through a tragedy like this, you have two choices, you can either let it destroy you which it could easily do because the grief is so intense, or you can let it fuel you to just do good, and live with purpose and glorify God with it,” Mary Grace Calley said.

“I think it was through that experience that we realized that nothing really matters except for loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself,” Brandon Calley said.

The Calleys started the JC7 Foundation. The J stands for Jude, C for Calley, and 7 for his baseball number.

“It’s the biblical number for completeness, it’s God’s number of fulfillment,” Brandon Calley said.

The JC7 Foundation has a specific mission to enrich the lives of children and support families who have lost a child.

Baseball community rallies behind 7-year-old in hospital following crash

A baseball parent close to the family said Jude is still in critical condition.

“We’re looking to get kids that are maybe in a disadvantaged situation to get them into team sports, get them into the arts, to unlock beauty that the world desperately needs, get them into faith-based programs, like church,” Brandon Calley said. “We want to be there to support families that have lost a child, we want to support them financially, we want to offer grief counseling, but also hopefully find purpose in the pain, like we’ve found purpose in that pain.”

Many are getting behind them. Kendra Scott hosted a Celebration of Life last week.

“Giving back to JC7 and being here and being with this group of people and being able to support obviously a horrible tragedy but rallying around it, is huge,” Bruce Bolt Founder and CEO Bear Mayer said.

“This just shows the power that when things happen, the community will come together,” Kendra Scott Vice President of Philanthropy and Belonging Sheena Wilde said.

The Calley family said they’ve raised about $100,000 and are looking forward to using those funds to help others.

“In some many ways, it kind of lessons the pain of the grief when we’re just doing good and keeping his spirit alive,” Mary Grace Calley said.

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Austin, TX

Austin Empty Bowl Project raises funds to support food-insecure Central Texans

Published

48 mins ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

Austin Empty Bowl Project raises funds to support food-insecure Central Texans

Austin Empty Bowl Project 2024

Central Texas Food Bank hosted its annual Austin Empty Bowl Project on Sunday where attendees got to enjoy soup from local eateries, all to raise money for a good cause.

AUSTIN, Texas – The 28th annual Austin Empty Bowl Project brought in thousands for a good cause.

“We have over 30 restaurants, over 200 gallons of soup,” said project co-director Deb Dixon.

The event donates all proceeds to Kids Café, a program of the Central Texas Food Bank, and to Meals on Wheels Central Texas.

“The Central Texas Food Bank has school pantries where we have pantries in over five schools. We also have after-school meals and summer meals. And 1 in 4 children go to bed hungry in our service area. So, it’s critical that this event raises as much funds as possible to support those kids,” said CTFB president & CEO Sari Vaske.

Throughout the year, local Austin area potters make more than a thousand soup bowls and donate them to the project.

“We have our communities of potters, our restaurants and our musicians that have all come together and donated time and materials in support of something pretty terrific,” said Dixon.

At the event each year, attendees give a donation, pick out a ceramic bowl, choose from several soups from different restaurants, listen to live music and bid in a silent auction.

After lunch, guests take their bowls home as a reminder that others less fortunate have empty bowls.

MORE AUSTIN NEWS

“There’s over 530,000 people that don’t know where their next meal is going to come from throughout 21 counties. So, this event supports those families,” said Vaske.

For Pflugerville resident Kim Hanson, supporting the Empty Bowl Project has become a special tradition. Every year for the past 20 years, she’s celebrated her birthday by attending the event.

This year, for her 40th, she took it up a notch—bringing 40 friends and family along to give back and make her special day even more meaningful.

“I just think it’s really important for the community to help to support each other. And this goes to support people in our community that need food. And it helps with the children who don’t have enough to eat throughout the year. So, I love to come and support this mission,” said Hanson.

Hanson says she hopes to continue the tradition for years to come.

You can find more information about the Austin Empty Bowl Project here.

The Source: Information in this report came from reporting/interviews by FOX 7 Austin’s Jenna King.

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Austin, TX

Texas boasts 10 restaurants on OpenTable’s top 100 list for 2024

Published

9 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

Texas boasts 10 restaurants on OpenTable’s top 100 list for 2024

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas had a strong showing on OpenTable’s 2024 Top 100 Restaurants with 10 establishments making the list.

What You Need To Know

The best foodie city in Texas, at least according to OpenTable, was Austin, with seven restaurants making the list

The rest of Texas’ major metropolitan areas–Houston, Dallas and San Antonio–each only had one restaurant on the list

OpenTable compiles its top 100 list every year by looking at diner reviews from its 14 million verified users

The Lone Star State had the second-most restaurants on the list, tied with Illinois, behind California, which had a whopping 19 restaurants featured.

The best foodie city in Texas, at least according to OpenTable, was Austin, with seven restaurants making the list.

Aba – Austin
J Carver’s
Jeffrey’s Restaurant
Red Ash Italia
Sammie’s Italian
Uchi Austin
Uchiko Austin

The rest of Texas’ major metropolitan areas–Houston, Dallas and San Antonio–each only had one restaurant on the list.

Steak 48 – Houston
Signature – San Antonio
Hudson House – Lovers Lane – Dallas

OpenTable compiles its top 100 list every year by looking at diner reviews from its 14 million verified users.

According to OpenTable’s website, restaurants with enough reviews are automatically considered and are evaluated by their ratings, percentage of five-star reviews, number of alerts set, percentage of reservations made in advance, percentage of capacity and direct searches.

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Austin, TX

‘Superman!’ Jelani McDonald Proves to Be Crucial Piece to Texas Longhorns Defense

Published

18 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

‘Superman!’ Jelani McDonald Proves to Be Crucial Piece to Texas Longhorns Defense

AUSTIN — Texas defensive back Jelani McDonald made his mark in the Longhorn secondary on Saturday.

McDonald recorded his first career interception, and it was one for the books.

With five minutes left in the first half as Texas led 14-7, Kentucky had possession. The crowd went wild as McDonald dove for the ball to get possession back to the Longhorn offense. Commentators described the play as a “Superman” performance.

WENT FULL SUPERMAN FOR THIS PICK 👀🤯@TexasFootball x 📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/ZV5AxOSWo7
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) November 23, 2024
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McDonald’s teammates also had their takes on the play.

“Superman…I mean everybody knows how athletic Jelani is, we’ve been talking about that all season, and even tied back to last season,” Michael Taaffe said. “He’s so athletic. I’m glad he finally got to show that and for you all to see, because we’ve known that forever.”

McDonald has totaled 22 tackles this season, playing in every conference and two non-conference games.

While he’s not a name on everyone’s mouths, like Quinn Ewers, Isaiah Bond, Taaffe or Kelvin Banks Jr., McDonald proved once and for all his impact on the team. McDonald could very much have a breakout season in 2025, and this play, which recorded Texas’ 16th interception of the season taking the national record, opened up the doors for his campaign.

That pick could even be awarded play of the year.

“I’ve been just happy to see him grow and get better as a player,” Anthony Hill Jr., who played with McDonald in the Freshman All-American game, said.

“He was playing corners, so I was like ‘Who’s this guy,’ and then one the game, he’s playing linebackers, and at one game he’s playing safety,” Hill said.

McDonald has one more shot to showcase his talent in the regular season as Texas faces Texas A&M next Saturday. But with two years left of eligibility, the sky is the limit.

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