Hot Projects: Week of March 4

Join Us For A Workday At The Peace Garden!

Saturday, March 9 From 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Belvedere Park)

The Belvedere Peace Community, home to the Healthy Harvest Youth, have been growing food and community since 2009! Belvedere has about 50 plots that are rented by community members and used to grow food to distribute to the community. Volunteers are needed to mulch paths, add compost, plant veggie and seeds, and other gardening tasks.  

---

Furniture Bank Sorting & Kit Building

Saturday, March 9 From 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Adair Park- Atlanta)

The Furniture Bank, a 501(c)3, was founded in 1988 in response to the lack of furniture for families moving out of homeless shelters. Today, the Furniture Bank recycles gently-used furniture by collecting it from the community and giving it to individuals and families moving out of homelessness and fleeing domestic violence, as well as countless others struggling to make ends meet. Volunteers will help sort through our donations and make kitchen and bedding kits for our families. Kitchen kits provide our families with the essentials to prepare and eat a meal. Bedding kits are sheet sets that will accompany the mattresses our families receive.

---

Discovery Delivery Driver

Fridays Through APR. 26: 9:30 AM – 2:00 PM (Various Locations) 

Discovery occurs in Title I, public schools, with volunteers serving nearly 800 students two Saturdays per month throughout the school year. The average Discovery school is receiving 88% free and reduced lunch. Discovery also combats student hunger by providing breakfast snacks and lunch through the Georgia Food Bank Association’s Child and Adult Care Food Program. We’re looking for a Discovery Support volunteer to bring Discovery supply bins to schools prior to the sessions.

---

The Women’s Community Kitchen & BINGO

Friday, March 15, 2019 From 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM (MIDTOWN)

The Women’s Community Kitchen serves women and children, with an end-goal of creating a community of empowered women while combating food insecurity in the city of Atlanta. Volunteers will serve women meal of the day, monitor bingo, and hand out prizes.

Grace Community Food Pantry 

Thursday, March 28 From 10:00 AM - 2:30 PM (NW ATLANTA)

Grace Community Food Pantry’s mission is to involve, educate, and unite people in the work of ending hunger in the Atlanta area. Volunteers are needed with organizing shipments.Volunteers will organize and unpack the food items and monitor quality before supplying the appropriate shelves with designated items. Volunteers will also break down boxes and take cardboard to the trash. Pantry volunteers for this opportunity will sort food items and stock the shelves of the Food Pantry. 

Hot Projects: Week of February 25

Proctor Creek Green Space Restoration: EccoAddendum & WAWA

Saturday, March 2 From 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM & 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM(NW Atlanta)

Show Grove Park/Proctor Creek some love with WAWA and Eco-A through our community-focused program that goes beyond volunteering. Don't have a green thumb? That's okay, we're here to guide you. Can't tell privet from kudzu? Not a problem, we'll teach you. Sign up below to start a new adventure in a place that's close to home.

---

Morning- Project Grant March

Saturday, March 9 From 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Grant Park)

Project GRANT (Greenspace Restoration and Neighborhood Teamwork) convenes monthly in the park for morning (9am– 12pm) and afternoon (1pm-4pm) work sessions. Both sessions will tackle labor-intensive projects throughout the park including invasive plant removal, tree canopy care, trash pick up and more. Volunteers are welcome to sign up for one or both sessions, and these work days are great for small groups or those in need of community service hours.

---

Doggie Dash & 5K Program - Piedmont Park Conservancy

Sunday, March 10 From 7:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Midtown)

Come cheer on our two and four-legged runners at Piedmont Park Conservancy's 5th Annual Doggie Dash & 5K!  Volunteers are needed to help with Registration/Check-In, Course Way-Finding, Cheer Stations, Water-Stations, and Clean-Up.

---

Share A Story With A Child

Friday, March 15, 2019 From 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM (Glenwood Park)

At Pajama Program, we promote a comforting bedtime routine for children affected by instability to help them thrive. At the Atlanta Reading Center, our programming focuses on shared reading between a child and an adult volunteer. The shared reading experience is aimed to give children a sense of comfort and belonging, so that they feel better prepared for a good night’s rest.

Margie’s House Monthly Giveaway

Saturday, March 16 From 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM (Fairburn, GA)

Margie’s House mission is to bring food and assistance to the communities around South Fulton. Join us in our monthly food distribution! Volunteers will ensure the quality of the food, pack food in bags, break down the boxes in which the food was delivered, and more!

Hot Projects: Week of February 18

Trees Atlanta Forest Restoration Invasive Plant Removal

Saturday February 23 From 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Morningside, Atlanta)

Trees Atlanta is a nationally recognized non-profit citizens’ group that protects and improves Atlanta’s urban forest by planting, conserving, and educating. The vast majority of the work we do is accomplished with the help of volunteers including all the trees we plant, and much of our invasive plant removal! Volunteers will be using hand saws and pruners to remove Chinese Privet and English Ivy from trees at the Morningside Nature Preserve.

---

Chairish the Future

Friday February 22 from 5:30 PM - 10:30 PM (Westside, Atlanta)

The Furniture Bank’s vision is for all individuals and families to have the furniture necessary to create a safe and secure environment that contributes to health and well-being. Our mission is to recycle gently-used furniture by collecting it from the community and giving it to individuals and families moving out of homelessness and fleeing domestic violence, as well as countless others struggling to make ends meet. Volunteers will greet attendees, check guests in, and/or run the photo booth.

---

Discovery Program @ Belmont Hills Elementary

Saturday, March 2 from 9:00 AM - 12:00PM (Smyrna, GA)

he Hands On Atlanta Discovery program is a volunteer-led Saturday tutoring and enrichment program. The two-hour session occurs twice a month from 10am to 12pm. The program reinforces weekday learning through academic assistance, educational games, service-learning projects, and other enrichment activities. Volunteers who speak Spanish are especially needed. Students are engaged in a variety of subjects depending on the needs of their particular schools. Our goal is to have a one-on-one volunteer to student ratio, allowing for individualized attention and the building of relationships between students and volunteers.

---

Books For Africa

Monday February 25, 2019 From 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM (NW Atlanta)

Most African children who attend school have never owned a book of their own. For many children in Africa, the gift of books truly is a gift of hope. Since 1988, Books For Africa has sent over 20 million books to the children of Africa. We rely on volunteers like you to sort and pack the books for our shipments. No heavy lifting is involved.

Food Forest Grow-and-Learn

Saturday March 9 From 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Southeast Atlanta)

Help grow the Urban Food Forest at Browns Mill: largest food forest in the U.S. This 7.1 acre site is located in the heart of one of Atlanta's largest food deserts. South Atlanta residents worked with designers and partners for 1.5 years on a community vision plan. You are helping the community implement and steward their vision and future food oasis! How: Food forest "grow and learns" are held monthly at this site. Grow and learn opportunities include: planting and caring for the orchard and community garden, composting, bees, invasive species removal, trail building and more! The food forest ranger and guest speakers will share lessons along the way!

Hot Projects: Week of February 11

Atlanta Science Festival

Various Shifts through March 23rd (All Over Atlanta)

Join the Curious Corp, the volunteer team that makes the annual Atlanta Science Festival possible! From March 9-23, 50,000 children and adults will celebrate local science and technology at more than 100 events throughout metro Atlanta. Festival events feature hands-on activities, tours, tastings, and performances from more than 100 partner organizations, including school districts, post-secondary institutions, museums, businesses, civic and community groups. Volunteers are needed for every event and in the weeks leading up to the Atlanta Science Festival. We will need greeters, tweeters, ushers, wayfinders, lifters, marketers, and more

---

Food Pantry Volunteers

Friday February 15 from 9:30 AM - 2:00 PM (Riverdale, GA)

The Food Pantry began as a community service project, envisioned by youth to address the need of families in our community. This service project continued and now has the capacity to serve over 1300 families per month, providing year-round food assistance. The food pantry gives our youth a chance to be held accountable, develop empathy and self-esteem and give back to the community. Duties: Help prepare food boxes and give them out to the community. Stock and organize shelves.

---

Reflections of Trinity Grocery Distribution

Saturday, February 23 from 8:00 AM - 11:00AM & 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM (Powder Springs, GA)

Reflections of Trinity is a non-profit organization dedicated to meet the basic needs of those in crisis with food, clothing, and housewares and facilitates structured opportunities for people to engage in meaningful community service. Every week the Reflections of Trinity Outreach team, Team 58, assembles grocery boxes for the people in need in our very own community. We feed around 400 families on a weekly basis so we are always in need of volunteers!

---

SWEEAC Mobile Food Distribution

Thursday February 21, 2019 From 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM (West End)

Southwest Ecumenical Emergency Assistance Center (SWEEAC) provides assistance to southwest Atlanta residents in the form of monthly food distribution. SWEEAC serves more than 48,000 families & distributes over 1,000,000 pounds of food to the families in Atlanta. Volunteers provide the agency with much needed resources that allow the agency to complete their mission in a cost efficient and orderly manner. Volunteer tasks include: set up and breakdown, unpacking and organizing food to be distributed, bagging or boxing of food for recipients, assisting recipients to their vehicle or helping them carry food

C3 Ministries’ Food Pantry Distribution

Thursday, February 21 with shifts From 9:30 AM - 7:00 PM (Marietta, GA)

Our mission at C3 Ministries is to provide resources of four various ministries in order that families can become whole, independant and ultimately able to return to serve others. Serving over 250 families every Thursday and over 471,508 pounds of food this year, we are greatly impacting our communities and with your help, we can continue to be more successful in making an impact in our community. Give back to your community while having fun and meeting new friends, while re-stocking food shelves, loading boxes with food items and assisting in expediting boxes to attendees vehicles.

Hot Projects: Week of February 4

West Atlanta Watershed Alliance 2nd Service Saturdays

Saturday February 9 from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM (Southwest Atlanta)

This program facilitated by the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance and made possible by a grant from USDA Forest Service for our Atlanta Children’s Forest Network, provides the opportunity for youth 10 years and older to participate in meaningful activities encouraging conservation, stewardship and experiential learning on the second Saturday of every month (excluding January and July). Tasks: Trail building and maintenance, Invasive Plant Eradication, Habitat Restoration and other activities needed to manage the facility and grounds of this unique urban resource!

---

Volunteer Orientation Program

Monday February 11 from 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM or Wednesday February 13 from 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Grayson)

Prior to serving along side us at the SE Gwinnett Cooperative Ministry we require ALL volunteers complete our Volunteer Orientation Program. The orientation program provides new volunteers with information about our mission, the people we serve, the types of volunteer opportunities available, and our requirements and expectations for all those serving in our ministry.

---

Discovery Program @ Belmont Hills Elementary

Saturday February 9 From 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Smyrna)

The Hands On Atlanta Discovery program is a volunteer-led Saturday tutoring and enrichment program. The two-hour session occurs twice a month from 10am to 12pm. The program reinforces weekday learning through academic assistance, educational games, service-learning projects, and other enrichment activities. Volunteers who speak Spanish are especially needed. Students are engaged in a variety of subjects depending on the needs of their particular schools. Our goal is to have a one-on-one volunteer to student ratio, allowing for individualized attention and the building of relationships between students and volunteers.

---

Meal Packing

Various Weekdays Throughout February 9:00 AM -12:00 PM and 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Lindbergh)

Open Hand helps people prevent or better manage chronic disease through Comprehensive Nutrition Care, which combines home-delivered meals and nutrition education as a means to reinforce the connection between informed food choices and improved quality of life. Packing involves portioning food into individual containers and snack bags on our packing assembly line. With over 5,000 meals to package every day, your help is essential. This is a great project for individuals and families, and a great team-building exercise.

Share the LOVE Family Volunteer Day @ Easterseals North Georgia

Thursday, February 14 From 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM (South Atlanta)

Easterseals North Georgia is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serving children with disabilities and their families locally for over 50 years. Come share the love on Valentines Day! We welcome families of all ages to do a book drive for children age 6 weeks to 5 years. Please bring your books and write a short summary of how you did your drive. We will place you in a classroom so you can share your books with the children. We are all about literacy! We encourage you to engage with our kids, make them feel special! When you read to them, they are likely to want you to look at them, ask them questions about the book.

Hot Projects: Week of January 28

Beautification @ Panola Way Elementary School

Saturday February 2 from 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM (Lithonia)

Panola Way Elementary School opened in 1986 and is located in Lithonia, Georgia in DeKalb County. Panola Way's mission is to provide an environment that addresses the emotional, social, physical, and academic needs of all our students. Volunteers will paint, clean and build garden boxes.

---

C3 Ministries’ Food Pantry Distribution

Tuesday February 7 with shifts from 9:30 AM - 7:00 PM (Marietta)

Our mission at C3 Ministries is to provide resources of four various ministries in order that families can become whole, independant and ultimately able to return to serve others. Serving over 250 families every Thursday and over 471,508 pounds of food this year, we are greatly impacting our communities and with your help, we can continue to be more successful in making an impact in our community. Give back to your community while having fun and meeting new friends, while re-stocking food shelves, loading boxes with food items and assisting in expediting boxes to attendees vehicles.

---

Discovery Program @ Parklane Elementary

Saturday February 9 From 9:45 AM - 12:00 PM (East Point)

Parklane Elementary Discovery is a Saturday morning tutoring program that offers one-on-one and small group enrichment activities for at-risk children. Volunteers lead activities and help with reading and math skills for students in kindergarten through 5th grades. Volunteers who speak Spanish are especially needed.

---

Share In Our Valentine

Wednesday February 13 From 9:30 AM - 12:00 PM (College Park)

At InCommunity we partner to enrich and sustain the lives of individuals who have developmental disabilities, their families, and their communities.  This volunteer opportunity helps the InCommunity Organization carry out its mission by engaging the residents of InCommunity to engage in activites that are apart of everyday living and to work with volunteers. Volunteers will be participating in fun activities including the making Valentine Cards, playing boards games and BINGO, and distributing prizes to the winners.

Share the LOVE Family Volunteer Day @ Easterseals North Georgia

Thursday, February 14 From 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM (South Atlanta)

Easterseals North Georgia is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serving children with disabilities and their families locally for over 50 years. Come share the love on Valentines Day! We welcome families of all ages to do a book drive for children age 6 weeks to 5 years. Please bring your books and write a short summary of how you did your drive. We will place you in a classroom so you can share your books with the children. We are all about literacy! We encourage you to engage with our kids, make them feel special! When you read to them, they are likely to want you to look at them, ask them questions about the book.

Sunshine, Smiles and Service: A recipe for impact for the 2019 MLK Day of Service

The masses were out in full force for another big day of impact for the 2019 MLK Day of Service. Numbers are still trickling in, but about 2,000 volunteers served at 32 projects across metro Atlanta. Backed by a huge turnout from all 20 of our corporate sponsors, volunteers rolled up their sleeves and worked on a diverse and impactful series of projects at our partner nonprofits and schools.

At Truly Living Well 200 volunteers helped winterize fruit trees, composting, cleaned up a pond and more. Teammates from our title sponsor Coca-Cola were busy at sites like Blue Heron Nature Preserve, getting dirty, removing invasive plants along one of their trails, and with Keep North Fulton Beautiful by unloading and sorting donated goods and helping with customers. There was a pop-up letter writing station outside of The King Center, where visitors could join the Atlanta Legends by crafting encouraging messages to Atlanta Public School teachers.

Not all projects were outside (thankfully) and there was plenty of work to do at both schools and nonprofits. At Stoneview Elementary, volunteers from State Farm and the surrounding community teamed up for a school maker with a ton of paint projects throughout the school and with some brand new picnic tables in the courtyard. At Helping Mama’s, volunteers sorted diapers, ran inventory on donations and bundled clothing by season & size. At Frederick Douglass High School, 50 volunteers helped paint a huge mural (thanks to sponsors Mercedes Benz USA) that was created in partnership by some of Atlanta’s top muralists. At the Amani Women’s Center volunteers helped sort sewing supplies for the classes they teach to refugee women along with interior painting and a few other beautification projects to give the women a nice place to work and learn.

These are just a sampling of the impactful projects accomplished by volunteers today. We can’t thank the Atlanta community enough for showing up and serving for another huge MLK Day of Service! We’re also sending high fives to all of our corporate sponsors for making this massive day of service possible. To all of the project managers, our AmeriCorps members, all of the current and past Civic Fellows, every task leader and each member of our team at Hands On Atlanta - THANK YOU!

---

See more photos and learn about the impact our volunteers created across metro Atlanta on the 2019 MLK Day of Service on Twitter and Instagram! Did you volunteer? Share your service with us across social media by using #HandsOnMLKDay.

Take a look back at our 2019 Signature Sunday Supper presented by The Coca-Cola Company —>

Sports and Social Justice: A look back at the 2019 Hands On Atlanta Signature Sunday Supper

Hands On Atlanta Signature Sunday Supper presented by the Coca-Cola Company

On Sunday, January 20, 300 corporate and community leaders gathered around the dinner table at the College Football Hall of Fame for an engaging conversation about sports and social justice.

Slam poet, Poetix, kicked off the night with an energetic and moving performance that set the tone for the evening. Jay Cranman, Hands On Atlanta President and CEO gave a warm welcome to attendees and Alba Baylin, V.P. Community and Stakeholder Relations at The Coca-Cola Company followed with a moving reminder of the importance of “having tough conversations.”

Guests enjoyed dinner before our panel shared their views and roles on social activism in sports. 11Alive’s Cheryl Preheim moderated the panel that included Nate Boyer, a former Green Beret and professional football player with the Seattle Seahawks. Nate was a catalyst in Colin Kapaernick's decision to take a knee in protest against police brutality. He shared his eye-opening story and challenged us all to have empathy for others. He shared his eye opening story and how important Dr. King’s idea of listening to others and having empathy for others helped his role in the movement. Nzinga Shaw, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer of the Atlanta Hawks & State Farm Arena showcased how the NBA and the Atlanta Hawks are solving a set of diversity challenges. It’s safe to say, there isn’t a more transparent and inclusive organization in all of sports. Reverend Dr. Greg Ellison, founder of Fearless Dialogues and Associate Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at Emory University, passionately shared the connectedness of Dr. King’s vision to changemakers making a difference in today’s culture. He also dropped helpful tips for having a tough and sometimes uncomfortable conversation.

The panel was a great place setting for the table conversations, the night’s main course. We partnered up with The King Center and Civic Dinners, to create a series of questions built around the Building the Racial Divide civic dinner. Even more important, our Signature Sunday Supper was the official launch of a huge campaign. Our goal is to ignite the  Bridging the Racial Divide conversation, sparking 1,000 Civic Dinners across the country!

---

Feeling inspired to create change? Join Hands On Atlanta and The King Center by hosting your own Civic Dinner on Bridging the Racial Divide.

Take a look back at our 2019 MLK Day of Service —>