Center for Family Resources

Center for Family Resources to hold ‘Parade of Playhouses’ fundraiser

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Submitted information:Center Family Resources Parade Playhouses

The Center for Family Resources (CFR) has announced its First Annual Parade of Playhouses. Replacing the organization’s traditional Annual Gala, the event will stand as the main fundraiser of the year. It will also be a great vehicle to showcase the CFR Board’s vision of preventing childhood homelessness before it even happens.

The Parade of Playhouses brings together local design and construction teams to create unique children’s playhouses that will be showcased April 19-30 at Town Center at Cobb. Each playhouse is a one-of-a-kind, fully functional piece of art brought to life by our volunteer build teams. Playhouses will be auctioned and raffled off on Sunday, May 2. Auction winners can choose to purchase the playhouse for themselves or gift the house to one of the CFR’s nonprofit partners. This year’s nonprofit recipients are Make-A-Wish Georgia, liveSAFE Resources, Sheltering Arms and Calvary Children’s Home.

“Due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 public health emergency, we have decided to replace our Annual Gala with an event that, in a fun and safe manner, brings together our community in support of the CFR’s mission,” said Melanie Kagan, CEO for the Center for Family Resources. “This year’s Parade of Playhouses will help raise critical funds to support our organization but also has the potential to benefit some of our partner agencies. Allowing auction winners to gift their playhouse to another agency makes the gift a double donation,” she continued.

Individuals interested in supporting the fundraiser can participate by sponsoring, making a charitable contribution and purchasing raffle tickets for a chance to win one of the stunning masterpieces. For more information, please visit the Parade of Playhouses page on our website.

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Center for Family Resources gets COVID-19 emergency funding

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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. 

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Cobb community service organizations continue COVID outreach

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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

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:

For those dealing with domestic violence and abuse:

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

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.

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Cobb non-profits ask commissioners to reconsider funding cuts

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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.

 

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Cobb non-profit funding delayed as groups explain service needs

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Lingering issues over Cobb non-profit funding have been put on hold by county commissioners, who want more time to go over proposals to spend $850,000 for grants to 15 local community service providers.

Cobb non-profit funding delayed
Rev. Ike Reighard

At last week’s commissioners meeting, they agreed to delay action, possibly to Sept. 25 when they meet again to conduct regular business.

The funding has been set aside in the fiscal year 2019 budget commissioners adopted in July, and would be distributed over the next two years.

Most of the organizations are part of the Cobb Collaborative, an umbrella organization that coordinates non-profit county grant funding.

Last year, commissioners changed the criteria for awarding grants to non-profits. The agencies must provide services related to homelessness, family stability and poverty, ex-offender re-entry and workforce development, and health and wellness.

According to Cobb deputy county manager Jackie McMorris, the Cobb Collaborative received 27 applications for grant funding, totaling $1.8 million, before making the recommendations contained in the chart below.

Several leaders of those non-profits on the recommended list spoke at Tuesday’s meeting about how they spend that money, and how it’s still needed.

Jeri Barr of the Center for Family Resources, which focuses on homelessness issues, said losing that funding “could be a death-knell for a number of non-profits.”

CFR would receive $141,339 under the current grant recommendation, the largest for any of the non-profit agencies on the list. Of that amount, $127,205 would be used directly for homeless-related programs, especially housing assistance.

“We help hundreds of families stay in their homes” with financial assistance that includes rent payments, she said, adding that that kind of stability keeps kids in schools.

Because of its Cobb grant funding, CFR also gets a federal match from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Barr said.

MUST Ministries, which is best known for operating a homeless shelter in Cobb, also provides housing and employment services for its clients.

The non-profit reported 2017 revenues of $10.6 million, and would receive $53,002 in Cobb grant funding under the proposal.

Rev. Ike Reighard, senior pastor at the Piedmont Church in East Cobb and the MUST president and CEO, told commissioners that of that $52,002, two-thirds of it, or around $35,000, goes for shelter services.

The remainder would be used for providing employment services for clients in the South Cobb area.

“You’ve been great partners to us over the years,” Reighard said.

Commissioners expressed some differences not only on how to spend the money, but whether to do it at all.

South Cobb commissioner Lisa Cupid was upset that other agencies weren’t included on the list that serve her community.

Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of Northeast Cobb said she’s concerned about spending taxpayer money involuntarily for such services and favors a voluntary process to fund non-profits.

Ott also has expressed similar sentiments, but his motion to table non-profit action was because he wasn’t at a work session on Monday in which the recommendations were outlined.

“It’s the first time I’m seeing this list,” he said.

Commission chairman Mike Boyce said without the services these agencies provide, the county would likely have to spend more money on incarceration and public health.

“What is the value of this county? Is this for the greater good of the county? My answer is, yes.”

The commissioners voted to table the matter right before approving a fee dispute settlement with the Atlanta Braves.

 

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