Nancy Rabb

Nancy Rabb

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Written by Amy Stansbury Friday, 05 September 2008

When Nancy Rabb and her husband, Virgil, moved to Round Rock in 1965, the small town had a population of 1,800 and three or four stores, including their one-year-old WAG•A•BAG convenience store. Now known for her involvement in the community, Rabb described Round Rock then as a little bird with many needs.

Photo of Nancy Rabb

“I guess there were so many things we had to get started because — if you’re just a little tiny thing and you begin to grow fast — there just was a need,” Rabb said. “There was no place for young people to go. There was no movie theater. Nothing. Just think of it as a prairie, almost. They [young people] were just all on the streets. And we had daycare needs, too.”

One of the first organizations Rabb helped bring to Round Rock was the YMCA. She said a small group of people worked together to establish the Christian-based family health facility.

“The Y just touches so many lives,” Rabb said. “All those kids that were latch-key kids who had no place to go. Now, we have a huge after-school program.”

After the Rabbs moved to Round Rock, they had three children within five years. Rabb said while she was raising her family, she was more active in organizations involving her children.

“I mean, all of a sudden, here we had this family, and we were still starting and growing a business,” Rabb said. “Virg couldn’t do anything except that for several years. So, my first years were all with PTA [Parent Teachers Association] and the Cub Scouts and all that stuff. I did every kind of sports board.”

Rabb was also part of a group of women who created the Mother Goose program for elementary school students. Volunteers, including Rabb, dressed up and went to Round Rock ISD elementary schools, performing skits and puppet shows called Kids on the Block that taught children about people with disabilities.

“We did all kinds of stories with puppets, and it was just one of the best things I ever did in my life,” Rabb said. “But just look at the way RRISD has grown. We just didn’t have the volunteers anymore so that project is gone, but it was a great 10-year ride. You just can’t get enough volunteers when you open up three new elementary schools a year.”

After Rabb’s children were grown, she was able to get more involved in a broader range of nonprofit organizations.

“I think everybody could find some way to give back when their lives are in order, because there is so much that is out of order,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be a huge time commitment or a huge amount of money, because if everybody gives a few hours or a few dollars combined, look what’s done. I just think everybody needs to give back when they can because there is going to be a time when they can’t.”

As for Rabb’s role in helping found several nonprofit organizations in Round Rock, she said the time comes when she turns over the reins to the next generation of leaders.

“You know, someone’s gotta get it going,” she said. “And then I love to sit back and let the younger people take over and watch it go. That’s the lifeblood of these things.”

Getting things going

Nancy Rabb helped establish the following organizations in Round Rock:

Community involvement

Rabb has been or is still involved in the following organizations in Round Rock:

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