THE CITIZEN BLOG
THE CITIZEN BLOG
BUILDING THE “BELOVED COMMUNITY” FOR THE 2021 MLK DAY OF SERVICE
From January 14-18, 2021, Hands On Atlanta, with support from presenting sponsors The Coca-Cola Company and The Home Depot, will host 5 days of service and promote a month of social justice and civic engagement projects and events.
Local and international social justice institutions partner to unite Atlanta for the King holiday
Atlanta, GA: From January 14-18, 2021, Hands On Atlanta, with support from presenting sponsors The Coca-Cola Company and The Home Depot, will host 5 days of service and promote a month of social justice and civic engagement projects and events.
“I’m excited to invite and welcome the Atlanta community to unite in service to help bring to life Dr. King’s vision of the ‘Beloved Community’. Thanks to our incredible partnerships with The King Center, The National Center for Civil and Human Rights, Morehouse College, The Carter Center, Points of Light and more than 30 local nonprofits and 25 companies, there will be hundreds of in-person and virtual opportunities for Atlantans to do something good throughout January,” said Jay Cranman, President and CEO of Hands On Atlanta.
MLK Day projects and events will range from the traditional to new and innovative ways to make Atlanta a more civically engaged and equitable community. Projects include:
Packing and distributing meals to 800 families with Ebenezer Baptist Church
Painting a mural honoring the graduating class of 2020 at Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy with Learning in Color
Delivering meals with Open Hand Atlanta
Wellness checks for seniors living in the NPU-S community
Virtually answering college and career readiness questions for students through CareerVillage.org
Attending and host meaningful conversations through Civic Dinners & Equitable Dinners
Virtual reading party with Pajama Program
The Home Depot will be hosting a series of virtual projects for their employees including an Issue Education Seminar on Food Insecurity in Atlanta.
"Serving our hometown and local communities across the nation is inherent to our values at The Home Depot,” expressed Shannon Gerber, executive director of The Home Depot Foundation. “We are honored to work alongside Hands On Atlanta, Dr. King’s Beloved Community and the many other forces driving sustainable change across this great city. We stand hopeful that our shared efforts will bring about a meaningful impact."
The Coca-Cola Company will engage employees in Atlanta to help paint a mural, deliver meals and is the presenting sponsor of the important conversation at the Hands On Atlanta MLK Sunday Supper. Employees will virtually join 400 community leaders for an evening of dialogue around building Rev. Dr. King’s “Beloved Community,” and will feature a keynote by educator, author, co-founder of Campaign Zero and one of the leading voices in the Black Lives Matter movement, DeRay McKesson.
“The Coca-Cola Company has long recognized the critical importance of advancing civil rights and rallying the strength of our employees, families and friends in service to our hometown of Atlanta, Ga.,” said Valerie Love, Human Resources, The Coca-Cola Company, North America. “We are proud to continue our support for Hands On Atlanta so that together we can help build a better future for all in our ‘Beloved Community.’”
Visit www.mlkatl.org for more information and to explore all of the MLK Day projects and events happening throughout January.
Hands On Atlanta Week Hopes to Inspire Unity Across Metro Atlanta
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.
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
MLK Day 2020 in Review
The 2020 edition of the King holiday fell on a pivotal point in our city’s history. 2020 will bring an election, the census, the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, and more events that will require us, as a community and as a nation, to unite. For us, while incredibly important, that means more than volunteering and serving others. Knowing we’ve got some of the country’s top civic engagement and social justice organizations right here in our backyard, we partnered with The King Center, The National Center for Civil and Human Rights and Morehouse College to deliver over 2 weeks of events and programming.
Hundreds of volunteers planted 200 trees and 5,000 daffodil bulbs. Volunteers were welcomed by Dunwoody Mayor, Lynn Deutsch.
Photo by Paul Ward Photography
The 2020 edition of the King holiday fell on a pivotal point in our city’s history. This year will bring an election, the census, the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, and more events that will require us, as a community and as a nation, to unite. For us, while incredibly important, that means more than volunteering and serving others. Knowing we’ve got some of the country’s top civic engagement and social justice organizations right here in our backyard, we partnered with The King Center, The National Center for Civil and Human Rights and Morehouse College to deliver over 2 weeks of events and programming.
““The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.””
For the King holiday, Atlanta, once again, rose to the occasion and set the standard for how to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. King. There have been opportunities to learn, to listen, to serve, to engage, to disrupt and to do. Below are some highlights from the MLK Sunday Supper and our annual day of service. To the changemakers, the corporate community, our partners and everyone who participated in an MLK Day event or program - THANK YOU!
MLK SUNDAY SUPPER
Photos by Steve Swieter Photography
For the 6th year in a row, Hands On Atlanta kicked-off the MLK Day of Service with our annual MLK Sunday Supper. What’s become one of our favorite annual events, this year’s conversation centered around THE defining social justice issue of 2020: women’s rights. With the upcoming election and census, we know 2020 will be a pivotal year for everyone, but it will be specifically pivotal for women. There isn’t an issue…from affordable housing to income inequality, that doesn’t’ dis-proportionally affect women in our community.
The evening’s conversations were sparked by vignettes from Andrea Young, Executive Director of ACLU of Georgia, Cheryl Preheim, evening anchor at 11Alive, and Kwame Johnson, President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta. The evening’s program was designed in partnership with Civic Dinners, and facilitated by women leaders from across Atlanta.
Highlights of the evening included two incredibly moving performance from the Atlanta Music Project and a motivational challenge for change by Jill Savitt, the CEO of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights!
Day of Service
On the coldest day of the year, tens of thousands of ATLiens turned out for city wide volunteer projects, church services, the King Center’s annual march, and other MLK Day related events and programs. We tallied over 3,000 changemakers, serving almost 10,000 hours at 20 projects hosted by our corporate, nonprofit and school partners across metro Atlanta. Here’s a snap shot of the day:
400 volunteers turned up at Truly Living Well to assist with winterization for the fruit trees, composting, cleaning a pond and re-mulching pathways. Volunteers spread 800 pounds of mulch, built 5 cold frame/mini greenhouses, installed a new garden bed and more!
Our friends at Livable Buckhead hosted about 75 volunteers from Accenture and ADP at Loridians Park, where volunteers helped create a new nature trail and a community education space.
In partnership with Trees Atlanta, 300 volunteers planted 200 trees and 5,000 daffodil bulbs at Brook Run Park! Special guests included Dunwoody Mayor Lynn Deutsch, volunteers from project sponsors Coca-Cola, Newell Brands, and The Home Depot, plus the Atlanta-Dunwoody chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc.
ATLiens strolling down the Beltline stopped at our “pop up” project and helped build 200 STEM kits for students in our partner Atlanta Public Schools.
Volunteers stayed warm by working hard, beautifying 5 partner schools from Atlanta, Dekalb and Fulton County School systems. Projects covered a wide range of needs and included painting, landscaping, bench and picnic table builds, outdoor classrooms, garden beds and more!
More than 200 volunteers stopped into City Hall for the City of Atlanta Day of Service making hats and scarves, no sew blankets and more for City of Atlanta Warming Centers (temporary homeless shelters open during frigid temperatures) and several partner nonprofits.
What’s next
Our official King Holiday festivities began back on January 13 and will conclude on Jan. 31. On Thursday, Jan. 23 from 5:30pm-7:30pm catch Stacey Abrams at the Morehouse College Annual MLK Lecture Series and on Friday, Jan. 31 from 8:30am - 10:00am, grab your seat for an uplifting and engaging talk from Dr. Vicki Crawford at Creative Mornings. Dr. Crawford, the director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Collection at Morehouse College and general editor of the Morehouse College King Collection Series on Civil and Human Rights.
As Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The time is always right, to do what is right.” We’ve got you covered to do what is right, all year round:
Find volunteer opportunities to fit your schedule and the issues you can about most!
Explore one of our digital volunteering partners and help someone in real-time.
Host or attend a Civic Dinner.
THANK YOU SPONSORS!
Please join us and toss a high five to the companies paving the way for a more equitable and civically engaged Atlanta! The support from these leaders made the MLK Sunday Supper and Day of Service possible.
Instagram Reboot: 3 Simple Ways to Grow Your Following
This post was created in partnership with Splendid Consulting, previewing our upcoming Instagram 2.0 Essentials for Nonprofits workshop. Learn more and register here.
If you’re struggling with low engagement or gaining new followers on your nonprofit’s Instagram account, then keep reading! Today, we’re tackling one of the most overlooked spots to increase engagement: your Instagram profile.
An organization’s bio is the foundation to creating a successful marketing strategy.
I recommend checking in with your bio more often than you might think. As your goals, fundraising, or events change, your bio should too. If you’re launching a new campaign, your bio should give your community the scoop — and most importantly, make it easy for someone to donate, purchase, or get connected with you.
Here are 3 simple steps to crafting the perfect bio:
Your Mission: Is your mission easy to understand? Does it succinctly explain who you serve and your location? Keep it simple to ensure a new follower can clearly grasp all of these elements.
Contact info: Is your website link up to date? You’ll want to change it to reflect your current call-to-action. You may want it to link to your nonprofit’s website or to your Giving Tuesday page or tickets to purchase for a fundraiser. Consider a free service like Linktree if you need multiple URLs.
Branded Hashtag: Adding a branded hashtag is an easy way to increase engagement and show your community how to connect and share content with you. Make sure your hashtag is unique to you, and generic like: “#nonprofit” or “#atlantanonprofits.”
Don’t be afraid to be fun, witty, or creative — just stay within your own brand standards. You can use emojis to help break up the text visually and avoid long paragraphs. Once your bio is sparkling, start mixing in creative calls-to-action into your regular content. Let’s do this!
Christina Edwards, Founder
About Splendid Consulting
Our mission is to amplify the impact of nonprofit and cause organizations. At the intersection of strategy and solution, Splendid Consulting takes nonprofits to the next level. Splendid works with organizations to create the roadmap, tools, and mindset to thrive.
Wrap Up Report | Hands On Atlanta Week 2019
For our 30th anniversary (yes, it’s been 30 years of Hands On Atlanta!) we really wanted to do something big. We wanted to celebrate our organizations roots in community service, while also looking into the future to see what our role in making Atlanta the most equitable and civically engaged city in the world! We turned our annual day of service into Hands On Atlanta Week - marking Oct. 5-12 as the city’s largest week of service!
Powered by the support of our sponsors, including our presenting sponsor, Delta Air Lines, and in partnership with more than 50 of our nonprofit partners, we hosted or promoted over 250 volunteer projects or social good events during Hands On Atlanta Week!
Volunteer projects ranged from the massive, like 5,000 Atlanta Hawks fans packing 1,000,000 meals inside of State Farm Arena, to the small, but mighty projects like 25 volunteers from Accenture working hard to beautify Lindsey Street Park over in English Ave. Projects covered the innovative with 48in48’s skills based hack-a-thon for good and the spontaneous with the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) kit build pop-up project at the Atlanta Beltline Center on the east-side trail. Impact events like The Race Half Marathon and 5k, The Human Rights Film Festival at Morehouse and the 2nd Annual Atlanta Senior Day saw thousands of attendees and hundreds of volunteers! There was a ton of good happening during Hands On Atlanta Week, click here for a full list of all of our partners and projects.
In total, more than 10,000 ATLiens did something good, serving over 30,000 hours! The impact went viral online as well, as almost 25,000 visitors came to our website surpassing 1,000,000 social media impressions. Take a look at what some community leaders had to say (and do) during Hands On Atlanta Week…
“I had the BEST time this morning with the Pajama Program. My heart is so FULL!
I’m really glad I was able to participate…so much so that I signed up to be a Reading Buddy Plus!! It’s an extension of the Pajama Program where volunteers are paired with a child, and they read together on the 4th Monday of each month. I’m super excited about this.
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“It was a fantastic day and you all did a fantastic job! We are so grateful for your leadership, hard work, and super positive energy! Everyone here is talking about how good everything looks — thanks to you! Mr. Charles Robinson joins me in saying “Thank You!” for everything.
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Check out Delta’s 30th Kaboom! Build at KIPP Soul Primary School with 250 Delta employees and community members!
Go behind the scenes of a day at the Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta with the team from iVision.
Thank You!
There are quite literally thousands of people we’d like to thank for helping pull off the city’s largest week of service! If you volunteered, attended an event, hosted an event or project, shared with your network, even if you just thought about doing something good… thank you!
Volunteering isn’t free and we couldn’t do this work without the generous support of our corporate sponsors. Thank you
Presenting Sponsor - Delta Air Lines
Visionaries - Fiserv, Norfolk Southern, State Farm
Changemakers - Coca-Cola, Global Payments
Leaders - Atlanta Hawks, Change Healthcare, Lexis Nexis, Mercedes Benz, UPS
Advocates - Accenture, Alston and Bird, BakerHostetler, BDO, Cognizant, Center for Community Progress, D-Mack Agency, Dell, Deloitte, iVision, Manhattan Associates, Northside Hospital, OneDigital
Feeling Inspired?
Good! Now, get out there and do something good! Click the button below to view our entire calendar of opportunities, with projects everyday, that you can sign up for right now.
Hands On Atlanta Week 2019 | Service Guide
Saturday, Oct. 5-12, 2019, we’ve rallied the Atlanta community for a week of good with a goal to engage 10,000 ATLiens! Wondering what to expect, where you can pitch in, what’s all the excitement all about?! We’ve got all your questions (and more) covered in our 2019 Hands On Atlanta Week Service Guide.
It’s no secret, Atlanta sets the standard for civic engagement, it’s in our DNA. Our history is full of people and organizations who weren’t afraid to stand for making things better; which built the Atlanta we have today.
So, on Oct. 5 - 12, 2019, we’re rallying the Atlanta community - companies, nonprofits, community partners, events, and our network of changemakers - to help live Atlanta’s legacy. The best part? We want you and 10,000 ATLiens to join in for a week of good!
Here’s how you can get involved:
Volunteer
Thanks to our incredible sponsors, like Delta Air Lines, our nonprofit and community partners, there are a bunch of ways you can volunteer during Hands On Atlanta Week! When I say a bunch, I mean literally hundreds of ways. Check out these featured projects happening on Saturday Oct. 5:
1 Million Meal Pack with the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm!
Sign up as a Support Staff volunteer for this Signature Hands On Atlanta Week Kick-Off project and help 5,000 volunteers pack 1,000,000 meals for Atlanta families!
48in48
Sign up to use your creative talents for good and help 48in48 build 48 websites for 48 nonprofits in a 48 hour hack-a-thon for good!
The Race Half Marathon and 5K
Sign up to help this unique and community focused road race where runners pass through Atlanta, GA's historical Westside neighborhoods!
Click the button below to explore ALL of the volunteer opportunities happening on our calendar the week of Oct. 5 - 12, 2019.
Do Something Good
Hands On Atlanta Week is about civic engagement and getting as many ATLiens as we can (with a goal of 10,000!!) out in the community doing something good.
Beltline Pop Up
On your stroll down the Beltline’s East Side trail on Saturday, Oct. 5, stop in the Beltline Center and help assemble STEAM kits that will be donated back to students at our partner schools!
Host/Attend a Civic Dinner
This October, Civic Dinners will launch The Lovable City conversation in 100 cities across the United States. Join residents and civic leaders as they gather around the dinner table to co-create a better future for their city.
Answer College and Career Readiness Questions
Sign up for CareerVillage.org and help students get advice on their next step. You can help students at your convenience from anywhere! Click here to get started.
Live on Purpose
Sign up to get weekly notifications from Purposity and help support needs in our local community from verified nonprofits. If you want to help, it takes less than a minute! Click here to learn more.
But wait, there’s more…
Looking for some issue education and to learn more about some of the challenges facing our community and the solutions to solve them? Check out these must attend happenings around town during Hands On Atlanta Week.
Attend the Center for Civil and Human Rights
Click here to get exclusive $12 tickets to the Center for Civil and Human Rights during the entire Hands On Atlanta Week!
Attend the Inaugural Human Rights Film Festival at Morehouse
Check out (or volunteer with) the Human Rights Film Festival at Morehouse on Oct. 10-12. Experience film submissions from across the globe, right here in the heart of Atlanta! Click here to learn more.
Attend Atlanta Pride and Festival
Oct. 11-13, the Atlanta Pride Committee will host the annual Atlanta Pride parade and festival to support the LGBTQ community. Show your pride and them serve as an advocate of and resource to gender and sexually diverse communities in Atlanta. Click here to learn more.
For a full list of volunteer opportunities, community and corporate partners, visit www.handsonatlantaweek.org. We’d love it if you shared Hands On Atlanta Week with your network and we’ve made it really easy for you. Click here to check out our marketing toolkit and thank you for sharing!
Hands On Atlanta Week to Shine a Light on Community Changemakers
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!
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!
Looking Back at the Hands On Atlanta 30th Birthday
Over the years, we’ve learned a thing or two about our community. Y’all love volunteering and will go to great lengths to support our work, y’all care about making Atlanta better for all of our citizens, and y’all most definitely know how to party! Take a look back at the Hands On Atlanta 30th Birthday Party!
From left to right: Mayor Shirley Franklin, Jay Cranman, Danny Shoy.
Way back in the spring of 1989, 12 friends got together to try and figure out a better way to solve some of the challenges facing our city. After a few drinks and a few ideas, this gathering led to the start of Hands On Atlanta. 30 years later, on Saturday, April 13, more than 300 long-time (and new) friends packed into Manuel’s Tavern for an evening of celebration and fundraising at our 30th Birthday.
We celebrated visionaries like Elise Eplan, Kent Alexander and Michelle Nunn who helped make Hands On Atlanta one of the largest community engagement organizations in the world. How big? Since 1989, we’ve engaged 500,000 changemakers to serve more than 4 million hours in communities across metro Atlanta!
We celebrated changemakers like Ms. Genora Crooke, who spent 24 years as a teammate at Hands On Atlanta, and Mayor Shirley Franklin, our 2019 Holly Palmer Rhodes Changemaker of the Year. With the help of guest emcee, WSB-TV’s Fred Blankenship and Mayor Franklin, and the support of our sponsors and attendees, we pulled in $150,000 in donations!
Our history, our community, our impact, and those who continue to support our work… now, that’s worth celebrating!
Mayor Shirley Franklin, accepting the 2019 Holly Palmer Rhodes Changemaker of the Year award!
Capping off the night of fundraising, Fred and Mayor Franklin announce our raffle winner!
All-in-all, it was a throwback party we’ll be talking about for years to come. Thanks to all who came out in support of 30 years of service to the Atlanta community. Thank you to all of our Civic Fellows for volunteering and to our team for producing such a fantastic event! Thank you to all of our host committee members and all of our generous donors and sponsors: The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Publix, The Coca-Cola Company, UPS, Points of Light, Cognizant, Datum Sofware and BBDO Atlanta. Our work does not exist without your help. THANK YOU.