How doing a little, means a lot for Sara Henderson

Sara Henderson’s volunteer experience is probably the most relatable one you may find. She began excited, all-in, driven, empathetic, and completely forgetting how terrifying it is to reach out and meet strangers. Reliving her first time volunteer experience with Hands On Atlanta’s TeamWorks! program reminds us all why trying something new, especially volunteering, can be so scary.

Nervous, unsure of the tasks at hand, Sara showed up late (after being lost) to A.G. Rhodes, only to find she was tasked to compete on “Nailed It” in real life. An admirer of those who do crafts, this was not the first challenge Sara faced in following through on her volunteering commitment.

“When I got out of bed that morning, I almost talked myself out of going. When I got lost, I almost turned around for home. And when I discovered we were crafting, I almost quietly snuck out the back door. But I didn't. Instead, I sat with a resident as she told me about her children who she hadn't seen in months, and their children whose names she could not recall. She regaled me stories of fame, her many adventures as an elevator operator in Atlanta's famed Biltmore hotel, and gave me invaluable Atlanta history. I gave her much-needed companionship, my interest in her life, and the least-terrible door wreath I've ever made”.

“Whether you measure your spare time in miles on the track or miles up a mountain - if we all do just a little, together we can do a whole lot.”

It’s easy to forget how much we need each other in the hustle and bustle of daily life, or to assume what others think based on what we see in [social] media. Sara’s heart and drive through her early volunteering experience embodies the point of volunteering. It’s not about making it perfect, it’s about making an impact.

In Sara’s words: Whether you measure your spare time in miles on the track or miles up a mountain - if we all do just a little, together we can do a whole lot.

You can help Sara “do a little” this month by volunteering with her through Career Village answering college and career readiness questions from students, spreading kindness with Hands on Atlanta's Kindness Cards, or by registering food pantry guests at a drive up distribution site in Newnan.

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Inspired by Sara’s story?

Help us engage and highlight incredible efforts like Sara’s, by making a donation to Hands On Atlanta. It takes hard work AND financial support to tackle Atlanta’s most pressing needs. When you let our hands be yours, every $1 invested turns into $6 of economic impact! Donate now and help ensure a more civically engaged and equitable Atlanta.

Adrienne White shares the impact of board service

Catching up with Adrienne White isn’t easy - literally! This part-time runner, avid Peloton rider and full-time finance and board service pro has served on various nonprofit boards ranging from the Atlanta Beltline Partnership advisory board to the Atlanta Track Club. These days she’s committed her skills and passion for a more equitable Atlanta to actively serve on boards with Hands On Atlanta, Atlanta Business League and the Grove Park Foundation. Adrienne is also the Vice Chair for Candidate Recruitment at the Democratic Party of Georgia.

It was great to spend a few minutes with her to learn more about why board service is so important to her and so impactful for the community.

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Inspired by Adrienne’s story?

Help us engage and highlight incredible efforts like Adrienne’s, by making a donation to Hands On Atlanta. It takes hard work AND financial support to tackle Atlanta’s most pressing needs. When you let our hands be yours, every $1 invested turns into $6 of economic impact! Donate now and help ensure a more civically engaged and equitable Atlanta.

Volunteering is magical for Renee Videlefsky

The joy, passion, and ease of connecting with the community is obvious as soon as you meet Renee Videlefsky. You can almost spell the alphabet with the number of organizations she surrounds herself with. She is a Unicorn of volunteers - impacting those she interacts with directly, snowballing a path to change. Unlike emerging tech Unicorns, though, she won’t IPO because she loves her communal connections.

When it comes to why she’s so involved, Renee’s humility shines through: “I feel so fortunate that I am in a position to dedicate my time to so many noble and impactful causes. Selfishly, I believe I gain much more from “doing good” than, perhaps, the recipients!”.

The Covid-19 pandemic abruptly suspended many of Atlanta community member’s volunteering involvements. For Renee, she could no longer tutor her elementary school children, conduct tours as a docent for the Bremen Holocaust Museum, and could not facilitate in-person Talk with me Baby @ Work conversations for Hands On Atlanta, among many other in-person initiatives. This demanded a pivot from volunteer organizations and from Renee. As a result, she delved into the growing food insecurity problem in Atlanta and redirected her volunteering efforts towards that.

“I feel so fortunate that I am in a position to dedicate my time to so many noble and impactful causes. Selfishly, I believe I gain much more from “doing good” than, perhaps, the recipients!.”

“I certainly witness the appreciation and gratitude of the recipients of the food distributions on a regular basis. In the past, I experienced wonderful and emotional ‘ah-ha!’ moments when the children I tutored in reading suddenly ‘got it’, and their huge smiles were the best reward!”. The years-long investment of tutoring children is something Renee will certainly get back to once we can all safely do so. And until then, she’s pivoted to support those same children in a different way through meals.

Renee continues to show up for the youth community through The Sandwich Project and by packing meals for Atlanta Public Schools with Hands On Atlanta. No matter the challenge, Renee welcomes you to join her in conquering it - all while smiling and seeing that all things are possible.

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Inspired by Renee’s story?

Help us engage and highlight incredible efforts like Renee’s, by making a donation to Hands On Atlanta. It takes hard work AND financial support to tackle Atlanta’s most pressing needs. When you let our hands be yours, every $1 invested turns into $6 of economic impact! Donate now and help ensure a more civically engaged and equitable Atlanta.

Inspired by Hank Aaron, Constance Mack goes to bat for students

Committed to student success, Constance Mack, Director, Business Strategy & Initiatives at Bank of America, shares the impact of her board service at Atlanta Technical College, and a run in with one of Atlanta’s largest legends. Get to know her and why she’s so passionate about improving the career and economic trajectory for students.

Share a little bit about the impact areas or pressing needs facing Atlanta you care about most.

While Atlanta is a hub for innovation and growth, we also know that unfortunately Atlanta is challenged with income inequality and lack of economic mobility -- and 2020 really exposed these inequalities even more. I've always been passionate about how education positions individuals for better opportunities and honed in on technical education as a key driver enabling paths to better careers and in turn social and economic growth.

Tell us about the organization you volunteer with.

I volunteer with several organizations including the Atlanta Technical College Foundation, Urban League of Greater Atlanta, and 100 Black Men of Atlanta. The Atlanta Technical College Foundation focuses on resources for the college including scholarships, equipment and community programs. I enjoy serving on the Board of Trustees because of the opportunity to directly engage with students as well as support scholarship funding and expanding resources for the school. This work is important to me because of how the college maximizes each dollar received and the accelerated impact that technical education can have on shifting the career and economic trajectory of students. I love that I can see the immediate impact on a student's life.

“I’ve always been passionate about how education positions individuals for better opportunities and honed in on technical education as a key driver enabling paths to better careers and in turn social and economic growth.”

Has the Covid-19 pandemic affected your volunteering efforts?

My volunteer efforts have certainly shifted to virtual, however it's been more important than ever to show up for others even virtually so if anything I'm able to volunteer, mentor and engage more during this time.

Is there a memorable moment or highlighted event that sticks out to through your volunteering experience?

While volunteering, I had the great honor to meet Mr. Hank Aaron and witness up close the impact of the Aaron Family's longstanding support for the students of Atlanta Technical College. I am truly inspired by his legendary leadership and heartfelt commitment to the students and the future our community.

Where will you be volunteering next?

During April, I will be volunteering with the company I work for in our annual Global Service Month activities. It's a great experience to do something good as well as build connections with colleagues. If you're looking for volunteer activities, volunteering with your company is a good place to start or even organize an event for your team such as with the Urban League of Greater Atlanta which is providing aid through various channels to those who were impacted by the pandemic.

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Inspired by Constance’s story?

Help us engage and highlight incredible efforts like Constance’s, by making a donation to Hands On Atlanta. It takes hard work AND financial support to tackle Atlanta’s most pressing needs. When you let our hands be yours, every $1 invested turns into $6 of economic impact! Donate now and help ensure a more civically engaged and equitable Atlanta.

Make a difference with Eula Spivey

We recently spent some time with Eula Spivey, a teacher at Fairington Elementary School and 2021 Hands On Atlanta Civic Fellow, to learn more about her commitment to her students and the community she’s impacted for the last 32 years.

As a Hands On Atlanta Civic Fellow, Eula has been serving with Disco (the virtual version of our storied Discovery program) since the start of the 2020/21 school year. She’s been an incredible leader, facilitating Zoom calls with students to help combat isolation throughout the pandemic and virtual schooling.

““Eula has been one of the major stars of the Hands On Atlanta Disco program this year. The energy and light she brings to the sessions are contagious and the kids certainly feel it. From always being prepared, to becoming a personal cheerleader for the students we serve, Eula goes above and beyond in her call to serve. Having been in education for 20+ years, Eula understands the importance of pouring into children and setting them up for success, which makes her such an asset to us.””

— Tasia Limonius, Hands On Atlanta Senior Education Programs Coordinator

You can join Eula in supporting students across metro Atlanta with these virtual opportunities from our partners Mind Bubble, Soccer in the Streets, Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta and C.H.O.I.C.E.S..

Learn more about her service as a Hands On Atlanta Civic Fellow and how you can join the next round of fellows here.

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Inspired by Eula’s story?

Help us engage and highlight incredible efforts like Eula’s, by making a donation to Hands On Atlanta. It takes hard work AND financial support to tackle Atlanta’s most pressing needs. When you let our hands be yours, every $1 invested turns into $6 of economic impact! Donate now and help ensure a more civically engaged and equitable Atlanta.

Four Things Michelle Loves About Volunteering

For this year’s Global Volunteer Month, we caught up with Michelle Signorelli, Category Manager at RaceTrac Petroleum. She volunteers at Habitat for Humanity as well as a variety of organizations through Hands On Atlanta. We loved hearing what makes her volunteer experiences valuable. Get inspired to get out and volunteer!

What impact areas or pressing needs facing Atlanta do you care about most?

That's a tough question, I've enjoyed all of the different events addressing needs that I've done with HOA for different reasons. For Atlanta specifically, I would say Youth Education & Hunger/Homelessness. I am passionate about youth education because it provides a unique opportunity for the positive impact to be carried throughout a child's life. Food insecurity & homelessness address the foundational needs of every person's life and provides the opportunity to reach a substantial group of people with each event.

How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected your volunteering efforts?

I was participating in the Civic Leadership Program (CLP) with Hands On Atlanta and I could no longer serve at my partner organization or meet with the CLP class. At first, the restrictions made it more challenging to volunteer and it interrupted the "habit" I had established. On the positive side, the Hands On Atlanta team kept me in the know on existing and emerging needs in Atlanta, so I was able to serve in a way that worked for me. In a time where many of us felt helpless with little control of the situation, serving provided an outlet and opportunity to put that energy into action

Creativity in Action: Michelle’s CLP fundraising was completed mostly by refinishing furniture and having the recipients donate to her goal!

What do you love most about the organization you volunteer with?

The first thing I loved about my partner organization, A.G. Rhodes, was the general atmosphere of positivity and warmth. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the residents, each of them with a unique personality and history. I have no doubt these are also the reasons the volunteers revisited A.G. Rhodes each month.

Can you share a memorable highlight or moment you've experienced that might motivate others to volunteer?

First and foremost, the follow-up email from Task Leaders/HOA that tells you the impact of the time you spent serving: "We served 15,000 lbs. of food to 500 families." My only thought each time is, "Wow." There are not many ways you can spread that much love, to that many people, in that amount of time.

Ready to join Michelle and fight food insecurity?

This month Michelle’s volunteering with the Atlanta Public Schools Meal Packs. Find more ways to serve hunger and homelessness in the Atlanta area by clicking below to see our upcoming opportunities!

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Inspired by Michelle’s story?

Help us engage and highlight incredible efforts like Michelle’s, by making a donation to Hands On Atlanta. It takes hard work AND financial support to tackle Atlanta’s most pressing needs. When you let our hands be yours, every $1 invested turns into $6 of economic impact! Donate now and help ensure a more civically engaged and equitable Atlanta.

How a pandemic gave Christy a chance to keep going

We recently caught up with Christy Schofield, Business Development at Mohawk Industries to learn more about her efforts to fight food insecurity across metro Atlanta. Get to know her and find out when and where you can volunteer with Christy next!

Share a little bit about the impact areas or pressing needs facing Atlanta you care about most.

I care deeply about food insecurity and basic needs of people. No person should go without in this country, in this city. There are too many of us that can give our time and resources to take care of those in need.

Tell us about the organization you volunteer with.

I like the freedom to volunteer around my schedule and volunteering with Hands On Atlanta and the American Red Cross let me give back when I’m available. Between work and travel, there are always events that I can participate in. I also like the people I volunteer with! I enjoy seeing the the regulars that volunteer often and the new people I meet at each event.

The commitment comes natural. This work feeds my soul, and has changed my plan for life ahead. I was all for ambition and climbing as high as I can in my profession. I still feel that way, however now the goal is to get to a place when I can have more time to organize and lead in the Atlanta Community. I want to sit on a board and contribute and be a light for the rest of my years.

“Covid created my volunteering efforts. I found myself out of a job in July 2020, and I immediately signed up for a food distribution event with Hands On Atlanta. I would keep volunteering after I returned to work because it feeds the community, and it also feeds me. I feel like part of the solution every time I volunteer.”

Has the Covid-19 pandemic affected your volunteering efforts?

Covid created my volunteering efforts. I found myself out of a job in July 2020, and I immediately signed up for a food distribution event with Hands On Atlanta. My company would bring me back a short time after, but I will forever be grateful for the opportunity volunteering gave me to "keep going". Little did I know I would keep volunteering after I returned to work because it feeds the community, and it also feeds me. I feel like part of the solution every time I volunteer.

Is there a memorable moment or highlighted event that sticks out to through your volunteering experience?

We were at Ebeneazer Church for the MLK Day Food Distribution. It was cold, so cold I couldn't feel my fingers. The cold didn’t stop anything, as everyone around me continued to work - the energy was contagious. Even though the skies were sunny, it began to snow. Snow in Atlanta! It wasn't in the forecast, but a gift of happiness, even if only for a moment. It reminds me of the happiness we are to the people we serve, if only for a moment.

Where will you be volunteering next?

I will be at Food to Families on April, 3 from 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM. There are still a few spots available and more every Saturday on the Hands On Atlanta website - come work with me!

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Inspired by Christy’s story?

Help us engage and highlight incredible efforts like Christy’s, by making a donation to Hands On Atlanta. It takes hard work AND financial support to tackle Atlanta’s most pressing needs. When you let our hands be yours, every $1 invested turns into $6 of economic impact! Donate now and help ensure a more civically engaged and equitable Atlanta.

Give 48 hours with Sima Parekh

We recently caught up with Sima Parekh, Director, Operations Strategy & Programs at IHG Hotels and Resorts, and Executive Director at 48in48.org. Get to know her passion for Atlanta and how you can join her in service.

Tell us about the organization you volunteer with.

I have been involved with 48in48 for the past 6 years in multiple capacities, it’s become my passion project. The organization brings together volunteers who excel in digital marketing and technology to build free websites for many deserving nonprofits in a 48-hour “hack-a-thon.”

The organization has built over 950 websites to date, and we will build our 1000th site at the Women's Build Event - which will result in an an estimated give back value totaling $25M of service.

The fact that we can make a difference in the life of a nonprofit in 48 hours is instantly gratifying, and the ripple effect and value of the new website our volunteers create is priceless!

Share a little bit about the impact areas or pressing needs facing Atlanta you care about most.

I’m passionate about improving public transportation and education in Atlanta. We need to reduce our carbon footprint and protect the environment, and Atlanta's education system is consistently in the lower thirds. If we want our children to be the leaders for tomorrow, we must give them the tools to succeed. I believe education is the key to teaching all our children to appreciate diversity.

How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected your volunteering efforts?

Our organization lost funding and fulltime staff due to the pandemic. The hackathons that were once held in cities around the country ended abruptly. Fortunately, we were able to pivot to 100% virtual events. Thanks to our incredible volunteers, we hosted our largest online build event in October 2020, where we built 63 websites in 48 hours. We stayed nimble and focused.

“The fact that we can make a difference in the life of a nonprofit in 48 hours is instantly gratifying, and the ripple effect and value of the new website our volunteers create is priceless!”

Is there a memorable moment or highlighted event that sticks out to through your experience with 48in48?

In 2020, we held our first onsite event in Miami, FL. This is where I met Layla, the eight year old nonprofit CEO/President of Let's Be Selfless. Her charity is focused on giving toys to children in hospitals. She started the charity because she had so much and wanted to give something back to others. She mobilized her friends, classmates and community to help with her mission. Our website helps her reach more people. Every year and every event, I come across amazing people doing selfless things. If an eight year old can do this, nothing should keep me or anyone else from giving 48 hours to our mission.

How can Atlanta get involved and join you volunteering?

The next 48in48 event will take place on April 9-11, when we will host a Women's Build Event. This event comes on the heels of Women's Month and will showcase the talent of women, as all website build teams will be made up of women. While exciting, this event is is currently full.

Volunteers can help with our Social Justice event, coming up in June. You can learn more about this event (and others) and get involved at our site 48in48.org.

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Inspired by Sima’s story?

Help us engage and highlight incredible efforts like Sima’s, by making a donation to Hands On Atlanta. It takes hard work AND financial support to tackle Atlanta’s most pressing needs. When you let our hands be yours, every $1 invested turns into $6 of economic impact! Donate now and help ensure a more civically engaged and equitable Atlanta.