Intro by John Ahmann: Thanks to Kathy Colbenson, President & CEO of CHRIS 180, for this week’s column. Chris 180 is a critical organization in our Westside ecosystem as we collectively work to build a community Dr. King would be proud to call home. The trauma and mental health care counseling support they provide is […]
Tag: Atlanta
When communities like Downtown and the Westside thrive, Atlanta thrives.
Intro by John Ahmann Thanks to AJ Robinson, President of Central Atlanta Progress (CAP), for this week’s column. Founded in 1941, CAP is a member-based not-for-profit advocating on behalf of a vibrant Downtown Atlanta. As the leader of CAP, AJ has been a long-time advocate of greater connectivity between Downtown economic vibrancy and the historic […]
Lessons from Amazon HQ2 – let’s invest in our state and create our own
By King Williams After weeks of rumors, Amazon, the second trillion dollar U.S. company, confirmed that it would be selecting not one but two U.S. cities for its North American second headquarters known colloquially as ‘HQ2’. The search for HQ2 was publicly announced at 6 a.m. on Sept. 17, 2017, spawning a litany of 238 […]
Building-the-Block to achieve affordable, sustainable homeownership and neighborhoods
Intro by John Ahmann: Thanks to Lisa Gordon, Atlanta Habitat for Humanity’s President and CEO, for this week’s column. Habitat for Humanity’s model is a great proof point of the “the more we, the more I can do,” from their engagement of the homeowner, to their volunteers, to their donors and sponsors. The proof is in the results: Atlanta Habitat […]
A First Step Toward a Mixed-Income Community
Intro by John Ahmann, Westside Future Fund: Thanks to the Jaren Abedania, the Westside Future Fund’s (WFF) Vice President of Real Estate, for this week’s column. In my October 2, 2018 column, Two Years of Westside Future Fund, I spoke to our commitment to increase the supply of high-quality affordable rental housing and in this […]
The 1300: Atlanta’s Beloved Inspired Community Catching The Hearts of Many
Intro by John Ahmann: If you are on a tall building and happen for a moment to wonder about the law of gravity as you watch a beautiful bird soar, just release an apple from the top to be reminded that the law very much exists. If you wonder whether “the more we the more […]
Building Strong Foundations for the Westside’s Next Generation
Intro by John Ahmann: Thanks to Justin Carr, Director of Partnerships, Westside Future Fund (WFF), for this week’s column. In the spirt of “the more we, the more I can get done,” “We” have no more urgent call to action than ensuring access to highly quality, affordable early learning (birth to age 5) for families […]
Creating Sustainable Change, and a Beloved Community, on Atlanta’s Westside
Column By Rodney Bullard Intro by John Ahmann, Executive Director of Westside Future Fund “Thanks to Rodney Bullard, Vice President of Community Affairs for Chick-fil-A, Inc. and Executive Director of the Chick-fil-A Foundation, for this week’s column. In the spirt of “the more we, the more I can do,” the Chick-fil-A Foundation has been a […]
Building a Sustainable City
by Pamela Henman, Southface Bright lights and soaring towers make up Atlanta’s iconic skyline, but also represent an opportunity to tackle one of the planet’s most pressing issues: energy and water consumption. According to the Department of Energy, about 20 percent of the energy used in the U.S. goes to power commercial buildings, and the […]
The Power of “We” – The Atlanta University Consortium (AUC)
Note from John Ahmann: The Atlanta University Consortium (AUC) by definition demonstrate the power of We as the world’s largest consortia of African American private institutions of higher education. These constellations of institutions have long served as an anchor for the Westside and have had an incredible impact morally, economically, and politically on not only […]
Building Momentum at Hollis Innovation Academy
We consider some of our greatest partners in this work to be the prominent Atlanta leaders who serve on the Westside Future Fund board, like Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, the author of this week’s piece. Dr. Tatum, like many of our board members, not only brings her professional expertise, but her keen awareness of the […]
A Celebration of Land, Water – And Early Visionaries and Advocates
By George Dusenbury, Executive Director, The Trust for Public Land in Georgia Not much happens in Atlanta without Marcia Bansley noticing. In the early 1970s, long before becoming the first executive director of Trees Atlanta, she saw bulldozers chewing through green hills on the south side of Interstate 285, making way for a new development. […]
MAP Disaster Kits
The anniversaries of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria remind us of how dramatically our lives can change with the weather from climate-controlled comfort to calamity in a matter of hours. No matter what form catastrophe strikes, MAP’s first question is always, “How can we best help those most affected?” While we assess the need for […]
Building Atlanta Together
A first look at The Home Depot Backyard By John Ahmann On Friday, August 17, for our 15th Transform Westside Summit of 2018, WFF had the honor of hosting more than 150 attendees, ranging from Westside residents to members from across the city’s public, private and nonprofit sectors. What they witnessed was yet another […]
The More We, The More I Can Do
By John Ahmann, Executive Director, Westside Future Fund Last Saturday, as I visited the different booths of the At-Promise Block Party, sponsored by the Atlanta Police Department (APD), the phrase “the more we, the more I can do,” sprung into my mind. As I walked the block of Cameron Alexander, closed for the celebration, I was […]
High Performance Without the High Price Tag
By David Bailey, Project Manager, Southface Most intown Atlantans know that housing prices are rising and some rents have risen by as much as 70 percent. This means less affordable housing across the city for those who need it most, including seniors. For seniors living in the heart of the city, affordability is especially critical. […]
City panel agrees: Patterson Spring Hill funeral home in Midtown is a “landmark”
At first glance, it’s easy to think the two-story white building set in little gardens on Spring Street is a house. But it’s still what it’s been for about 90 years: a funeral home. And a city panel says it’s worth protecting, even as skyscrapers rise around it.
It’s a new day, says Atlanta mayor, just after subpoena news
“I don’t anticipate that this will be the last subpoena we will receive,” said Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Wednesday, a day after news broke that a grand jury has demanded city records related to former Mayor Kasim Reed’s spending in office.
MAP International Adds Good Samaritan Health Center in Atlanta to Georgia-based Pilot Program
MAP International, funded by a grant from Georgia Baptist Healthcare Ministry Foundation (GBHCMF), announces the Atlanta launch of its pilot program to expand access to medicine in Georgia. The first such partnership established in Atlanta with the Good Samaritan Health Clinic will provide prescription assistance to uninsured and under-insured citizens who have fallen through the cracks […]
Partnering to Preserve Affordability
Atlanta is losing its status as an affordable city. Insight from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and Enterprise Community Partners have shown that our region lost more than 5,000 low-cost rental units from 2010 to 2014 and that we are poised to lose tens of thousands more due to expiring subsidies. With two recently financed projects, the ANDP […]
