East Cobb Community Service Archives

Cobb DA’s office seeking support for liveSafe Resources

April 30, 2020 8:26 AM by Wendy Parker

Submitted information:

Cobb District Attorney Joyette M. Holmes asks community members to help provide hope to Livesafe Resources by stocking the shelves for victims of domestic violence, as part of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.

While pandemic precautions have strained our community and locked many into violent homes, Marietta-based liveSAFE Resources remains at work, caring for domestic-violence survivors and performing sexual-assault exams.

You can help by purchasing items on Amazon and having them sent directly to liveSAFE’s offices. A wish list can be found at: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/PPBY3HHZ9MMW…

Monetary donations to liveSAFE can be made here: https://4agc.com/donat…/e4e1e5c5-f1e4-4920-8e40-ee2277d0bfd1

Help is available for anyone suffering abuse in an intimate relationship. liveSAFE Resources’ 24-hour crisis line is 770-427-3390, and they are on the web at www.livesaferesources.org

This ‘Stock the Shelves’ event is hosted by the Cobb DA’s Office as part of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. Events have been extended and moved online this year as a result of current health guidelines.

First designated by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, National Crime Victims’ Rights Week increases general public awareness of, and knowledge about the wide range of rights and services available to people who have been victimized by crime. The theme for 2020 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week is “Seek Justice, Ensure Victims’ Rights, and Inspire Hope.”

For additional information about 2020 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week activities or about victims’ rights and services in Cobb County, please contact the Victim Witness Unit in the DA’s Office at 770-528-3047 or visit our website at www.cobbda.com.

For information about national efforts to promote 2020 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, please visit the Office for Victims of Crime website at www.ovc.gov.

The National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators is a non-profit organization that represents the 56 state agencies that distribute money from the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Crime Victims Fund to more than 4,000 direct victim assistance service providers. The money in the Crime Victims Fund comes from fines collected from offenders convicted of federal crimes and not from U.S. taxpayers.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Cobb pastors urge commissioners to fund emergency food aid

April 29, 2020 2:12 PMApril 28, 2020 3:20 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb non-profit funding delayed — *Rev. Ike Reighard*

A request from Cobb non-profits for $1 million in county funding for emergency food aid during the Coronavirus crisis got an extra push Tuesday from pastors.

Several members of the clergy told members of the Cobb Board of Commissioners that food needs for those thrown into chaos and in many cases out of work in the last few weeks is greater than ever.

The Cobb Community Foundation has made the $1 million request on behalf of various non-profits around the county, and lined up a variety of speakers to plead for the assistance.

At a work session on Monday, Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce said he would delay the request after objections from Commissioner Keli Gambrill over how to determine those needs.

At Tuesday’s first regular board meeting in nearly a month—partially via teleconference—Boyce also said the delay was necessary for the county attorney to draw up a document stating how the food would be distributed if commissioners approve.

Some speakers were phoning in and others were present.

“We’re seeing people who don’t know how to ask for food because they’ve never done it before,” said Rev. Roger Vest of First United Methodist Church of Powder Springs.

“They are looking simply to survive.”

His church is among those in the South Cobb area that’s been seeing a major increase in the number of people seeking food, whether it’s at churches or via other non-profits.

Dr. Ike Reighard, pastor at Piedmont Church in Northeast Cobb and the CEO of MUST Ministries, said his non-profit’s Food Rapid Response Program has provided more than 227,000 meals since it was formed six weeks ago.

In addition, more than 16,000 people have been fed already this year, compared to more than around 10,000 in all of 2019.

“That’s how rapid the growth has been for people who need food,” he said.

MUST will be conducting its 25th summer lunch program for students in Cobb and Cherokee counties, feeding around 5,000 children a day, a project Reighard estimates will cost around $750,000.

Rev. John Hull, senior pastor of Eastside Baptist Church in East Cobb, told commissioners that at the Mosaic Church in Marietta, an Eastside ministry located on Austell Road, more than 500 boxes of food are being picked up every week, as are “hundreds of snack lunches” for students.

But the needs for food will continue to increase as the summer months approach. Some of the issues he’s facing, Hull added, are about preparing and serving warm meals for those in need, providing meals for seniors with special dietary needs and getting food to those who can’t get to grocery stores or other distribution points.

“We are going to be in this for the long haul,” Hull said.

He also referenced the work of the Noonday Association, which comprises nearly 130 churches in Cobb and metro Atlanta that provide general assistance to those in need.

Howard Koepka of the Noonday Association said the amount of food his non-profit is providing “three to four times” what it had been before the crisis.

Excess food provided by grocery stores is no longer being provided due to supply chain disruptions and stores not having some food available since the crisis.

He also said donations made to the non-profit also are down.

Cobb Chamber of Commerce CEO Sharon Mason also phoned in to urge the commissioners to provide the funding. Even after the worst of the crisis is over, she said, “Cobb’s most vulnerable populations will continue to be hit hard.”

Boyce said there will be a special-called meeting to take up the funding request, but he did not give a date, saying only it will be “sometime in the very near future.”

He said he wants to have “something to take to the board in a format that they can vote on.”

East Cobb, Northeast Cobb YMCA help to provide food relief

April 23, 2020 5:10 PM by Wendy Parker

East Cobb Northeast Cobb YMCA food relief — *Misty Latham, Northeast Cobb Family YMCA staff*

Submitted information and photos:

The YMCA of Metro Atlanta is serving the community amid the coronavirus outbreak by providing hunger relief for children and families. To date, the Y has distributed 26,180meals and more than 6,264backpacks of food.

In Cobb county, McCleskey-East Cobb Family YMCA and Northwest Cobb Family YMCA have packed over 2,464 backpacks supporting Marietta City School students and families. Additionally, nearly 1,480 grab and go meals have been served from four Early Learning Centers – one of which is Chattahoochee Early Learning Center in Cobb county.

Northeast Cobb YMCA/ Marietta City Schools

Northeast Cobb YMCA serves as a delivery site for the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Volunteers package 250 bags of food each week to be delivered to school district families with their lunch.

Chattahoochee Early Learning Center

All snacks and meals are distributed through drive-thru pickup to maintain social distancing. Early learning families can pick up their lunch and backpack meals at Chattahoochee Early Learning Center from 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Mount Paran North Church

All donations given to Mount Paran North Church are being delivered by Cobb YMCA staff and volunteers to the following nearby hotels and apartment complexes: Green Roof Inn, Superior Creek Lodge, Woodlands of Kennesaw, InTown KSU and InTown Marietta.

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Kettle Krush 5K becomes virtual Race in Place broadcast

April 22, 2020 10:12 AM by Wendy Parker

Submitted information:

Due to current coronavirus shelter-in-place restrictions, the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary has revised plans for its annual Kettle Krush 5K walk/run fundraiser so the race can go on – just in a different format.

The event will now be a Race in Place awards event broadcast on Facebook Live (www.Facebook.com/KKAtlanta5K) on May 16 at 9 a.m. that can be viewed from the comfort of everyone’s own homes, according to east Cobb resident Cindy Theiler, the auxiliary’s president and event co-chair. “We decided not to postpone or cancel the event because The Salvation Army needs our financial support more than ever now – particularly during this COVID-19 crisis – to help “krush” poverty, homelessness, and sex trafficking, and support veterans and youth enrichment in the metro Atlanta area, including in Cobb County.

“Any participant can now win the top race awards in our awards drawing because no running or walking is required,” said Dawn Menear, east Cobb resident and event co-chair. “We will still promote individual and team participation and have a drawing for top male and female runners and top male and female masters runners as well as 16 age groups from 10 & under to 80 & over.”

In addition, drawings for special giveaways and team awards for the top 2 teams that have the most participants registered (minimum 10) will be provided. Alicia Roberts, CBS46 news anchor, will emcee the event once again this year.

Registration is available at ItsYourRace.com; $30 per participant if received by May 6 and $35 through May 14. Donations can also be made by check payable to The Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary with “Kettle Krush” on the bottom “for” line of the check and mailed to Kettle Krush c/o Salvation Army, 1000 Center Place, Norcross, GA, 30093.

The auxiliary, that includes about 40 east Cobb women, annually coordinates the Kettle Krush 5K. Mt. Bethel UMC is the title sponsor for this year’s event.

Anyone is invited to tune into the broadcast, which will feature the awards drawing for race awards and giveaways as well as information about The Salvation Army’s initiatives, including during COVID-19.

If you have any questions about Kettle Krush Race in Place, please contact Menear at dgmenear@gmail.com or Theiler at cindy.theiler1@gmail.com.

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Center for Family Resources gets COVID-19 emergency funding

April 17, 2020 5:50 PMApril 17, 2020 3:17 PM by Wendy Parker

Submitted information: Center for Family Resources

The Center for Family Resources (CFR) announced today that it has received funding to provide emergency financial assistance for Cobb County families, including assistance with rent, mortgage and utility payments to ensure housing stability. The CFR is providing access to basic needs for families who currently fall below 200% of the Federal Poverty guidelines. Funding has been provided through grants from Cobb Community Foundation through the Cobb COVID-19 Response Fund, Cobb EMC Foundation, and the Greater Atlanta COVID-19 Recovery and Response Fund.

“Stabilizing families and providing a safety net during challenging times ties directly into our mission,” says Lee Freeman-Smith, Vice President of Operations for the CFR. “This critical funding will immediately impact families in critical need of services throughout Cobb County. With more than 22 million Americans filing for unemployment and lower wage earners disproportionately impacted, the need for financial assistance will be tremendous,” she continued.

Currently, the CFR has over $170,000 in financial assistance available. However, it anticipates the requests for assistance are easily triple that amount. Many of those impacted were already living on a limited income, and any reduction to hours and pay can cause a huge disruption to a family’s budget. The CFR serves over 12,000 people a year and helps more than 700 families with housing and rent assistance. In the past two weeks, they have received over 160 calls for assistance related to COVID-19. Those calls are in addition to the inquiries from individuals who were already in need of services prior to the pandemic.

Melanie Kagan, CEO at the CFR, adds, “Keeping families stably-housed and with access to basic needs is imperative. Our goal is to help families stay as current as possible with rent and mortgage payments. What we don’t want is for these families to be 2-4 months behind in paying these expenses, and have no way of climbing out of that hole. The financial impacts on our community and many others are going to be severe.”

For people seeking assistance, contact the CFR at (770) 428-2601. All inquiries are being taken over the phone, and the agency is not open to walk-ins in an effort to maintain a safe environment for staff and clients. Anyone who would like to donate to the emergency assistance fund at the CFR can make their tax-deductible donation at www.thecfr.org/give.

East Cobb’s Meadowgrove Club to hold MUST food drive

April 15, 2020 1:21 PM by Wendy Parker

Meadowgrove Club food drive

Thanks to Kirsten “KT” McClellan for the above photo and details about a food drive at the Meadowgrove Club this weekend to help MUST Ministries feed the needy during the Coronavirus crisis.

The dates are Saturday and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day in the club parking lot at 2850 Meadow Grove Way.

That’s in the Grove Meade neighborhood, located off Terrell Mill Road near East Cobb Middle School and Brumby Elementary School.

Kirsten says they’re accepting dry canned and food donations with social distancing and disinfecting protocols in place.

Here’s the list of items they’re collection to be turned over to MUST Ministries, which is continuing its Food Rapid Response drive that began in March with school and business closings.

Also on the first link is a traffic flow map to follow for a safe and expedient collection process.

Send Us Your News!

If you have Coronavirus-related event changes, business openings or closings to share with the public, e-mail us: editor@eastcobbnews.com.

Contact us at the same e-mail address for news about efforts to assist those in need, health care workers, first responders and others on the frontlines of combatting Coronavirus in East Cobb.

Walton student aims to ‘do more’ with homeless non-profit

April 8, 2020 6:16 PM by Wendy Parker

Walton student homeless non-profit — *Walton student Emory Paul (center) delivers daily living supplies to homeless people in Woodruff Park in downtown Atlanta. Photos courtesy of Soul Supplies*

During his sophomore year a year ago at Walton High School, Emory Paul was a teenager with a mission to play a role helping homeless people in downtown Atlanta.

He started an organization called Soul Supplies to provide individuals with backpacks of toiletries, hygiene products and other daily living essentials.

Paul and a few others would travel to Woodruff Park and drop off those supplies. Along the way, he said he learned more about those who live on the streets but who remain largely invivisible.

“We want to humanize people,” Paul said. “They become homeless in many ways. Many of them have just fallen on hard times. We shake their hands, ask their names, try to get to know them.”

As a result, he estimates that he and Soul Supplies volunteers have helped more than 150 people, delivering 3,000 items that have been collected through donations, from more than 200 donors thus far.

“I’m excited with what we’ve done on a small scale,” Paul said, who got Soul Supplies started through the Giving Point Social Innovators Academy.

As his junior year comes to a close, Paul has been planning the next phase of his project. He just completed paperwork and other tasks to make Soul Supplies a non-profit, enabling it to partner with other organizations and businesses.

“I’ve always had a passion for helping the homeless,” he said. “I want to do more, but I just didn’t know how.”

Each backpack is filled with around $40-$50 in supplies—among other things soap, deodorant, brushes, handwipes, socks, lotion, non-perishable snacks, toothbrushes and toothpaste and water bottles.

Before heading to Woodruff Park, Paul said he researched where the need for such provisions would make sense. Some of those he meets do go to shelters on occasion, but the supplies are designed to be used wherever someone may spend time.

Soul Supplies is accepting donations of items for the backpacks—including the backpacks—as well as financial donations.

He said they’ll be glad to pick up items at your curbside, given the Coronavirus social distancing guidelines.

More information on getting involved can be found here, and a temporary PayPal link can be found here while Soul Supplies awaits its business account.

He’s also gotten involved with an organization called Atlanta Survival Program, which is helping provide food supplies for those affected by COVID-19.

Paul said this year he’d like to reach 1,000 people through Soul Supplies. “The sky’s the limit,” he said, because the need remains significant.

Soul Supplies

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Deadline nears for B’nai Brith Enlighten America Essay Contest

April 6, 2020 2:58 PMApril 6, 2020 12:39 PM by Wendy Parker

Submitted information from the Achim/Gate City Lodge Atlanta chapter of B’nai Brith International:

Enlighten America, our annual Essay Contest for 7th thru 9th-grade students encourages respect and tolerance of our friends’ and neighbors’ diverse religious beliefs and racial/cultural backgrounds. Learn how to enter this contest by reading this document. All entries must be received by Friday, April 10, 2020. Winners will be announced in mid-May, 2020.

Winners in each grade category will receive the prizes listed below:

First-place winners will be awarded $350.

Second-place winners will be awarded $250.

Third-place winners will be awarded $150.

The Enlighten America Essay Contest serves as a framework or “model of instruction” designed to support teachers in the implementation of the Reading and Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects Grades 6-8, Grades 9 and the English Language Arts (ELA) Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) (see pages 19 -25 for specific standards) for 7th grade, 8th grade, and 9th grade in the following writing skill areas:

Text Types and Purposes

Production and Distribution of Writing

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Range of Writing

We hope that schools, teachers, and students will benefit through the Enlighten America Essay Contest as a teaching and learning activity to promote student success as it relates to the Georgia Performance Standards.

You can get more details by clicking there; the organization also is noting that the awards ceremony has been rescheduled to Aug. 30 due to the Coronavirus.

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Cobb community service organizations continue COVID outreach

April 4, 2020 3:13 PM by Wendy Parker

We noted previously that the Cobb Community Foundation has begun a Community Response Fund that’s raising funds and issuing grants to a number of community service organizations specifically dealing with the effects of the Coronavirus crisis for vulnerable populations.

They’re also letting donors know that many of those organizations can receive direct support, including the delivery of health care services: Center for Family Resources

Good Samaritan Health Center of Cobb

For food, especially students who are now out of school for the rest of the year:

Financial assistance for low-income families and individuals:

And for cancer patients and the elderly who are among the more vulnerable groups to contract the virus:

Loving Arms Cancer Outreach
A.G. Rhodes Cobb

For those dealing with domestic violence and abuse:

liveSAFE Resources
SafePath

And organizations treating those with addictions and who are in recovery:

The Extension
The Zone

The Center for Family Resources has received a $10,000 charitable grant to support the financial needs of families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s part of a larger effort by CFR, now in its 60th year, which has launched a 60 in 60 program to raise $60,000 in 60 days to provide emergency financial assistance.

More about those non-profits and what they do at the Cobb Community Connection.

Also getting $10,000 grants from the CCF are the Cobb Schools Foundation, which has identified 1,000 students and families needing digital devices for distance learning at home, and Ser Familia, that works with the Latino community.

MUST Ministries is continuing its Food Rapid Response initiative to help feed those in need, including students who depend on school-provided breakfast and lunch. Also pitching in that effort are two large East Cobb congregations, Johnson Ferry Baptist Church and Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church.

Some more resources, provided in the bullet points below by the office of Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell:

Cobb Senior Services is working hard to help its at-risk clients. As the COVID-19 outbreak continues for the unforeseen future, the list of needed donations has been updated to include toiletries. These seniors have no family or other community support to help them get the necessary items. To view the listed of donation suggestions, click here. Please call Merline Tippens at 770-528-5355 with questions and to make arrangements for your delivery to the Senior Services administrative offices at 1150 Powder Springs St, Marietta.
Cobb County Community Services Board (CCCSB), Behavioral Health Crisis Center (BHCC), located at 1758 County Services Parkway, is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for those experiencing a behavioral health crisis. For more information about Cobb County Community Services Board, please visit www.cobbcsb.com.

Any organizations delivering meals or otherwise providing food should contact Cobb Community Foundation at 770-859-2366 or email CCFTeam@cobbfoundation.org.

East Cobb Quilters’ Guild donates placemats for Meals on Wheels

April 2, 2020 12:18 PMApril 2, 2020 9:03 AM by Wendy Parker

Submitted information and photo:

East Cobb Quilters’ Guild has a long history of community service. Members give freely of their time and energy to create great quilts and other items for donation to area charities, including Meals on Wheels. This past year, the East Cobb Quilters’ Guild donated 597 placemats to Meals on Wheels.

March for Meals on Wheels is a nationwide month-long celebration of Meals on Wheels and the millions of seniors who rely on the nutritious meals, friendly visits and safety checks to remain independent at home.

Hundreds of older adults and disabled individuals are served by the Cobb County Meals on Wheels Program staffed by volunteer drivers. Lunch is a lot more fun with a pretty placemat, especially with all of the beautiful designs.

An additional note: The group delivered 76 placemats in January, 32 in February and 108 total thus far in 2020.

More on the East Cobb Quilters’ Guild can be found here.

Send us your news!

Let us know what you, your neighbors or others you know are doing to help one another and those in need in East Cobb.

Just e-mail us: editor@eastcobbnews.com with text, photos and other relevant information, and we’ll share it with the community.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

NW Metro Atlanta Habitat for Humanity donates N95 masks

March 27, 2020 7:20 PMMarch 27, 2020 4:17 PM by Wendy Parker

NW Atlanta Metro Habitat N94 masks

Submitted information and photo:

NW Metro Atlanta Habitat for Humanity found a pallet of more than 1,000 N95 masks used in Habitat house construction in the affiliates’ Smyrna warehouse. Today, they were able to donate and deliver them to Cobb & Douglas Public Health today to help with their shortages!

Pictured is Bonnie Willis, from the affiliate’s construction team.

Send us your news!

Let us know what you, your neighbors or others you know are doing to help one another and those in need as part of the Coronavirus response.

Just e-mail us: editor@eastcobbnews.com with text, photos and other relevant information, and we’ll share it with the community.

Food drive update: Piedmont Church; Lassiter PTSA; Senior Services

March 24, 2020 11:17 AM by Wendy Parker

Food drive, Piedmont Church

We’ve noted the student meal services being provided by the Cobb County School District and MUST Ministries, as well as a joint food drive by Mt. Bethel UMC and Johnson Ferry Baptist Church that is ongoing.

MUST reports than in three days its Food Rapid Response served family food boxes to more than 3,500 families.

A few other food drive efforts—including one related to MUST—are noted below. If you know of any other food drive activities going on, let us know and we’ll pass it along. E-mail us: editor@eastcobbnews.com and we’ll share it with the community.

On Tuesday afternoons, you can help MUST Ministries with its Food Rapid Response program. Donations can be dropped off between 3-7 p.m. at Piedmont Church (570 Piedmont Road).

As the flyer notes above, this is a joint project with the church as well as the Sprayberry PTSA and the Sprayberry Foundation, and they’ve listed the foods (all non-perishable) that are most needed, as well as where to drop off your donations.

Food pickup is also at the Piedmont Church between 4-6 p.m. Wednesday.

Lassiter Food Pantry

The Lassiter PTSA says its food bank is empty, and it’s one that serves around 60 families in its cluster—including Davis, Garrison Mill and Rocky Mount elementaries and Mabry Middle School.

They’re asking that anyone who wants to donate food drop those items on the porch at 2124 Lassiter Field Drive—it’s a weekly collection for now. The link to make a donation can be found here.

For questions contact Tammy Andress or Shannon Frank at lassiterptsa@gmail.com.

Cobb Senior Services

The Cobb Senior Services agency also is collecting food. If you want to make a donation, you’re asked to call Merline Tippens at 770-528-5355 to to arrange a delivery.

They need “shelf stable foods” than can be heated in a microwave or not at all, and include but are not limited to the following:

Peanut butter, instant oatmeal/grits, dried fruit, chewy granola bars, breakfast bars, applesauce/fruit cocktail, juice boxes, cereal-small, individual boxes, shelf stable milk, chicken/tuna/other canned meats, microwave rice, crackers, canned Soup, canned vegetables, fruit cups, canned fruit, macaroni and cheese cups, dried mashed potatoes (flakes), Spaghetti-Os/ Ravioli.

Also:

Toilet paper, Baby wipes, travel-size toiletries (soap, shampoo, etc)

Cobb Community Foundation launches COVID-19 response fund

March 20, 2020 3:14 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb Community Foundation response fund

Submitted information:

Cobb Community Foundation (CCF), today announced it is establishing the Cobb COVID-19 Community Response Fund. This charitable fund will provide flexible resources to non-profit organizations serving Cobb and meeting critical needs either arising from or exacerbated by the novel coronavirus. According to President and CEO, Shari Martin, the organization’s previous focus on fundraising for Cobb Community Opportunity Grants, inspired by the results of last year’s Cobb Human Services Needs Assessment commissioned by CCF, is taking a back seat to the current crisis.

“We are all in unchartered territory. We don’t know what’s ahead, but we know that as a community foundation, it’s our role to build and deploy resources to help our community get through this relatively unscathed, or at least as unscathed as possible,” she says. CCF has shared on its blog, throughout social media, and in its newsletter information about many of the organizations that are at the forefront of caring for Cobb’s most vulnerable populations in the midst of COVID-19. Martin says, “For many in our community, those and many other organizations are that domino that keeps all of the others from falling, and because more of our community will need their help, now more than ever, these organizations will need our help.”

Board member, Kim Gresh, agrees. “There’s no doubt that this is the right thing to do.” Gresh, owner of S.A. White Oil Company, First Vice Chair of the Foundation’s board and chair of the organization’s Events Committee, says that the Foundation has decided to cancel this year’s Partners in Philanthropy event, opting instead to focus the budgeted money where it will be most needed. “In the environment we are in, it just makes more sense to use that money to help the organizations that are out there helping people in our community stay afloat.” Martin agrees. “The grant checks are much more important to grant recipients than the fanfare.”

Al Martin, Regional External Affairs Manager for Georgia Power Company, serves on the board of Cobb Community Foundation and also chairs its Grants and Scholarships Committee. “Anyone can give to this Fund and know that, other than credit card fees which don’t come to us, 100% of their contribution will be distributed to non-profits meeting critical needs.” According to Mr. Martin, the process to receive a grant is going to be quick and painless. “These organizations have enough to take care of without having to fill out some long application.”

In addition to offering an opportunity to contribute to the Fund, CCF is also urging its own donors to look for opportunities to support local nonprofits currently addressing critical needs, organizations such as Sweetwater Mission, MUST Ministries, Center for Family Resources, Good Samaritan Health Center of Cobb, The Zone, and others, by making direct contributions. General contributions provide the greatest amount of flexibility for non-profits, which is particularly important at a time when needs are rapidly changing.

“Non-profits are not only dealing with more clients with more needs, they are also having to deal with postponed events,” Shari Martin says. “They are having to handle more with much less. The Cobb COVID-19 Response Fund will help to replace those lost revenues, and then some.”

Details on how nonprofits might request and access general operating resources from the Cobb COVID-19 Community Response Fund will be announced in the coming days. For more information and to donate, go to cobbfoundation.org.

Cobb schools to provide student meals for rest of school year

March 19, 2020 11:37 AM by Wendy Parker

New East Cobb Middle School

Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale announced Thursday that the Cobb County School District is working with MUST Ministries to provide breakfasts and lunches to any students who need them for the rest of the school year.

During a teleconferenced school board work session, Ragsdale said that students may pick up a week’s worth of those meals each Monday, starting this coming Monday, March 23, at one of eight schools in the district, including East Cobb Middle School.

Only the student will be provided the food, and each student must be present to receive the meals. Ragsdale said students will not have to show their IDs.

The meals will be prepared by the school district’s food services staff, and MUST Ministries volunteers will deliver the food boxes on a drive-through basis in front of the school buildings.

The pickup times are from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday at the following locations:

Acworth Elementary School (4220 Cantrell Road, Acworth)
Bryant Elementary School (6800 Factory Shoals Road, Mableton)
Campbell HS (5265 Ward Street, Smyrna)
Compton Elementary School (3450 New Macland Road, Powder Springs)
East Cobb Middle School (825 Terrell Mill Road, Marietta)
Garrett Middle School (5235 Austell-Powder Springs Road, Austell)
Osborne High (2451 Favor Road, Marietta)
Riverside Intermediate School (285 South Gordon Road, Mableton)

Those schools have more than 50 percent of their students receiving reduced or free lunches.

Future pickups will continue to take place each Monday at those same locations and during those same hours.

Cobb and other public school districts and universities in Georgia are closed until March 31 at the order of Gov. Brian Kemp.

During Thursday’s work session, there was no discussion about how long the closures may last beyond that.

But Cobb school officials are clearly preparing for it to be much longer.

Later Thursday the school board was being asked to spend $3.4 million from the general fund to pay after-school program and nutritional workers and substitute teachers through the end of May, when the Cobb academic year ends.

As for the upcoming student meal provisions, Ragsdale said Cobb schools food service workers will be in kitchens with 10 or fewer people, per CDC guidelines on social distancing. MUST volunteers will pick up the food at the cafeteria doors, then provide them to students curbside.

Volunteers for the school meal program are needed, and you can sign up here on the MUST Ministries website.

The food service program is a continuation of a partnership between Cobb schools and MUST Ministries, which have set up times for special family food boxes to be picked this week at several locations.

That food comes from 29 school pantries, which were open starting Wednesday.

On Friday, those needing food may come by the following locations in East Cobb between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.:

Brumby ES (815 Terrell Mill Road);
Lassiter HS (2601 Shallowford Road);
McCleskey MS (4080 Maybreeze Road);
Sprayberry HS (2525 Sandy Plains Road);
Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church (4385 Lower Roswell Road).

Johnson Ferry Baptist, Mt. Bethel UMC team up for food drive

March 17, 2020 6:30 PM by Wendy Parker

With numerous organizations mobilizing to feed needy families during the Coronavirus shutdowns, two large East Cobb churches are joining forces to help out. Johnson Ferry Mt. Bethel food drive

Johnson Ferry Baptist Church and Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church are partnering for a food drive.

Both churches sent out messages today that they’ll begin taking collections starting Wednesday through April 1 (weekdays only) to be distributed to MUST Ministries and Mosaic Church Marietta.

MUST has begun an emergency food drive and will be opening up several food pantries at schools this week (Brumby ES, Lassiter HS, McCleskey MS, Lassiter HS), and and other locations, including Mt. Bethel UMC.

Mosiac is a church and community resource center in Austell that has partnered with Johnson Ferry Baptist on previous ministry projects.

The initiative includes volunteer opportunities to pack and distribute food boxes with Mosiac (you can sign up here).

The collection times for the Johnson Ferry-Mt. Bethel food drive are from 9-5 Monday-Friday, through Friday, April 1. Food items can be dropped off at the portico entrance of Johnson Ferry Baptist (955 Johnson Ferry Road).

Here’s a list of the food items (non-perishable only) they’ll be needing:

Boxed macaroni and cheese
Dried pasta or rice
Boxed potatoes
Boxed cereal/oatmeal
Jelly (plastic jars)
Cornbread mix/meal
Beans
Small peanut butter
Flour/sugar
Canned pasta with meat sauce
Canned meat (tuna/chicken)
Canned Chunky soup/beef stew
Canned condensed soup
Canned vegetables
Canned fruit
Canned tomato products
Ramen noodles
Crackers
Tea/coffee

Cobb Schools and MUST Ministries to open food pantries

March 18, 2020 11:03 AMMarch 17, 2020 1:53 PM by Wendy Parker

New Brumby Elementary School

A total of 29 pantries will open as early as Wednesday at Cobb County School District and other locations, as part of the MUST Ministries Food Rapid Response Program.

That program was put together when the schools closed over the Coronavirus outbreak; CCSD also made food donations to MUST to help get it started.

(MUST and CCSD have been teaming up to open food pantries at a number of schools, including at Brumby Elementary School, which opened in late 2018.)

Since schools will be closed at least through March 31 (per an order issued Monday by Gov. Brian Kemp), this is going to be a long-haul effort, and here’s how the pantry schedule will start out.

In East Cobb, pantries will open on Friday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the following locations:

Brumby ES (815 Terrell Mill Road);
Lassiter HS (2601 Shallowford Road);
McCleskey MS (4080 Maybreeze Road);
Sprayberry HS (2525 Sandy Plains Road);
Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church (4385 Lower Roswell Road).

The full list can be found here.

Rev. Ike Reighard of Piedmont Church, also the CEO of MUST Minstries, said that “we are grateful to have access to the food in our 29 Cobb County Schools pantries and be able to establish a base for distribution. Hungry families from throughout the county – even if their students attend a school without a pantry – will be welcomed to pick up a food box to last about two weeks.”

He said the food boxes will feed a family for two weeks, and that boxes also can be picked up Friday 10-2 at MUST locations at 1407 Cobb Parkway North in Marietta and 460 Pat Mell Road in Smyrna.

If you’re interested in volunteering for this effort, you can sign up here. If you want to donate financially to MUST, you can do so here.

The Piedmont Church (570 Piedmont Road) also is accepting food donations on Tuesdays, between 3-7 p.m.

The needs are snacks, pasta, cereal, bread, peanut butter, jelly, rice, canned vegetables, oatmeal, spaghetti sauce, water and other non-perishable foods.

The public can bring food boxes from 9-5 Tuesday-Saturday at the MUST Donation Center (1280 Cobb Parkway North), and below is a list of what’s needed the most:

MUST Food Rapid Response

A couple other things passed along by Cobb schools as part of this effort. Its non-profit partner, the Cobb Schools Foundation, is also setting up to help families in need during this period of “social distancing.” Details can be found here.

The CCSD also has set up a page called Resources for Our Families in Need.

Cobb schools to make food donations to MUST during closures

March 16, 2020 7:41 PMMarch 13, 2020 3:33 PM by Wendy Parker

The Cobb County School District sent out this statement Friday afternoon:

To continue to support Cobb students while schools are closed, the Cobb County School District is pleased to announce that the District is partnering with MUST Ministries to provide food to our students in need.

By partnering with MUST Ministries, Cobb Schools will be able to extend the support to the entire family, not just those students who attend Cobb Schools.

“We are thankful for this additional opportunity to partner with MUST Ministries. Partnering to help our Cobb families in need is truly an example of the community coming together,” said Superintendent Chris Ragsdale. “During this unprecedented time, there may be more families in need than just those who receive free and reduced lunches. By partnering with MUST, we will also be able to help those families.”

The Cobb Schools Food and Nutrition Services kitchens are making large food donations to MUST Ministries, which MUST will use to feed Cobb families.

“We are always honored to partner with Cobb County Schools year-round when it comes to taking care of at-risk children and their families. Currently, we serve 70 schools through 32 Cobb County school locations called MUST Neighborhood Pantries,” said Dr. Ike Reighard, President, and CEO of MUST Ministries. “With the schools closing and no access to the pantries, we have created the MUST Food Rapid Response effort to continue to meet the needs and expand to other families in need. We anticipate partnering with satellite locations to distribute family food boxes. While this is a work in progress, we hope to have locations and times settled by early next week.”

Currently, MUST serves 1,500 families a month through Neighborhood Pantries and three main pantry locations. The MUST Food Rapid Response program will expand that reach.

For more information about the MUST Food Rapid Response program including pick-up locations, times, and other details will be available on the MUST Ministries website next week.

MUST has put together a list of what it’s going to need in particular while school’s out:

Beef stew
canned green beans
dry milk (carton)
pinto or baked beans
canned pasta
pasta bags
canned carrots
canned tuna
Chunky soup
canned corn
other beans;
canned potatoes
canned tomatoes
mac & cheese boxes
canned mixed vegetables
canned peaches and fruit
oatmeal bag/rice bag

These non-perishable food donations at 1280 Field Parkway in Marietta; you can also give financially by going to mustministries.com/give-help.

You can also buy food on the MUST list from Amazon by clicking here.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

East Cobb Rotary marks fundraising with Giveback Celebration

February 25, 2020 10:09 AMFebruary 24, 2020 5:12 PM by Wendy Parker

*The East Cobb Rotary Dog Days Run is the primary fundraiser for the organization, which handed out more than $80K to community groups in 2019. (ECN file)*

The Rotary Club of East Cobb announced this week it surpassed its 2019 fundraising goals for nearly two dozen local charitable organizations and is having a special “Giveback Celebration” event Tuesday evening at the Piedmont Church.

The club raised more than $82,000 (the goal was $80,000), mostly through the Dog Days Run 5K race each August at the McCleskey-East Cobb Family YMCA.

The Rotary started the race in 2005, mostly by members who are running enthusiasts, and it’s grown to more than 900 runners last year.

Among the local beneficiaries and projects are:

Boy Scouts of America
Camp Kudzu
Camp Trach Me Away
Center for Family Resources
Cobb Library Foundation
Davis Direction Foundation
East Cobb Robotics
Family Promise
FODAC – Friends of Disabled Adults & Children
Georgia Care Connection Office
Good Samaritan Clinic of Cobb
Kidz 2 Leaders
Lekotek
Loving Arms Cancer Outreach
MDE School
Project Mail Call
Public Safety Celebration—Cobb Co. Public Safety
Rally Foundation
REAP (Reading Is Essential for All People)
Revved up kids
WellStar Community Hospice
McCleskey-East Cobb Family YMCA
AVID Wheeler High School

“Although it’s always satisfying to exceed expectations, what’s exciting is the impact this will have on the receiving organizations,” said Tammy Palmgren, East Cobb Rotary president-election and chairwoman of the Dog Day Run and the Giveback Celebration. “Seeing these connections made in real time always makes the Give Back Celebration quite an emotional experience.”

The East Cobb Rotary distributes funding after receiving applications from local organizations, and evaluation by a grant committee.

The club decided to hold its Giveback Celebration in the evening, instead of during its usual 7 a.m. Wednesday breakfast meetings at Indian Hills Country Club, due to larger crowds and to have more time to spend with the organizations it works with.

“I am hopeful everyone at the celebration will come away from the evening with a feeling of being one hundred percent appreciated and acknowledged,” Palmgren said.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

East Cobb, NE Cobb YMCA volunteer, teen leader to be honored

January 29, 2020 4:29 PM by Wendy Parker

Submitted photos and information:

McCleskey-East Cobb and Northeast Cobb YMCA volunteers and teen leaders of the Year will be honored on Feb. 10 at the YMCA of Metro Atlanta’s Celebration of Community Champions: 2020 Vision event at the Cobb Galleria. Ambassador Andrew Young and Dr. Walter Young will be honored with the Bransby Christian Leadership Award.

Molly Khan

McCleskey-East Cobb / Northeast Cobb Family YMCAs

Volunteer of the Year: Molly Toland Khan joined the YMCA with her family in 2012. New to Marietta, Molly found community and friendship at the Y, joining spin class and connecting with other families. She currently serves on the board and community engagement committee with the McCleskey East-Cobb / Northeast Cobb Family YMCAs

Quote about Molly from Y staff member Becky Shipley: “Molly’s time and efforts contribute to strengthening the foundation of the community. She currently serves on our board community engagement committee and oversees the success of our local school food pantry by recruiting volunteers and organizing food pick up day. Molly has grown the pantry’s outreach to serve over 50 families each month.

Quote from Molly: “My path to serve really became clear when I got more involved in our Y community programs which ensure all children have equal access to reaching their full potential. I want to be an example to my children that being a part of a community is about helping and serving others.”

Fatima Gonzalez

Teen Leader of the Year: Fatima Gonzalez’ first connection with the YMCA was through youth soccer and swim lessons nine years ago. She is currently involved as the Leaders Club president. She has attended YMCA Blue Ridge Leaders School for two summers and has attended three global service leadership trips. After high school graduation, Fatima plans to attend college in Georgia so she can continue her YMCA involvement.

Quote about Fatima from Y Staff Member Rachel Singer: “Fatima embodies teen leadership and commitment to giving back to the community. She makes time to volunteer and takes the opportunity to lead by example. Fatima is someone I can easily say truly believes in the Y and has been grateful for all of the opportunities that have presented themselves because of her commitment.”

Quote from Fatima: “It is crucial to make time to be involved with the Y because it is our duty to serve our community. It is our duty as servant leaders to give back to the community that raised us and leave it better than it was before. I have found that I feel at home at any Y, even in other states or in other countries like Costa Rica or England. The Y has the ability to unite complete strangers and make them family. I don’t know of any organization that is even comparable to the work, service and impact of the YMCA.”

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

East Cobb resident earns Cobb Chamber’s public service award

January 27, 2020 2:38 PMJanuary 27, 2020 12:15 PM by Wendy Parker

Susan Hampton, Cobb Chamber public service award — *Susan Hampton with outgoing Cobb Chamber of Commerce president Mitch Rhoden. (Cobb C of C photo)*

At its annual gala dinner Saturday, the Cobb Chamber of Commerce presented East Cobb resident Susan Hampton with its Mack Henderson Public Service Award, given to “someone who is outstanding in their commitment and dedication to enhancing the quality of life for the citizens of Cobb County.”

Hampton has organized the East Cobb Business Association’s appreciation events for Cobb Police Precinct 4 officers and Cobb Fire personnel, and is part of the newly formed Cobb County Public Safety Foundation.

Over the last year, she has been outspoken in favor of better pay and benefits for Cobb public safety workers.

In being presented the award Saturday, the Chamber called Hampton a “tireless advocate for Cobb’s public safety personnel. Whether it’s acting as a vocal supporter for higher wages or organizing an appreciation event for local law enforcement, this award winner devotes her volunteer efforts to the community she serves.”

Hampton also is active with the Cobb County Coalition of Business Associations, “working with the coalition’s founders and other committed volunteers continuing the legacy of Barbara Hickey, lending her hand whenever it is needed,” according to the Chamber’s presentation.

The Cobb Chamber also honored former U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson at the gala dinner. The Republican from East Cobb was presented with the Chamber’s Senator Johnny H. Isakson Leadership Award, which has been renamed in his honor.

The Chamber has dedicated the 10th floor of its new offices at 1100 Circle 75 Parkway in Isakson’s name.

Sen. Johnny Isakson, Cobb chamber — *Retired U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson speaks at the Cobb Chamber gala dinner Saturday. (Cobb C of C photo)*

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