East Cobb Community Service

East Cobb Wine and Vine Market to benefit local charities

by
East Cobb Wine and Vine Market
For larger view click here

Submitted information:

On October 17th, 2019 at the Olde Towne Athletic Club, the East Cobb Civitans, along with the Georgia District Civitan Foundation and Friends for the East Cobb Park will host our 28 the annual “East Cobb Wine & Vine Market.”

This wine tasing and silent auction features over 100 items to bid on, and over 2 dozen wines to sample. There will be a live raffle drawing and a wine pull.

Your involvement in supporting this event has resulted in over $390,000 being donated to LOCAL charities!

These have included:

  • The East Cobb Park – Over $180,000 in donations for the park’s creation and development
  • Must Ministries: Providing shelter, clothing, food and support for homeless families
  • Center for Family Resources: Intervention & training to prevent and support homeless families
  • The Center for Children and Young Adults: A shelter & home for abused & neglected youth
  • Project Mail Call: Sends boxes of supplies and surprises to our deployed soldiers
  • Opportunity Knocks for Youth: Mentoring for Middle School aged Foster kids
  • Fragile Kids Foundation: Providing resources for the medically fragile
  • The Georgia Ballet’s “Dance Abilities”: Dance classes for special needs students
  • Camp Big Heart – A week long summer camp for developmentally disabled campers
  • Right in the Community: Supporting group homes for the developmentally disabled
  • Great Prospects – A social organization for adults with special needs.

Tickets are $25 each and include heavy appetizers; must be 21 or older to attend.

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

5th annual ‘Fore the Cure’ golf tournament returns to East Cobb

by

Fore the Cure

Submitted information and photo:

Join us on Monday, October 28th at Indian Hills Country Club for the fifth annual “Fore the Cure” golf tournament benefiting It’s The Journey, a local 501c3 charitable organization that raises money exclusively for breast health and breast cancer programs in Georgia. This event is chaired by longtime East Cobb residents George and Kathy Bartelme.

“We love that It’s The Journey is a small organization making a big impact in our community. Since 2002, they have funded 335 grants totaling $14 million to support everything from breast exams, screening, diagnostics, genetic counseling and testing, biopsies, support services and to research, all right here in Georgia. As a breast cancer survivor, it meant a lot to me find an organization that was helping the women and men in my community in meaningful, tangible ways,” said Kathy.

The Bartelme support has evolved into an annual golf tournament that is now in its fifth year. The annual “Fore the Cure” golf tournament has raised over $200,000 since 2015. This year the tournament will take place on Monday, October 28th at the Indian Hills Country Club. Registration begins at 9:30 am, with a shotgun start at 11:00 am. Participants will receive the use of a golf cart, lunch, 18 holes of golf, players package and prizes for golf challenges. Individual, foursome, and corporate sponsorships are available as well as donations for the silent auction and in-kind gifts. It is a very fun tournament and players consist of both members/non-members of Indian Hills as well as men and women.

There will also be a silent auction the day of the tournament. Items for auction include golf packages, sports memorabilia, original artwork, themed gift baskets, and more.

For more information on the tournament, to sign up, or to donate, please visit: https://e.givesmart.com/events/dx7/

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

MDE School of East Cobb to hold ‘Boots and BBQ’ fundraiser

by

Submitted information:

The MDE School of East Cobb hosts “Boots & BBQ,” October 19, 7 to 10 p.m. at Pontoon Brewing Company in Sandy Springs, GA. The event is generously presented by the Cobb EMC Community Foundation.

The third annual event is a benefit for the MDE School, a non-profit, private school in East Cobb that serves K-12 children with varying special needs. The MDE School is the only school of its kind in Cobb County and provides an exceptional learning environment where students with special needs have access to academics, music, drama, adaptive PE, enrichment programs and life skills training. MDE serves students with Autism, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, communication disorders, and developmental delays.

Since MDE School’s inception in 2008, enrollment has increased from 3 to 50 students from all over metro Atlanta. MDE is able to uniquely serve children with special needs who cannot be served in a traditional educational environment, and addresses each students’ learning, social, cognitive, and developmental goals allowing their students to maximize their potential.

The fun-filled, casual evening for adults is $40 in advance and $45 at the door. Sponsors as of printing include Cobb EMC Community Foundation, Genuine Parts Company, Honest-1 Auto Care, Ms. Donna Maslia and Mr. Matthew Morton, Spectrum Behavioral Associates, and Mr. Steven and Mrs. Elizabeth Patrick. Sponsorships ranging from $250-$2,500 are still available.

Evening events include music by Shadowood, BBQ, local craft beer, raffle, and a silent auction with prizes ranging from $20 to $2,000. Proceeds from the event will go towards the MDE School arts and enrichment programs.

“Think cowboy boots and denim in a fun, casual atmosphere,” said Mindy Elkan, Executive Director for The MDE School, who said the event is projected to sell out.

“There are still opportunities to donate auction items,” said Elkan. She said you probably have something you know about or could offer as an auction item, citing examples such as your condo at the beach you could donate for a weekend, airplane tickets, pampering items such as a facial, manicure, or massage, or restaurant gift cards for a night out.

For more information or to purchase tickets, go to www.mdeschool.org. Tickets will be available until the event sells out.

MDE School of East Cobb fundraiser

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

Pope HS student creates Girl Scout art project for foster children

by

Pope HS student, Kits4Kids

Submitted information and photos from Sheri Kell, who served as a project advisor:

Girl Scout Elisa Fontanillas is inspiring art and creativity among Georgia’s foster care children through the creation of the Kits for Kids project. Elisa, a senior at Pope High School in Marietta, has spent 8 months organizing the project and collecting donations for her Girl Scout Gold Award.  

As a graphic artist and photographer, Elisa chose the project as a reflection of her own creativity. “My goal of these kits is to make sure foster kids are able to create art with their foster families and encourage their individual creative expression,” said Elisa.

After months of collecting paintbrushes, washable paints​​, paper, canvas, beads, yarn and many other art materials from local drop box locations at retailers and schools, Elisa recently recruited friends and classmates to help her assemble 200 kits. The kits were designed for age groups ranging from three to 12 years of age.

The kits were delivered to the Foster Care Support Foundation, where they will be distributed to the children. East Cobb Marietta Target, Roswell Blick Art Materials and the Roswell Road Kroger also generously donated supplies.

About Kits for Kids:

Kits for Kids is a charity organization set on creating art kits for kids in the foster care system through the Foster Care Support Foundation. We believe that by creating with families and individually, foster kids can express themselves freely through art. The kits were donated to the Roswell, GA-based Foster Care Support Foundation.

Pope HS student, Kits4Kids

Pope HS student, Kits4Kids

Pope HS student, Kits4Kids

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

Davis Direction Foundation holding recovery conference

by

Submitted information:

As drug abuse and overdoses continue to take lives and destroy families, innovative solutions are emerging in communities throughout the country. Sharing those solutions to “Fight Addiction and Fuel Recovery” is the theme for the 2019 national conference of Building Communities of Recovery.

The conference, in its second year as a showcase for solutions-based recovery programs, will be held Sept. 22-25 in Marietta, Ga. It is presented by the Davis Direction Foundation, which was founded by Missy and Michael Owen after they lost their 20-year-old son Davis to a heroin overdose in 2014.

By bringing solutions together in one place, the BCOR conference offers inspiration and hope to communities who are looking for ways to provide safe and sober environments, supporting people in recovery and encouraging them to live productively. According to the Surgeon General’s most recent report, there are more than 25 million people in recovery in the United States.

REGISTER HERE to take advantage of national experts and community innovators who will share their successes and lessons learned in four primary areas:

  • Medical and behavioral health
  • Education and prevention
  • Law and legal
  • Faith-based/spiritual

Keynote speakers will include Sara A. Carter, Fox News contributor and founder of the Dark Wire Investigation Foundation; Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House and a leader of Advocates for Opioid Recovery, a bipartisan initiative promoting evidence-based treatment for opioid addiction; and Dr. Kelly Clark, past president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and founder of Addiction Crisis Solutions, which helps stakeholder groups transform addiction treatment into evidence-based care.

The conference kicks off at 7 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday, Sept. 22, with the movie premier of Not in Vein, open to the public in the Ballroom of the Hilton Atlanta/Marietta Hotel & Conference Center.

Over the next three days, speakers will share their experiences in innovative solutions-based recovery programs. Examples:

  • The Centergy Project works with schools in Georgia, Illinois, Alabama, and Virginia to launch student and family support centers customized to the barriers and assets of each community.
  • In Panama City, Fla., a pilot project at the Bay County Jail Facility conducts resilience training for inmates who are addicted to opiates and other highly addictive substances. The program has reduced recidivism by 50 percent over two years.
  • Advocates for Opioid Recovery has relied on grassroots advocacy and successful use of social media to break down barriers to evidence-based treatment.
  • The complete program is available at https://www.buildingcommunitiesofrecovery.com/2019-bcor-conference-program/.

Harry Nelson, author of The United States of Opioids: A Prescription for Liberating a Nation in Pain, will be keynote speaker for the awards banquet on Tuesday. Sept. 24, recognizing advocates, organizers and partnerships that have worked tirelessly to fight addiction and fuel recovery.

Cost for the three-day conference is $399, or $299 for students, meals inclusive, with the exception of the Sept. 24 VIP dinner with plenary speakers costing $100.

The conference will provide educational opportunities that satisfy continuing education requirements for the following:

  • CMEs for medical professionals
  • P.O.S.T. credits for law enforcement officers
  • CEs for CADC, CAADC, CCS and CAC-I and CAC-II

Conference sponsors include Co-Host – WellStar Health System, The Zone, Cobb EMC Community Foundation, Mental Health for US, Atlanta Copier Rentals, DisposeRx, Advocates for Opioid Recovery, Kennesaw State University’s Center for Young Adult Addiction and Recovery, National Safety Council, Northside Hospital, Summit BHC, and Tanner Health System.

The conference will include an exhibit hall of various programs, sponsors, informational organizations and nationally identified innovative solutions.

The Davis Direction Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to fight addiction and fuel recovery while serving as the national model for “Building Communities of Recovery” in the midst of a national opioid/heroin epidemic. The Davis Direction Foundation focuses on advocacy, education, harm reduction, prevention and recovery.

For more information, email info@davisdirection.com.

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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 Catholic churches take part in new Habitat project

by

East Cobb Catholic churches Habitat project

Submitted information and photo:

The 2019 Cobb County Catholic Coalition has partnered with NW Metro Atlanta Habitat for Humanity for the 27th year and, this year is building two houses for Habitat homeowners on Old Bankhead Highway in Mableton. The coalition has built and dedicated 42 homes since 1993.

The first nails were hammered on both homes Saturday, September 7 for the Gamble and Vonnordeck families— both well-deserving single mothers. The coalition is comprised of six churches: The Catholic Church of St. Ann, St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church, St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, The Catholic Church of The Transfiguration, Holy Family Catholic Church and St. Joseph Catholic Church.

Jessica Gill, CEO of NW Metro Atlanta Habitat, said, “No other Habitat coalition in our organization has remained dedicated as long and faithfully as the Cobb Catholic Coalition. And it is not just an annual build— coalition members serve tirelessly year-round as board and construction committee members, house leaders, crew leaders and in many volunteer roles that support our mission.”

“From not knowing if I can provide food for my son to the blessing of Habitat, I know God is good all the time. I now take my experiences and minister to other women within my church and at a local shelter to help them overcome,” said Ms. Vonnordeck.

“This house will allow me to provide a stable home in a safer neighborhood for my son to grow up … I also feel with the process I can teach my son about community, loving others and how to serve and give back to other in our community.”

Ms. Gamble added, “We are growing stronger every day and I know having our own home will make our lives so much sweeter! My oldest son wants a garden, birthdays, holidays, barbecues!”

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

Brumby ES food pantry seeking meat and milk donations

by
Brumby Elementary School food pantry
The food pantry at Brumby ES opened last November. (Special photo)

Parent Nicole Monge Mason is sending out word that the food pantry at Brumby Elementary School is in “dire” need of meat and milk, among other items, and that special hours are being set up for Monday donations.

That’s because the next shopping day for Brumby families in need is next Tuesday, Sept. 17. What the panty needs most are individually wrapped ground beef, turkey and chicken packages and gallon milk containers. Those donations can be dropped off at the school (815 Terrell Mill Road) Monday between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The pantry is open to families Tuesday from 12-2 and 4-6. Brumby is one of more than 30 schools in the Cobb County School District that has a pantry for students and their families.

Nicole says what’s critical about this shopping day is that it’s going to have to last through the fall break week from school (Sept. 21-27). Reduced-price breakfast and lunches won’t be served, so families will be loading up on extra food supplies. She writes in her message:

“The stresses and fears that we relate to on a daily basis PALES in comparison to what most families face on a daily basis when it comes to food insecurities and households in need.

“We have a unique opportunity to be apart of helping families and especially children NOT stress about where their next meal is coming from….at least for a few weeks and especially NOT during the fall break coming up.

“As a community we can be apart of the solution but overlooking the essential need that is right here looking us in the eye is only contributing to the problem…

More information about what’s needed at the Brumby pantry can be found at this online sign-up form.

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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 Park founding member Sunny Walker dies at 71

by
Sunny piano East Cobb Park
Sunny Walker at the unveiling of “Sunny” the piano at East Cobb Park in 2017. (ECN file photo)

The Friends for the East Cobb Park is sending out word that Sunny Walker, one of the key figures in the creation of East Cobb Park, has died.

Walker, 71, died on Aug. 27. She also was a past president of Friends volunteer organization, helping to raise money to buy the land on Roswell Road where the park continues today.

In 2017, a piano donated by the East Cobb-based Play Me Again pianos non-profit was named “Sunny” in her honor and located at the park’s upper-level gazebo.

Walker was named the 1993 East Cobb Citizen of the Year by the East Cobb Area Council of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce. Her other community activities included being a Chamber board member as well as its Leadership Cobb initiative. She also was a supporter of the Theatre in the Square in Marietta. From her obituary:

“Sunny is remembered for her unconditional love of people and her perpetual heart of service. Dedicated to the arts, she championed numerous projects that were important to her community and its cultural development. Sunny’s influence is ever-present and vast.”

Walker, who lived in Smyrna, grew up in Rome and moved to Atlanta after graduating from the University of Georgia. She and her sister started the family-owned Frameworks Gallery, located on Johnson Ferry Road.

She is survived by her sister Diane Spencer of Woodstock and four other siblings, two children and five grandchildren. Walker was preceded in death by her husband “Big Al” Walker.

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

MUST Ministries to hold new shelter event at Indian Hills

by

MUST Ministries wants to an expanded homeless shelter and service facility for those in need, and is holding several “preview” events in September for its upcoming fundraising campaign.MUST Ministries summer lunch program

One of those events will be in East Cobb, at Indian Hills Country Club, on Wednesday, Sept. 11 from 7:30-8:30 p.m.

MUST Ministries is calling the information meetings a “first look” opportunity for anyone who may be interested in hearing more about the plans.

The capital campaign, called “Build Hope a Home,” is aiming to raise more than $10 million. The facility, which would be located near its current site on Cobb Parkway near Bells Ferry Road, would include a food pantry, a clothes closet and job training center for those in need.

The current shelter, which has a capacity of around 70, is in a former church. MUST estimates it turns away more than 200-300 people a month seeking shelter.

MUST provides services to 33,000 people in poverty in an eight-county area, and its Loaves and Fishes Community Kitchen serves an estimated 80,000 meals a year.

At the first look events, individuals will meet with MUST board members and leaders over dessert to hear the plans.

The event is free, but you’re asked to RSVP at mustministries.org a week before the event. There are other similar meetings around the county; details are at the link.

Earlier this week, MUST sent out a message saying it’s running low on a number of regular categories of food it keeps in supply. Included on the “urgent needs” list are the following:

  • canned mixed vegetables
  • peas
  • jelly
  • cereal
  • canned chicken
  • chili
  • beef stew
  • laundry detergent
  • shampoo

You can drop off those and other foods and supplies Tuesday-Saturday 9-5 at at the MUST Donation Center, 1280 Field Parkway, Marietta.

If you’re attending Noshfest Sunday or Monday, the suggested donation for admission is two canned goods per family for MUST Ministries.

You can also donate online.

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

Marietta Blues Bash moving to new East Cobb event space

by

Brick and Ivey, Marietta Blues Bash

The Extension, a Marietta-based non-profit agency, provides recovery services for those with addictions and who have been homeless.

Its annual fundraiser, the Marietta Blues Bash, is coming up on Sept. 12, and this year it’s being held at Brick and Ivey, a new event space next to Hoyle’s Kitchen + Bar (1440 Roswell Road).

Here are the event details The Extension is putting out, and they’re expecting tickets to go quickly:

Join co-host Cobb County Commission Chairman Mike Boyce for our annual Marietta Blues Bash event.

For the last 32 years, The Extension has saved, transformed, and restored the lives thousands of men and women struggling with drug and alcohol addiction in our community. 

Enjoy a traditional low country boil meal by Southern Charmed Catering featuring shrimp, Andouille Sausage, corn, baby red potatoes, southern collard greens, Wisconsin Cheddar macaroni and cheese and select pies to finish the meal.

Kenney Bentley Presents and his band will be paying tribute to jazz and blues greats. The silent auction will feature sports memorabilia, tickets to entertainment and sporting events and travel opportunities.  

There is a $50 suggested donation per person. Sponsorships and reserved tables for eight are currently available. For more information, call Renee McCormick at 770-590-9075 x309 or visit us online at www.theextension.org/bluesbash. 

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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 faith communities help dedicate new Habitat house

by

Habitat House, East Cobb faith communities

Submitted information and photo:

Nine Cobb County churches, two Mosques, a Synagogue and three corporations gathered yesterday in unity to dedicate the 19th Cobb County Interfaith Habitat Coalition home they built together for newest homeowner Belinda Arkoh.  

The 2019 Coalition included: Temple Kol Emeth Synagogue, Bethany United Methodist Church, Covenant United Methodist Church, Log Cabin Community Church of Vinings, Unity North Church, St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, First Presbyterian Church of Marietta, Smyrna First United Methodist Church, McEachern United Methodist Church, St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church, West Cobb Islamic Center and the Islamic Center of Marietta. Corporations include BB&T, Moore Colson and Pinkerton & Laws Construction of Atlanta.  

They all work in concert to do as their motto says, ‘We Build to Coexist, We Coexist to Build’. The annual coalition is co-chaired by Henry Hene, NW Metro Atlanta Habitat Board Member and Paul Wilson, both members of Temple Kol Emeth. 

The home on Old Bankhead Highway began on June 1. Volunteers from each organization built alongside the new homeowner each Saturday since to complete the home.

Belinda is a recent widow and mother of two children: a 4-year-old son and 2- year old daughter. Belinda has been a United States resident since 2007, and proudly became a naturalized citizen in 2013. She lost her husband and father of her two children in 2018.  

After living in a single bedroom apartment with her two children, they now have a home, yard, neighborhood and community. Belinda is professional seamstress and a devoted Christian who loves working in her community work and her church.

Pictured from left to right: David McKay, House Leader; Jessica Gill, CEO NW Metro Atlanta Habitat; Greg Lee, McEachern United Methodist Church; Paula Wilson, Temple Kol Emeth; Henry Hene, Coalition Co-Chair and NW Metro Atlanta Habitat Board; Paul Wilson, Coalition Co-Chair; Tony Phillips, Pastor McEachern United Methodist Church; Rabbi Steve Lebow, Temple Koh Emeth; Belinda Arkoh, homeowner; Amjad Taufigue, West Cobb Islamic Center; Rev. Avril James, Unity North Church; Jerry Zigler, Covenant United Methodist Church; Connie Bergeron, Dave Daniels, St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church; and Alan Nicely, Smyrna First United Methodist Church.

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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 traffic reminder: Dog Days Run is Saturday morning

by

Dog Days Run, East Cobb traffic

A few major East Cobb roads will be closed off to traffic for a brief time Saturday morning for the 14th annual Dog Days Run.

The 5K race starts and ends at the McCleskey-East Cobb Family YMCA (1055 E. Piedmont Road) at 7:30 a.m., and continues east along Sewell Mill Road, south on Old Canton Road, west along Roswell and back onto East Piedmont. See map below for details.

Most of the runners/joggers/walkers should be done between 8:30 and 9 a.m.

The event, which includes awards to top finishers, prizes, a bounce house for kids, vendors, food and music, is a main fundraiser for the Rotary Club of East Cobb, with proceeds going to a variety of community organizations.

Also on Saturday morning is the Lutzie 43 Road Race, which starts at 8 a.m. and takes place entirely on the campus of Lassiter High School (2601 Shallowford Road). It’s named after former Lassiter and Auburn football star Philip Lutzenkirchen and benefits the foundation his family started in his memory to help young people make good decisions.

If you’re interested in taking part in either event, there is race-day registration onsite, or you can sign up online today for the Dog Days Run.

Dog Days Run course, East Cobb traffic

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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 non-profits ask commissioners to reconsider funding cuts

by

The leaders of several Cobb non-profits who’ve received county funding in the past are asking commissioners continue the practice, although there’s no money at all for them in the proposed fiscal year 2020 budget.

Irene Barton, Cobb Collaborative, Cobb non-profits
Irene Barton, Cobb Collaborative

At a budget hearing earlier this week, representatives of some of the 15 community organizations who’ve received a total of $850,000 in the current FY 2019 budget said the small figures they receive from Cobb government enable them to get matching funds that are vital to the work that they do.

“Non-profits are working together to address critical issues,” said Irene Barton, an East Cobb resident who is the executive director of the Cobb Collaborative.

It’s an umbrella organization that received $42,500 this year to help coordinate grant funding of around $3.1 million.

The critical needs include addressing those who are homeless and ex-offenders, those in family poverty situations and for health and wellness issues.

Those were the four criteria Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce proposed last year for organizations to receive county founding. But after commissioners approved the FY 2019 budget, Boyce acknowledged there wasn’t the political support (commissioners Bob Ott and JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb have been opposed) to continue the funding.

So there’s nothing in Boyce’s proposed $475 million budget commissioners are scheduled to adopt on Tuesday.

The Center for Family Resources, which focuses on homelessness issues, is getting $141,000 this year, the largest amount of county spending, followed by the Davis Direction Association ($120,000), which fights drug and opioid addiction.

SafePath Children’s Advocacy Center receives $81,000, the Atlanta Community Food Bank $70,000, MUST Ministries $53,000 and the Tommy Nobis Center $45,000.

Barton said in her remarks to the commissioners that the non-profits have worked with government agencies, other non-profits and faith communities, but “no one group can fund this alone.

“Some may feel that that taxpayers’ dollars should not fund these agencies. If these services are not funded, who will provide them?”

As she did last week, State Rep. Mary Frances Williams, a Marietta Democrat who represents part of East Cobb, also urged commissioners to provide non-profit funding.

“I really worry that your minds are already made up,” she said. “Once this money is gone, it’s hard to get a chunk of money like this back in the process.”

A Cobb resident at Tuesday’s budget hearing disagreed. Patricia Hay argued that “it’s not government’s job to take care of people. It’s just not.”

The Cobb commissioners will hold a final budget hearing at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, prior to final adoption. The meeting takes place in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

Johnson Ferry Baptist Church honored by Sons of the American Revolution

by
Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, Sons of the American Revolution
From L-R: Joe Shadden, Amber Hudson, David Wiley, Bill Floyd, Greg Hebert, Shep Hammack, and Ricky Lewis.

Thanks to David Wellons of the Mount Vernon Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, for the information and photos of this week’s flag recognition at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church:

The Mount Vernon Chapter presented a Certificate of Commendation to Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in recognition of exemplary patriotism in the display of The Flag of the United States of America. The flags are raised and lowered each day by the security team since they are not lit during the night.Johnson Ferry Baptist Church flags

Secretary David Wellons was present and coordinated the ceremony. Other chapter members present were President Bill Floyd, past President Shep Hammack, David Wiley and Chuck Rann. The ceremony was held in the church lobby due to inclement weather.

Members of the church participating in the ceremony were Joe Shadden, JFBC Business Administrator, Amber Hudson, EKG Security Officer, Greg Hebert, JFBC Director of Facilities and Ricky Lewis, EKG Site Supervisor Security Officer. Not in the photo and also present for the ceremony were Mark Shelton, EKG Manager, and Fred Godbee, EKG Owner.

Send us your news!

To share news tips and photos with East Cobb News at anytime, as well as to inquire about news events, here’s how to get in touch:

  • Phone/text: 404-219-4278;
  • E-mail: editor@eastcobbnews.com; please give a general description of your e-mail in the subject field.

If you’re leaving a news tip (especially about a crime, fire, accident, emergency or severe weather event) please provide contact information so we can confirm and follow up. Messages sent via phone, text and e-mail are preferred; please limit social media messages to breaking news only.

To submit calendar items, e-mail: calendar@eastcobbnews.com; to send an announcement, e-mail: announcements@eastcobbnews.com.

Here’s how we can be reached via social media:

East Cobb News understands the need for confidentiality in some cases but we cannot publish information from totally anonymous sources.

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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 Family Promise golf outing set for Indian Hills

by

Cobb Family Promise golf outing

Submitted information and photos:

Family Promise of Cobb County, an Affiliate of Family Promise, the nation’s leading nonprofit helping families experiencing homelessness, will be hosting their fourth annual golf outing and fundraiser on Monday, June 17, 2019 at Indian Hills Country Club. The outing supports Family Promise of Cobb County’s mission to assist homeless and low income families with children residing in Cobb County.

The fundraising event will include the golf tournament, a buffet lunch and raffle with prizes and gift cards. Golf pro Rocky Shipes will also be there to help golfers hit their drive on a designated hole for a charitable donation. Check-in begins at 7:30 am with a shotgun start in a scramble format at 9:00 am. Registration for the golf outing, as a player or sponsor, can be found on the FPCC website: www.familypromisecobbcounty.org.

Sponsors for the event include: Lendmark Financial Services, Massey Automotive, NPSG Global, Owenby Jones Wealth Management, and Wellstar Health System.

Family Promise of Cobb County helps homeless families with children achieve adequate and consistent income, stable housing and lasting independence by mobilizing the local interfaith community to provide temporary meals, shelter, compassionate hospitality and professional social services. They have fourteen host congregations and an additional eight congregations who support their programs. They have been in business since January 2014 supporting families with children experiencing homelessness. Family Promise of Cobb County is a 501 (c)(3) charity sanctioned by the IRS to accept contributions.

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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 faith communities pitch in to build new Habitat for Humanity house

by

The Northwest Metro Atlanta Habitat for Humanity passes along word that the Cobb Interfaith Habitat Coalition will start a new house project in Austell Saturday, and several East Cobb faith communities will be involved.East Cobb faith communities Habitat for Humanity

The home is being built for the Arkoh family on Old Bankhead Highway, and the project is expected to be dedicated in mid-August.

Among the organizations taking part include Unity North Church, St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church, the East Cobb Islamic Center and Temple Kol Emeth.

The others are Bethany United Methodist Church, Covenant United Methodist Church, Log Cabin Community Church of Vinings, St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, First Presbyterian Church of Marietta, Smyrna First United Methodist Church, McEachern United Methodist Church, and the Islamic Center of Marietta.

Also involved will be BB&T, Moore Colson and Pinkerton & Laws Construction of Atlanta. Here’s more from NW Metro Habitat about the family being helped with this new home:

The home is being built for future Habitat homeowner and recent widow, Belinda Enimil Arkoh. Belinda has been a United States resident since 2007, and proudly became a naturalized citizen in 2013. She lost her husband and father of her two children in 2018. Belinda is a single mother of two children: a 4-year-old boy and an 18-month-old girl. After living in a single bedroom apartment with her two children, she will become a homeowner. Belinda is professional seamstress and a devoted Christian who loves working in her community work and her church.

“It is remarkable to see how the Cobb County faith community comes together to make our county a better place for all our residents,” said Jessica Gill, CEO, N.W. Metro Atlanta Habitat for Humanity. “These organizations are changing the lives and future of the next generation of this well-deserving family.”

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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 Side Chargers recognized by Braves, Zaxby’s for cancer fundraiser

by

East Side Chargers

Thanks to Dana Wright, coach of the East Side Chargers 12 and Under baseball team, for letting us know about their special morning Wednesday meeting Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker (at right in photo above, wearing checked shirt) for their fundraising efforts for childhood cancer research.

The fundraising program, “Hits 4 Cancer,” kicked off in February (previous ECN post here), and it continues until July 1, as the team gets ready for a big tournament June 8-24 in Cooperstown, N.Y., near the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Before the event, Wright (pictured at left, in the back row) explained how his team undertook the novel fundraising effort to include donations tied to its performances on the field:

“Our team chose not to raise money for our trip, but to instead create a great cause event that would help teach these young men the importance of giving back.

“The program is very simple . . . . People can pledge a flat amount OR to help motivate for the boys on the field by pledging $ for EVERY TEAM HIT during the season.

“We will play 30+ games and estimate 4-5 hits per game – bringing the total to 120-150 hits.    We ring a cowbell at every game for every hit . . . . This really motivates the kids and has generated new pledges.”

Thus far, Wright tells us, the Chargers have raised $5,000 for the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer.

Here’s more from Wright about how the Chargers are continuing their effort, and inviting the public to take part, and how you can help, with links at the bottom of the post:

“We are also looking for other teams to join and set up their own program . . . . Rally will do all the work and make it turn key for any other coach or team families to participate.

“More viral we can make this – the more money is raised to fight childhood cancer.

“It has really motivated these young men on the field to work harder, given them a sense of pride knowing that they are helping other kids and giving them a better understanding of the disease.”

Attached is a flyer for more details. For more, visit the Hits-4-Childhood Cancer page.

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

IN MEMORIAM: East Cobb civic leader Trish Steiner, 75

by

Trish Steiner, who died on Saturday at the age of 75, was a longtime community activist, including many years with the East Cobb Civic Association, and was involved with the Walton High School community.

Here’s the remembrance her family is sharing with the community:Trish Steiner

She was born in Pittsburgh, PA to the late Dr. Thomas and Mrs. Faye Hayes. Trish met her husband Maurice “Mo” Steiner at Milligan College in 1962. After being married in 1966, Trish and Mo lived in Maine and Florida before moving to East Cobb in 1984. She was a dedicated mother to her daughters, Audra, Melissa and Brianne.

As a lifelong volunteer, Trish was an activist for her community. She was appointed by Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott the Neighborhood Safety Commission and was a longtime member and board member of East Cobb Civic Association. During her tenure of ECCA, she served various leadership roles involving zoning and variances and Johnson Ferry Corridor Study.

Trish received a proclamation from Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell in 2012 in recognition of her volunteer service to Cobb County. Trish was a 2004 YMCA Woman of Achievement recipient. She was a member of The College of Charleston’s Parent Advisory Council from 2003 -2009, and was a member of The College’s 1770 Society.

Trish was the founder of the Mt. Bethel Elementary School Foundation and was a driving force in the formation of Walton High School’s Foundation and Charter Status. Trish and Mo were both enthusiastically involved in Walton Band and Orchestra Parents for many years.

Trish was dearly loved by Maurice “Mo,” her husband of 53 years, her children, Audra, Melissa and Brianne, and sons-in-law Steven Ritter and Yannick Bennett. Her death is mourned by family and friends, who will miss her enthusiasm, wit and resourcefulness.

The family will receive friends between the hours of 5 pm and 8 pm Monday and Tuesday, May 20th and May 21st at HM Patterson and Son Canton Hill, in Marietta. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the charity of your choice in her memory.

The Steiner family also put together this tribute video.

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

MUST Ministries summer lunch program seeks cash donations for sandwiches

by

For more than 20 years service organizations, churches and others have helped Marietta-based MUST Ministries with its summer lunch program by providing homemade sandwiches to be delivered to needy children in seven counties in metro Atlanta.MUST Ministries summer lunch program

Last Friday, MUST was notified by state health officials that for food safety reasons, only sandwiches made in certified, licensed kitchens under supervision can be distributed in the sack lunches.

Volunteers and organizations have been preparing sandwiches at their own venues, and at MUST kitchen off Cobb Parkway near Bells Ferry Road in “lunch building” sessions.

With only a couple weeks to go before the summer lunch program begins, MUST is asking anyone who wants to help to make a cash donation so it can purchase sandwiches for the summer lunch program, which starts May 28 and continues until the end of July.

It’s called “SOS”—for “Save Our Sandwiches”—and MUST says the cost will cover only the purchase of sandwiches, about 75 cents each. Other items for the lunches, including juice boxes, crackers, fruit cups and other prepacked foods and snacks, are still accepted.

Last summer MUST distributed between 6,000 to 7,000 sandwiches a week, or around 260,000 for the summer, to kids who qualify for free or reduced school lunches.

MUST has pointed out that in 23 years of the summer lunch program, it’s never heard of an instance of a food safety issue. MUST has distributed for years a lengthy list of requirements for those who’ve made sandwiches.

MUST looked at partnering with church and other certified kitchens, but that was unfeasible since the summer lunch program is less than two weeks away.

Thus far, more than $17,000 has been raised for MUST to buy sandwiches from a certified food vendor, about enough to get through three weeks of the seven-week summer lunch program.

If you’re interested in helping out, you can text “MUSTSOS” to the number 52182, or e-mail SummerLunch@MUSTMinistries.org.

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

Pope HS Habitat for Humanity chapter gets $5K matching grant from State Farm

by
Pope HS Habitat for Humanity Chapter
From L-R: NW Atlanta Habitat for Humanity CEO Jessica Gill; Campbell and Pope Students; State Farm Agent Veronica Adadevoh; State Rep. Sharon Cooper; Pope HS Advisor Cindy Ford.

Submitted information and photos:

Alan C. Pope and Campbell High School Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapters have each been awarded $5,000 after raising matching amounts for this year’s annual Cobb High School Coalition Habitat build. The grants were awarded at the home dedication of United States Veteran Danny Burgess on Old Bankhead Highway in Mableton on Saturday, May 11.

Pope and Campbell High School Habitat chapters are a part of the Cobb High School Coalition, which comes together annually each Spring semester to build a Habitat house over nine weeks. This year’s home began in February and was dedicated on Saturday. The 2019 Coalition consisted of chapter students from Allatoona, Campbell, Hillgrove, Pope, Walton and Wheeler High Schools.

Students representing each school participated in the dedication ceremony through the singing of the national anthem, the presentation of the homeowner Bible and key, and the reading of the Habitat Litany. Cobb County State Representative Sharon Cooper spoke at the ceremony and optimistically told the students, “You are our future leaders” and encouraged them to “never stop giving back.”

“We are grateful to have been selected as one of the matching grant recipients,” said Pope High School chapter teacher/advisor Cindy Holland. “The grant will help us to build another house for a well-deserving family in our community.” 

A Habitat campus chapter is a student-led, student-initiated organization on a high school or college campus that partners with the local Habitat affiliates to build, fundraise, advocate and educate to support the work of Habitat for Humanity.   

“We are proud that our funding is helping to engage young leaders in advancing Habitat’s mission in communities across the country,” said Ed Woods, Human Resources Director, Philanthropy/Diversity & Inclusion at State Farm. “State Farm is here to help life go right and is committed to building safer, stronger and better educated communities.”

Habitat has several programs to engage youth ages 5 to 25. In addition to the ongoing support State Farm offices provide to local Habitat organizations across the United States, State Farm has provided support for Habitat for Humanity’s youth programs since 2007.

Students from Allatoona, Campbell, Hillgrove, Pope, Walton and Wheeler HS with new homeowner Danny Burgess.

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!