Featured Image: Voices for Georgia’s Children’s Executive Director Dr. Erica Fener Sitkoff visits with pre-k students during annual Georgia’s Pre-K Week Protecting the vulnerable during the COVID-19 crisis By Dr. Erica Fener Sitkoff, Executive Director, Voices for Georgia’s Children Foreword by Andrea N. Smith, President, The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc. Since its inception 103 […]
Category: Securing Atlanta’s Future
Atlanta is currently experiencing a period of incredible growth and transformation. During this time, it is imperative that we remain committed to caring for our most vulnerable citizens, children. Creating and sustaining an environment where children thrive means actively working to support all aspects of their healthy development. Organizations likeGEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students, Junior League of Atlanta, Sheltering Arms, and Communities in Schools Atlanta, are dedicated to promoting and investing in programs that provide high-quality early learning, wrap around supports for children and their families, and community engagement that facilitates the strengthening of Atlanta’s communities, thus securing a successful future for all. Join us weekly as we examine some of the most pressing issues children and families face. We’ll explore potential solutions and discuss steps we are currently taking to address these obstacles.
GEEARS: (Logo attached above) Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students works throughout Georgia to improve public policy, increase public awareness, conduct and interpret research, and lead a movement to support high-quality early education and healthy development for children birth to five. Our vision is that by 2020, every child in Georgia will enter kindergarten prepared to succeed and on a path to read to learn by the end of the third grade. GEEARS’ is based in Atlanta. For more information, visit www.geears.org.
Sheltering Arms: (Logo attached in this email)
Sheltering Arms provides high‐quality early education, child care and comprehensive family support services to more than 3,500 children and their families annually at 14 metropolitan Atlanta locations in Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton and Gwinnett counties.
Junior League of Atlanta (JLA): (Logo attached below) The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc. (JLA) is an organization of women, committed to making lasting transformation in the Atlanta community. The 100 year legacy of leadership is built on our ability to train women leaders to tackle tough issues impacting women and children, and provides a strong foundation for civic leadership.
Communities in Schools (CIS): (logo attached in this email)
CIS of Atlanta empowers youth in the greater Atlanta area to reach their fullest potential through a wide range of services. CIS places dedicated staff members called Site Coordinators in local schools where they build strong relationships with students, parents, educators and community members.
Posted inThought Leadership
Embracing Families with Open Arms
By Blythe Keeler Robinson, President and CEO, Sheltering Arms Over the past few weeks, people across the entire country have had to make adjustments as we settle into a “new normal.” Many families have had to adjust to the new household arrangements of turning spaces into make-shift offices and homeschool classrooms. Families went from juggling […]
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Georgia’s Guardians Provide a Bright Shining Light in the Darkness
By Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (GEEARS) The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented public health and economic crisis, one of the most daunting challenges our country has ever faced. Here at GEEARS, we have been busy advocating for the health and safety of the early education community, and working to secure state and […]
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Supporting Metro Atlanta Students Through Coronavirus
By Frank Brown, Esq. CEO, Communities in Schools of Atlanta CIS Atlanta is proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our students, families, and school staff as metro Atlanta deals with the impact of COVID-19. As we enter week two of remote learning for metro Atlanta students, it is more clear than ever that supplemental organizations like […]
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No Family Left Behind: In the Wake of the Coronavirus
Blythe Keeler Robinson President and CEO, Sheltering Arms As destabilizing as the virus is for many people, it is devastating for underserved families with little or no savings. Hourly wages are halted, and there are very few resources to continue meals for the children and utilities for the household in times of crisis. At Sheltering […]
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Good Work Claims Well-Deserved Credit
By: Susannah Balish, Sr Director at Cox Communications, past JLA president, board member, speaker Introduction by Andrea N. Smith, President, The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, I wanted to extend deep appreciation to The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc. (JLA) members who have made and continue to make a […]
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Count Every Georgian, Especially Our Youngest Children
By Mindy Binderman The census may only happen once every ten years, but it will impact the lives of the youngest Georgians every day. Federal funding directed to Georgia is directly related to the Census. Georgia receives $2,300 per person each year in federal funding based on the final counts, and in total the state received over $1.6 billion in federal funding for programs that […]
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The Fulfillment of Du Bois’ Dream
By Frank Brown, Esq. CEO, Communities in Schools of Atlanta You’re nothing but a poverty pimp! That’s not an attack I would expect to be leveled against me, much less at a gathering of metro Atlanta leaders. While said in a moment of anger, it was a teachable moment for me and others who witnessed the […]
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JLA’s Collective Voice Advocates for Change
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] By Sarah Cadagin, Public & Political Affairs Committee Chair, The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc. Introduction by Andrea N. Smith, President, The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc. The Junior League of Atlanta Inc. (JLA) has a long-standing history of working directly with local, regional and state government to advocate for issues that have a […]
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Time for Georgia to Focus on the Social-Emotional Health of Its Youngest Children
By Mindy Binderman, Executive Director, GEEARS Every child deserves the chance to build a strong foundation on which they can grow. Proper nutrition, medical care, and high-quality early education are all essential building blocks for a child’s development, and it’s no different when it comes to their social-emotional health. Research has found that positive and […]
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You, too, are a guardian of Atlanta’s future
By Frank Brown, Esq. CEO, Communities in Schools of Atlanta As we close out the first month of the new year, my staff and I have already received dozens of calls from metro Atlanta students and parents in need of support. Money for food, emotional support after losing a family member, on the brink of […]
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Our Commitment To Combatting Human Trafficking
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text dp_text_size=”size-4″]By Andrea N. Smith, President, The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc. In January 2010, President Barack Obama made a Presidential Proclamation declaring January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Just two years before, The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc. (JLA) launched our own Childhood Sexual Exploitation Pilot Project bringing into full focus […]
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The Big Deal about ECE: Why Atlanta Should Pay Attention
By Blythe Keeler Robinson, President and CEO, Sheltering Arms By 2025, more than 60% of jobs will require some form of post-secondary education, according to Learn4Life’s State of Education in Metro Atlanta Report. That can be alarming when you consider the fact that two out of every 10 students in the metro area are dropping […]
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Georgia Loses $1.75 Billion in Economic Activity Annually as a Result of Child Care Challenges
By Mindy Binderman, Executive Director, GEEARS Georgia’s November jobs report showed that the unemployment rate hit the lowest percentage in state history, at 3.3%. That’s great news for Georgians but will make the fight to attract and keep good talent even more competitive and even more critical. If you or a member of your family has […]
