Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2010 > April > 23 > Entry
Breakthrough Champions Event at West Austin home
We gathered at the base of the hill. In the distance, we could see the modernist home resting like a ship on a knob. Three trolleys — former Dillos — ferried guests up the steep, winding incline to the party at the home of Neil Webber.
Now, imagine variations on this view 360 degrees around Neil Webber’s hilltop house. Note downtown skyline in the distance.
Webber, you may recall, was one of the founders of Vignette, a giant of Austin’s dotcom boom. He cashed out at the right time. And he built this astounding house off the Southwest Parkway with a true 360-degree view of the Barton Creek Wilderness Park, several tree-blanketed subdivisions and, in the distance, the skyline, like another ship in the fog.
José and Maria Vara, whose children José and Jasmin are enrolled in the Breakthrough program
While it’s tempting to go on and on about the house, designed by David Heymann, and its rooftop lookout and splendid pool deck, or the food from Fino/Asti, or the top connectors assembled for the fundraiser, the event centered squarely on the Breakthrough program.
Jinous Rouhani and Sara Fox
Staff, interns and volunteers with this noble project mentors low-income middle school and high school students from families with no college in their backgrounds. The numbers speak for themselves: 90 percent of Breakthrough seniors have graduated from high school in four years; more than 75 percent enrolled in college, nearly two times the rate (39 percent) for low-income students in Central Texas. The class of 2009 earned admission to 55 different colleges and universities across Texas and the United States.
Guyanne and Nick Nichols
Some major Austin connectors serve on the Breakthrough board. Webber and the Topfer Foundation pledged to match almost any donations made last night. I don’t know which I admire more, the house or the cause. Doesn’t matter. Both are hard to forget.
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