Hands On Atlanta Week Hopes to Inspire Unity Across Metro Atlanta

Hands On Atlanta will deliver seven days of in-person and virtual service opportunities for people in metro Atlanta to unite in support of Covid-19 relief efforts, food assistance, racial equity, voter access and more.

ATLANTA, GA – Hands On Atlanta Week will feature over 200 unique and meaningful ways Atlantans can unite in service from Oct. 3-10, 2020. Participants can expect traditional in-person volunteer projects, engaging virtual projects and more during Atlanta’s largest week of service. 

Atlantans will be encouraged to host and attend virtual “Bridging the Racial Divide” Civic Dinner conversations, attend the virtual Atlanta Black Theater Festival and participate in The Race: A virtual & digital half marathon that supports black-owned businesses, neighborhoods, and charities. In an effort to increase voter accessibility and turnout, Hands On Atlanta has partnered with the ACLU of Georgia, Vote Early Day, and other nonpartisan organizations to recruit poll workers and raise awareness for early voting options. Technologists and creatives can join 48in48’s global hack-a-thon for good to build over 48 websites for 48+ nonprofits in 48 hours! These are just a few of the ways Atlantans can participate in Hands On Atlanta Week.  

“2020 has been a challenging year for everyone in Atlanta, but the shining light across our community has been the thousands of changemakers stepping up to help their neighbors in need. Hands On Atlanta Week will give anyone and everyone a way to discover new, safe, and unifying ways to do something good,” said Jay Cranman, Hands On Atlanta President and CEO. 

Hands On Atlanta Week will also focus on Covid-19 relief and food insecurity – from in-person food distributions and meal packing with the Atlanta Community Food Bank to letter-writing campaigns for healthcare workers. Sponsor, Coca-Cola USA, will join the fight against food insecurity and support several virtual projects throughout the week.

“Throughout our 134-year history, Coca-Cola has always been there to make a difference in local communities,” said Alba Baylin, Vice President of Community and Stakeholder Relations, Coca-Cola North America. “Serving communities in need has never been more important than right now. That's why we're pleased to support Hands On Atlanta Week, which will truly make a difference for so many people throughout Atlanta.”

Hands On Atlanta Week will take place from Saturday, Oct. 3 through Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020. To get your company or organization involved, or to serve with your family and friends, visit www.handsonatlanta.org/week 

Hands On Atlanta Week to Shine a Light on Community Changemakers

Hands On Atlanta, with presenting sponsor Delta Air Lines, will inspire an impactful week of service, highlighting the people, organizations, companies and events doing good across metro Atlanta.   

For over 25 years, the first Saturday of every October has become synonymous with Hands On Atlanta Day, the city’s largest, single day of service. For 2019, the first Saturday in October will kick-off the largest week of service, with a goal of engaging 10,000 Atlantans to do something good.

Whether you’re a part of an organization or event in need of volunteers, a company with a passion to create positive impact, a changemaker with a desire to change your community, Hands On Atlanta Week wants to elevate your reach to maximize the impact.

“Civic engagement is at the core of the Atlanta culture, it’s in our DNA. We believe Hands On Atlanta Week will become the open platform for the next generation of changemakers to solve the growing, complex challenges facing our communities and inspire everyone across metro Atlanta to do something good,” said Jay Cranman, Hands On Atlanta President and CEO.

There will be over 150 service projects happening from Oct. 5-12, 2019, “pop-up” projects at community hotspots along the Atlanta Beltline, at the tailgate of the GSU  vs. Arkansas State football game, and more. Delta Air Lines will host a KABOOM! playground build for employees and members of the neighboring community. Volunteers can support festivals like Atlanta Pride or the A3C Festival and Conference, seniors during the Second Annual Senior Day at the Home Depot Backyard. Volunteers can serve with their skills during a “hack-a-thon” for good at 48in48 and for those wanting a more intimate experience, you can host or attend a meaningful conversation through Civic Dinners. These are just a few of ways the Atlanta community can participate in Hands On Atlanta Week. 

Hands On Atlanta Week will take place from Saturday, Oct. 5 through Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019. Get your company, organization, or event involved, and/or serve with your family and friends!

A Beginner’s Guide to Volunteering in 2019

According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, in 2018, more than 1.2 million metro Atlanta volunteers contributed 105 million hours of service, worth an estimated $2.5 billion. Woah. Additionally, 42% of metro Atlanta residents do favors for their neighbors and more than half of y’all donated $25 or more to charity. Give yourself a high five!

If you're feeling inspired and looking to make right on your new year’s resolutions, we’ve got you covered with our Beginner's Guide to Volunteering. Whether you're a seasoned, volunteer pro, or just getting started, check out these tips and fun ways to do something good in 2019.

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Make Time

Just like anything else in your life, if it’s not on your calendar, it’s probably not happening. You might have blocked time for the gym, to read that book, learn to cook, or to spend more time with your family, but don’t forget about scheduling time to volunteer! Simply adding time to your calendar is a great first step. Once you’ve set time aside, then you can browse our calendar of volunteer opportunities for projects Monday-Saturday.

Short on time? We get it, but don’t sleep on CareerVillage.org, where with just a few minutes of your time, you can answer career and college readiness questions for opportunity youth across metro Atlanta and beyond. Pro tip: This is a great time filler while running/walking on the treadmill.

Finally, you can take giving back with you by downloading Purposity’s free (and super slick) mobile app. Get one weekly notification of a need in our community, read their story and decide if you want to help, all from your phone.

Use Your Skills

Volunteering is more than painting a wall or planting trees (while important and bring a ton of positive impact to the community) and the need for skills-based volunteers is on the rise. Are you a lawyer, accountant, web developer…or have any kind of specific skill? The Atlanta nonprofit community needs your help!

A great first step is to reach out to an organization you’ve volunteered with in the past or would like to volunteer with in 2019 and ask if they could use your help.

[Insert phantom coughing noise here] we have a ton of skills-based volunteer needs here at Hands On Atlanta! For example, we’re looking for handy volunteers who can help write the instructions and do the assembly of beds and bedroom furniture for homeless and low income children.

Looking for something ASAP? To celebrate MLK Day, the United Way is hosting a Day of Innovation and looking for skills based volunteers to think up innovative solutions for some of our communities’ most complex problems.

On January 25-27, our buds at 48in48.org are organizing a 48-hour Super Service event and they’re looking for marketing and tech pros to help build 48 websites for 48 local nonprofits.

Why dip your toes when you can belly smack your way into skills-based volunteering!

Serve With a Friend

Whether out at a movie or on the bike path, having a partner in crime is always more fun. Bringing your bestie, a co-worker, or a significant other with you volunteering is the best. Check out these fun, daily, group friendly opportunities you can sign up for now:

• Books for Africa – Hang indoors and pack boxes of books for children in Africa. Volunteers as young as 12 can serve and they can accommodate groups up to 40!

• Dad’s Garage – Help out Atlanta’s top improv theater by checking ID’s, running the line at the bar, scanning tickets, ushering and more. The best part? You get to see the show for free! This is one of our more popular opportunities and they go quick.

• Trees Atlanta – It will eventually stop raining… and when it does, you should totes help care for plants and projects around town with Trees Atlanta. They offer daily, morning and afternoon shifts, and plenty of fun.

Make New Friends

So, you’re new in town (welcome!) and swiping through your apps to meet someone new has grown old? Give volunteering a try. There’s no better way to meet good people than at a service project. Check out our TeamWorks! program and join our next Kick-Off on January, 26 for a fun and borderline competitive series of volunteer projects.

Our pals at Community Bucket have monthly service projects for young professionals that come stocked with a post event social and the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network have bi-monthly volunteer events as well. No need to be a member to join, just more good people, doing good.

Want to try something different? You can create a space for people of diverse backgrounds to connect and come together to solve some of our city’s toughest challenges by hosting a Civic Dinner.    

Make A Difference

Here in Atlanta, 3 out of 4 children considered “economically disadvantaged” are not reading on grade level by the 3rd grade. This is major because 3rd grade is the turning point for students when they start reading to learn and shift from learning to read.

There are lots of ways to help with these literacy challenges, including volunteering with our Discovery program. On Saturdays throughout the school year, volunteers read with, tutor and work with students in various STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) activities. Learn more about Discovery and the impact volunteers create here.

The Pajama Program has a fun, daily opportunity to read stories with kids at their reading parties. You can read up to 4 books and engage the kids in conversation about the books after.  

Get a jump start on solving the literacy challenges facing Atlanta’s youth by signing up to serve as a Talk With Me Baby @ Work facilitator. You’ll learn how to provide parents and caregivers the tools and strategies to support early brain and language development.

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These are just a few ways you can start 2019 off on the right (service) foot! What other ways are you planning to give back this year? Let us know on Facebook, by commenting on this post.