THE CITIZEN BLOG
THE CITIZEN BLOG
Good Party, Great Cause: High Five Late Night with the Hands On Atlanta Changemakers Board
On April 21st from 9:00 pm – 12:00 am, the Changemakers are stepping out with the High Five Late Night Party at The Gathering Spot. This party promises to be a tremendous time with live music, an open bar, tapas and a wine/spirit pull. In the words of Changemakers Board Chair, Everett Steele, “High Five Late Night is a great opportunity to share the impactful mission of Hands On Atlanta in a fun, social environment.”
The sticky tables at Manuel’s Tavern feel the same today as when a group of 20 and 30-somethings crowded around them in 1989. The 12 friends sipped beers as they talked about their early career moves and life as new parents, but mostly about how to impact Atlanta. They were determined to contribute to their local community and they knew that volunteerism was the secret sauce to success.
Over the years, the mission of Hands On Atlanta grew out from under bar signs into a West Midtown office and a 501(c)3 status. As Hands On Atlanta continued to grow and professionalize, it could have been easy to lose sight of the young, excited spark that founded our organization. But with our recent addition of leaders, that just not in the cards.
In fall of 2017, Hands On Atlanta launched its inaugural Changemakers Board, a group of 18 ambitious millennials hungry to impact our city and bring their friends along in the process. Even though this board just kicked off in September, the Changemakers have already engaged 140 Atlantans in support of Hands On Atlanta and are gunning to involve even more with an upcoming party.
On April 21st from 9:00 pm – 12:00 am, the Changemakers are stepping out with the High Five Late Night Party at The Gathering Spot. This party promises to be a tremendous time with live music, an open bar, tapas and a wine/spirit pull. In the words of Changemakers Board Chair, Everett Steele, “High Five Late Night is a great opportunity to share the impactful mission of Hands On Atlanta in a fun, social environment.”
The Gathering Spot is a far cry from sticky tables, Changemakers Board Vice Chair Rachel Sprecher knows that High Five Late Night has a direct link to the youthful founders of Hands On Atlanta. She feels that “it’s an honor to serve on the Hands On Atlanta Changemakers board and have a part in helping the organization engage millennials and young people in service.”
Join us and meet this amazing line-up of Changemakers excited to host you at High Five Late Night:
Chair: Everett Steele, Chief Of Staff, Atlanta City Council Post 3 At Large
Vice Chair: Rachel Sprecher, Executive Director, Atlanta Public Schools Office of Partnerships and Development
Darrlynn Brister Alston, Marketing & Business Development, Allstate
Kyle Azevedo, Research Engineer, Georgia Tech Research Institute
Jasmine Cato, Community Manager, WeWork Colony Square
Gloria Cox, Giving Leader, Chick-Fil-A Corporate
Madeline Eaton, Brand Communications Marketing Manager, Delta Vacations
Kurt Ford, Pacific Network Planning General Manager, Delta Airlines
Brittany Locke, Human Resources Coordinator, Merchant e-Solutions
Brian Matthews, Management Consultant, North Highland
Jeremiah McWilliams, Internal Communications Director, North Highland
Anirudha 'Rudha' Mididoddi, Strategic Business Development Manager, The Home Depot
Chris O'Connor, Business Development Manager, Clockwise MD
Annalise Peters, Associate, Alston & Bird
Devika Rao, Account Services Vice President, O'Neill Communications
Ashley Rouse, Out of School Time Program Manager, HealthMPowers
Kim Vu, Manager, Deloitte
Ryan Wilson, Co-Founder & CEO, The Gathering Spot
We hope you take this opportunity to come meet Hands On Atlanta’s news group of 20 and 30-somethings drinking beers and making change.
March For Our Lives
On March 24, 2018 the kids and families of March For Our Lives will take to the streets of Atlanta, GA to demand that their lives and safety become a priority.
On March 24, 2018 the kids and families of March For Our Lives will take to the streets of Atlanta, GA to demand that their lives and safety become a priority.
We can debate gun control. We can debate mental health. We can debate the causes and potential solutions to issues facing our communities. What cannot be debated is the power of civic engagement. In just a few days, ordinary teens from across the country have organized, rallied and marched. They've faced-off against adults - from local officials to POTUS, demanding their voice be heard.
This is not the generation we thought. The one glued to Snapchat, texting their friends 24/7, without a care in the world. This is a generation for change, and they are in every town, in every school. It's inspiring to see 16 and 17 year olds with such conviction and poise. It's a reminder that engagement (especially with development of young people) matters.
March For Our Lives was created by, inspired by, and led by students across the country who will no longer risk their lives waiting for someone else to take action to stop the epidemic of mass school shootings, that has become all too familiar. In the tragic wake of the seventeen lives brutally cut short in Florida, March For Our Lives believes the time to talk about guns is now.
Change is coming. And it starts now, inspired by and led by the kids who are our hope for the future. Their young voices will be heard and you can help.
Join and Share
Click here to RSVP on Facebook.
Amplify the youth's messages on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Snag a Shirt
Show your support with one of these t-shirts
Volunteer as a Peace Marshal
Adults are needed as volunteers to help the march move safely through the streets. Volunteers will receive about one hour of training. Sign up here.
Host a Sign Making Party
2018 Super Bowl Ads – Commercials or Politics?
What a game. There's comfort in camaraderie, rallying behind a fellow, feathered football team. Congrats to the Super Bowl LII champion, Philadelphia Eagles.
Almost as exciting as the game itself, the commercials have taken on their own importance as a part of the "Big Game's" pageantry. A growing trend from company's is to showcase a stance surrounding some our most polarized social issues. You might remember last year's Airbnb "We Accept" commercial.
Certainly not every company set out to make a statement, but it was impossible to avoid the civic tones struck in a large portion of ads. Will this trend continue? Will companies continue to put themselves forward as the moral compass within our country?
As the head of a nonprofit, I love seeing billion-dollar marketing budgets being used to spread awareness about our communities most pressing needs. Here are 5 ads that stood out to me:
Disaster Recovery (Budweiser)
Budweiser promoted their effort to send clean water to Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico after the recent hurricanes. According to Budweiser, their Cartersville, GA brewery has provided 2 million cans of water this year alone.
Clean Water (Stella Artois)
Like Budweiser, another beer company, Stella Artois this time, focused on water. Matt Damon, co-founder of Water.org, promoted their partnership and encouraged viewers to buy a beer chalice (here) to support safe drinking water in developing countries.
Diversity (Coke)
Coke's ad promotes the diversity of its brand and products and links that to the diversity of its customers, aiming for a message of unity and inclusion.
Nationalism (WeatherTech)
WeatherTech promotes a nationalist message with their commercial, featuring the building a factory alongside images of the USA flag. The commercial ends with: “At WeatherTech, we built our factory right here in America. Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be?”.
Win or Fail? (Dodge)
In Dodge's "Built to Serve" ad, the use of an excerpt from a Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speech probably seemed like a good idea, but the backlash online has the company looking tone deaf and opportunistic. But, people are talking...
Is this nothing more than smart advertising, or are companies taking BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s recommendation (see Larry Fink’s open letter to CEO’s), and taking more responsibility for their effects on society?
What do you think about this trend? Let us know on Twitter.
P.S. My favorite non-political ad was “Alexa loses her voice.” What was yours?
Atlanta Unites Over Supper and Service
“And one of the great liabilities of life is that all too many people find themselves living amid a great period of social change, and yet they fail to develop the new attitudes, the new mental responses, that the new situation demands. They end up sleeping through a revolution.”
Reverend Dr. King's passion for service and helping others is at the core of our work. Our mission and values to ignite a passion for service and create life-long community volunteers through civic engagement, diversity and inclusion, community partnerships, and the pursuit of excellence read more like a quote from one of his iconic speeches than something we try to pursue everyday.
To say the MLK Day holiday is important to us is an understatement. Our small, but mighty team, dedicates months of our year to planning and executing a series of events to try and honor his legacy and commitment to service the best we can. Because this year is the 50th Anniversary of his assassination and the MLK Day of service fell on his birthday, we went big and asked you to go big with us. Once again, you stepped up and 1,800 volunteers showed up to serve at 30 projects across metro Atlanta!
Special thank you to all of our sponsors, volunteers, nonprofits, and schools who came together to help make it all happen. Keep reading to view more details and to view photos from our 2018 MLK Day events.
2018 hands on atlanta signature sunday supper
On Sunday, January 14, 2018, nearly 200 corporate and civic leaders came together at The Gathering Spot to break bread and barriers at the Hands On Atlanta Signature Sunday Supper. Hosted by 11Alive's Cheryl Preheim, the evening was full of meaningful dialogue and featured a moving performance from actor Leon Rogers, as he relived portions of Reverend Dr. King's "Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution."
The focus of the night was a fireside chat with Prosperity Now's Dedrick Asante-Muhammad and Nathaniel Smith of Partnership for Southern Equity. The two shared the stage to explore Reverend Dr. King's "Poor People's Campaign" and take a closer look at the issue of economic inequality then and now. Dedrick brought a national perspective, while Nathaniel held a local lens on the challenges (and work) being done right here in Atlanta. Other speakers included Jay Cranman, Hands On Atlanta President and CEO, V.P. of Community Relations for Coca-Cola North America, Lori George Billingsley, and the CEO of Points of Light, Natalye Paquin.
The diverse room of attendees had a chance to then discuss the issues presented to learn from each other and form some solutions on how to solve the problem of economic inequality.
Watch the Signature Sunday Supper in it's entirety:
The Signature Sunday Supper was complimented by 50 self-hosted Sunday Suppers across metro Atlanta. In partnership with Civic Dinners, changemakers stepped up to host and attend these unique and fun events, sharing dinner and dialogue. Final numbers of attendees are still rolling in, but you can see some of the highlights here.
2018 mlk day of service
To celebrate Reverend Dr. King's birthday, it was back to what we do best: rally ATLiens in service! In total we had 30 projects and almost 1900 volunteers come out from English Ave. all the way up Buford Highway.
It was cold, but that didn't stop volunteers from making their impact felt across the city. Parks, nature preserves and schools hosted several beautification projects, building benches, gardens, painting, and more! Volunteers delivered meals to seniors, planted trees at several cemeteries, packed medical supplies, and more.
The day of service was larger than anticipated, thanks to the incredible support from the 20+ corporate sponsors who came out help us celebrate. A huge thank you and special shout out to our title sponsor The Coca-Cola Company, who's been supporting our MLK Day of Service efforts for almost 30 years!
Inspired to act? Consider making a donation or sign up to volunteer!
MLK as a Role Model for Business
As CEO of Dragon Army, a mobile and innovation company headquartered in Atlanta, I believe I have a responsibility to not only rally my team to support our community, but also expose them to new ideas. To challenge their built-in stereotypes and prejudices, and to expand their ability to accept and cherish the differences in their peers.
It’s been over 55 years since Martin Luther King, Jr. led his famous March on Washington. Standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, the world watched as Dr. King gave his famous “I Have A Dream” speech. In his dream, Dr. King spoke of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all, regardless of race, religion or background.
At Dragon Army, we stand for the ideals that Dr. King compelled the world to see; that all people are to be respected and cherished for their diverse backgrounds, not discriminated against because of them. And while he started the march, it’s our job to continue it.
Atlanta strives to carry on Dr. King’s dream today, and that’s one of the many reasons I love this city. It’s a bustling, growing metropolitan that credits its rise to its diverse community, not in spite of it. Atlanta is home to The Center for Civil and Human Rights, and it is home to the Atlanta BeltLine — the most extensive transportation and economic development effort this city has ever seen, and among the largest, most widespread urban redevelopment programs happening in the United States. Atlanta is also a tremendous business community whose bedrock is home to the Civil Rights Movement.
If you believe, like I do, that companies have a responsibility to do good in the world and give back to their community, then there’s no better place to run a business than Atlanta, Georgia — the birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the region where he made his biggest impact.
Check out all of our volunteer opportunities and help live Dr. King's dream.
After fighting for human rights for all Americans, Dr. King began to focus on employment and corporations as the next evolution of equality. He believed that companies have a responsibility to be forces of good in the world, and that their influence could make powerful change. We share the same belief at Dragon Army.
As CEO of Dragon Army, a mobile and innovation company headquartered in Atlanta, I believe I have a responsibility to not only rally my team to support our community, but also expose them to new ideas. To challenge their built-in stereotypes and prejudices, and to expand their ability to accept and cherish the differences in their peers.
One of our company values is “Celebrate Diversity.” We believe that diversity is key to our ability to build a strong, accepting culture. Diversity in backgrounds, experiences, demographics and viewpoints. We celebrate our differences and see them as strengths that help us move closer to creating a better world.
Reflecting on the last 50+ years since Dr. King was so unfairly taken from us, I recall the speech that Bobby Kennedy gave the evening of April 4th, 1964. He said:
… we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love.
What we need in the United States is... love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black.
We all have heroes, people that we look up to for inspiration and guidance. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a hero to all of us. Not just as citizens of Atlanta or the United States, but of this great world in which we’re all connected. He was a beacon of light and hope, taken from us too early, and it’s incumbent upon us to follow his lead.
He started the march, and it’s our responsibility to continue it.
This guest post is from Jeff Hilimire, the Co-Founder and CEO of Dragon Army; a mobile and innovation company headquartered in Atlanta. Learn more about their work at dragonarmy.com.
Drive for Discovery
Hosting a drive for our Discovery program is fun, free and an impactful way for groups of folks to help their local community.
The season of giving is upon us, Atlanta. As Scrooge’s unflappably cheerful nephew Fred puts it, the holidays are “a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time,” and we are inclined to agree. Here at Hands On Atlanta we have a slew of ways for folks to give back: volunteering through our calendar, gifting money and sponsoring custom projects (just to name a few). In addition to all those avenues of service, drives for our Discovery program are a fun, free and impactful way for groups of folks to help their local community.
Discovery is Hands On Atlanta’s longest running program. Every other Saturday, Hands On Atlanta Discovery volunteers tutor, feed and mentor nearly 800 students from Title I public schools. This puts Hands On Atlanta in the unique position of being intimately familiar with the struggles of families facing the greatest needs. Across the board, students we work with don’t have adequate winter clothes or school supplies and come from food insecure families.
If you want to giving back in a way that makes a direct impact on a truly vulnerable, at-promise population, this is your opportunity. Here how you do it:
- Rally a group of your co-workers, neighbors, book or wine club, trivia or bocce team, golf buddies… you get the picture.
- Check out the list below of items that are dearly needed by our Discovery students. You can pick one category or call for donations of everything listed.
- Let us know about your drive and we'll gladly come grab the items from you OR you can always drop items off at our office.
Warm weather clotheS
- Socks, hats, gloves, coats, etc... for students grades K-5
Educational materials
- School supplies like crayons, butcher paper rolls, batteries, markers, lined/writing paper, name tag labels, construction paper, pens, etc...
- Fun leisure books for students in grades K-3
Snacks
- Nut-free nonperishable food - Nutrigrain bars, pretzels/popcorn, fruit juice, fruit snacks, etc...
Go ahead, have a drive. Make Fred proud. Enjoy the holidays knowing that somewhere in Atlanta a child is walking a little warmer, reading a little better and growing a little taller because of you.
Questions? Holler at Lara Wagner at lwagner@handsonatlanta.org or (404) 979-2838 for more about hosting a drive for Discovery.
This post is made possible with the support from:
3 Easy Ways to Give Back This Giving Season
Tis the season, Giving Season!
It's here. That time of year where you get ALL the emails, pretty brochures, social media posts, phone calls, and even a carrier pigeon or two asking you to donate. It's pretty exciting to learn about the incredible work so many nonprofits are doing, but it can also be a little overwhelming, leaving you wondering where your dollars should go or how you actually donate.
Well, fear not. We've come up with 3 easy ways for you to give back to your favorite nonprofit (Hands On Atlanta ;)) to make a lasting impact throughout next year!
1. Join Georgia Gives Day on Giving Tuesday!
Since 2012, Georgia Gives Day has helped raise over $13 million for Georgia nonprofits. On November 28th, they've teamed up with Giving Tuesday to prove giving a little--together, will do a lot for the causes you care about. Whether you can donate $10 or $10,000 (we'd love the latter), it all adds up to more volunteers solving more problems in Atlanta. That's more tutors to read to kids, more backpacks to fill with food, and more shovels to dig up dirt in parks.
Getting started is easy. Click the button below to make a donation OR to start a fundraiser. If you start a fundraiser you can raise money for Hands On Atlanta from your friends and family.
2. Become an Annual Member of Hands On Atlanta
So you're short on time, but want to make a consistent, meaningful donation? Becoming an Annual Member of Hands On Atlanta just might be the right choice for you! In less than 2 minutes and just $8/mo, you can help us provide Atlanta with:
- 1 Meals4Kids backpack for a weekend for 6 months OR
- Education materials for tutoring 2 students per year OR
- Snacks for 3 students at Saturday Discovery sessions for the year
A little goes a long way. Plus, you'll be an official Hands On Atlanta member! Members will get access to exclusive news and events, a private Facebook group (starting in 2018), unlimited high-fives, and you'll own bragging rights with your friends. It's a pretty great deal.
3. Click the Donate button.
Ahh, yes. The ol' Donate button. In case you forgot where it was located. Head on over to our Home page and look for that blue button in the upper right hand corner. You can't miss it. Simply fill out the quick form, tell us what impact program you'd like your donation to go to and voila, you're done.
You can toss funds towards our Civic Leadership Program, Americorps, TeamWorks!, Discovery, Meals4Kids, and more!
On mobile?
From the home page, just click the sandwich in the upper right corner to show the menu. Then, just hit the that big Donate button at the bottom of the menu.
Now, we know what you're thinking, and the answer is "yes!" We're still going to send you an email or two, post our impact and the importance of our work on social media, and deliver a fancy little note in the mail in case you really like seeing all those things. Don't worry though, this year we've pardoned all pigeons from any volunteer work.
Thousands of Volunteers Rise Up for Hands On Atlanta Day
You did it Atlanta. You showed up by the thousands and helped celebrate the city's biggest day of service in grand fashion. From helping raise funds for hurricane relief efforts at our Kick-Off Party, to rolling up your sleeves and getting to work, you showed what it means to be an ATLien. You showcased what empathy and inclusion looks like and more importantly, what can be accomplished when service unites!
In a word, wow!
You did it Atlanta. You showed up by the thousands and helped celebrate the city's biggest day of service in grand fashion. From helping raise funds for hurricane relief efforts at our Kick-Off Party, to rolling up your sleeves and getting to work, you showed what it means to be an ATLien. You showcased what empathy and inclusion looks like and more importantly, what can be accomplished when service unites!
Let's take a look back at some of the special moments from the 64 projects and 3,000 volunteers that made the 28th Annual Hands On Atlanta Day such a success.
The Kick-Off Party
Changemakers turned up and turned out for the Hands On Atlanta Day Kick-Off Party. The fundraiser for our sister HandsOn Affiliate organizations impacted by the recent hurricanes saw over 300 attendees who helped with a service project, enjoyed the finest brews Monday Night Brewing has to offer, ate delicious BBQ and helped honor Mayor Reed and First Lady Sarah-Elizabeth Reed with our Changemaker Award for their commitment and dedication to service.
The Mayor and his family surprised attendees with an announcement to match all donations during the event, giving us a total of $5,000 that we'll donate to hurricane relief!
Kaboom! Playground Build with KIPP Vision
Delta and Kaboom! got things started at KIPP Vision Primary School with the energy and excitement we've grown to expect from their annual playground build. The DJ blasted tunes, the volunteer vibes were plentiful, and Atlanta's own Silento surprised everyone with a fun performance! The build ended with King of Pops and a surprise $20,000 donation from Delta to KIPP! The tone was set for the rest of the day as 63 other projects were rockin' and rollin'.
We couldn't make it to all of them, but check out these highlights from around the day.
TREES Atlanta at Oakland City MARTA
More than 150 volunteers chipped in for a beautification project with TREES Atlanta. Lee Street was buzzing with community leaders and teammates from Mercedes-Benz, Nebo Agency, and Crosslink. Planting a tree is no easy task, so the pro's started the day with step-by-step instructions and then the volunteers broke out into groups and got to planting. A camera crew from Major League Soccer's Beyond the Stands was on-site to feature the community focused work Atlanta United support club, Terminous Legion gets into every month.
By 1:00pm we were the top trend on Twitter!
Not only did volunteers show up in person, but they shared their volunteer vibes all across the internet! Our Instagram and Twitter accounts were on fire all day, and for the week #handsonatl surpassed 3.7 million impressions.
Discovery at Parklane Elementary
Over 100 kids showed up for a morning full of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programming. Volunteers from FirstData and Mercedes-Benz worked through the curriculum and finished the day with plenty of high fives!
Changemakers at Peyton Forest Elementary
The all-new Hands On Atlanta Changemakers Board teamed up with FirstData at Peyton Forest Elementary to help with some paint projects throughout the building. They arrived ready to add some color and energy, but ended up taking away much more than they gave.
“What we’re trying to do here is change the trajectory of children’s lives. And the way we do this is to offer them an alternative to what life can be. And one of those things is coming to a place that makes them feel like they deserve it, to let them know that they are worth it.”
Hustlin' with 48in48
Skills based volunteers crammed into an all-new co-working space in Underground Atlanta to build 48 websites for 48 nonprofits in 48 hours. The social innovation hack-a-thon brought together some of Atlanta's top creatives and developers to pull it all off.
Thank You!
Thank you to the 3,000+ volunteers who came out, to the more than 30 corporate sponsors who helped make it happen (especially our Title sponsor, Delta). Thank you to the 64 nonprofits and schools for your hard work in planning and preparation. Thank you to our partners (TEDxPeachtree, 48in48, and A3C), and a special thanks our team - the hardest working service nerds in the business! THANK YOU all for the impact you helped create.
What's next?
Go volunteer! We have projects listed on our site every day of the week. Our next annual day of service will be our MLK Day of Service, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the King Holiday.