Category: Securing Atlanta’s Future

By Ken Zeff, Ed.D., Executive Director, Learn4Life We all share a lengthy list of grievances against the past year, especially its impact on our children. Articulating these challenges can be overwhelming, but now is not the time to give up on hope, but rather to be energized by the bright spots of success that exist […]

Blythe Keeler Robinson, President and CEO, Sheltering Arms The year 2020 caused many disruptions in different areas of our lives, including education. The way we teach, the way children learn, the way we go about our everyday lives has forever changed. Now, we’re in the new year, and as an early childhood education provider, Sheltering […]

By Brittany Collins, Director of PAACT: Promise All Atlanta Children Thrive and Mindy Binderman, Executive Director of GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students As we enter 2021, one cannot help but reflect on what a tumultuous year 2020 has been, and how it has forced us to reimagine traditional ways of thinking and doing. GEEARS launched the PAACT initiative last year, and despite all of us […]

By Frank Brown  This has been a year of radical transparency and recognition – of the shortcomings of our democratic system, of the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots, and of the importance of philanthropy and not-for-profits to serve the community.  Over the past 11 months, we’ve written about the work of Communities […]

By Blythe Keeler Robinson, President and CEO, Sheltering Arms As we prepare to close out this unprecedented year, there’s no argument that the pandemic has presented challenges no one could have ever expected. The impact to the economy and key industries, like healthcare and education, has called for major shifts unlike anything else we’ve experienced […]

By Sarah Batts, Executive Director of the Shepherd Center Foundation and Past-President of The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc. In the wee hours of December 21, 2019, I received a call that told me 2020 would be beyond challenging. I groggily answered the phone to hear Sarah Morrison, president, and CEO of Shepherd Center, say, […]

This year has been difficult for everyone, especially our youngest children, their caregivers, and Georgia’s educators. And Thanksgiving, along with so many other holidays and milestone commemorations, looked a lot different in 2020. One thing that this pandemic has taught me, however, is to never miss a chance for a celebration. And it is with […]

By Nicole Bush Turkeys, hams, and yams. Those were just some of the items we distributed this past weekend to families at our inaugural fall festival for the Carver cluster, in partnership with Purpose Built Schools Atlanta. This five-year and counting partnership with Communities in Schools of Atlanta and Purpose Built Schools Atlanta continues to […]

By Charlotte Terrell, Talent Management Specialist and Past President of The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc. (2003-2004) “The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated.” – William James This year has been one like no other. It started as most do with celebrations of a new year and the innumberable possibilities […]

By Blythe Keeler Robinson, President and CEO, Sheltering Arms We are eight months into the pandemic and are continuing to make shifts in how we live, how we communicate and how we learn.  Although businesses and schools have reopened, many people are still working from home while trying to figure out how to manage virtual […]

By Mindy Binderman, Executive Director, GEEARS Georgia, more than any time in recent memory, is one of the nation’s hottest political battlegrounds. The Presidential candidates made multiple visits to the state recently, while voters were inundated with campaign ads and media coverage about the 2020 election.   But after Election Day, our newly elected members of Congress and the Georgia General Assembly will stop campaigning and start legislating. And […]

By Renika Robinson Two weeks ago, one of the students on my caseload ran away from home. I had checked in with her just days before. She had expressed frustration with returning to in-person classes while her sibling’s school would continue with remote learning. I took a mental note. When the school’s social worker and […]

By Blythe Keeler Robinson, President and CEO, Sheltering Arms Earlier this month, early learning centers and organizations across the state participated in the 10th annual celebration of Georgia Pre-K, a lottery-funded program available to four-year-olds. This special week-long event highlights the important work that goes on in Pre-K classrooms to get children ready for future […]

By Melissa R. Brogdon, MS.Ed, CFRE The pursuit of equity in Atlanta has remained perpetually elusive. Leaders from every nonprofit and many corporations have continuously convened and collaborated to provide solutions that bring us steps closer to helping all Atlantans truly access the promise of our resurgent city. The problem is big and for the […]

By Stephanie Blank, GEEARS Board Chair In the midst of a global pandemic, who doesn’t welcome an excuse to celebrate? Georgia Pre-K Week may look a little different this year, but now more than ever, it’s a necessary chance to herald and highlight the importance of Georgia Pre-K In its 10th year, the annual event […]

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15), Communities in Schools of Atlanta is proud to feature a guest column from Jonathan Peraza Campos, site coordinator at Cross Keys High School in DeKalb County.   Georgia is one of 12 states in the union with at least 1 million residents of Latin American […]

By Yvette T. Dupree, Ph.D., Operations Consultant and Volunteer for Internal Operations Council, The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc. Literacy starts before a child meets their first teacher. This is why talking, reading and singing with young children at home is crucial; it forms the connections in their brains that help build literacy skills (American Academy […]

By Blythe Keeler Robinson, President and CEO, Sheltering Arms In high school I had to read “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens. It begins with a memorable first sentence that captures the current state of affairs in our country, our state and more specifically, our city, as we grapple with a global pandemic […]

By Katie Landes, Director, Georgia Statewide Afterschool Network  &  Mindy Binderman, Executive Director, GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students  Imagine facing the day with a grumbling belly and an empty refrigerator. And imagine if you’re a young child, missing your teachers and friends while struggling to focus on a computer screen.  That is the situation facing many children in Atlanta right now, as bureaucratic barriers have made the delivery of food […]

Featured Image: CIS of Atlanta Site Coordinator Toriano Parker works closely with students at Creekside High School in Fulton County to support their academic journey and to thrive in spite of the pandemic. By Dorothy Styles In times of natural disasters, we rely on organizations like FEMA or the Red Cross to respond to emergencies […]