Simple Needs GA

Simple Needs GA to hold 5th anniversary celebration with open house

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Simple Needs GA

Submitted information and photo:

Simple Needs GA’s My Birthday Matters program is marking its fifth birthday at an open house on April 13.

“Last year, our My Birthday Matters program brought birthday presents and other useful items to approximately 256 homeless schoolchildren from across Cobb County, up from 217 the year before,” said Brenda Rhodes, an East Cobb resident who founded Simple Needs GA in 2010. “Since MBM is turning five this year, we thought it would be a great idea to throw an anniversary ‘birthday party’ and invite the public to learn more about the program.”

The Open House/MBM Birthday Party, sponsored by longtime SNGA supporter FHLBank Atlanta, is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Simple Needs GA’s Marietta warehouse, 991 Industrial Park Dr.

“We’ll be giving tours, chatting with old and new friends and introducing newcomers to our MBM and six other programs,” Rhodes said. “Clients will be on hand to share their stories, and we’ll have some yummy snacks along with sandwiches and salads generously donated by Newk’s Eatery (1975 Cobb Parkway in Kennesaw).”

Those who plan to attend may RSVP by emailing brenda@simpleneedsga.org.

“Feel free to bring friends or colleagues who might be interested in learning more about how our work benefits people in need,” Rhodes said. “And thanks to event sponsor FHLBank Atlanta and all of the amazing donors and volunteers who have enabled us to help hundreds of homeless schoolchildren over the past five years!”

 

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Simple Needs Ga receives $7K grant from FHLBank Atlanta

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Submitted information:Simple Needs GA

 Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBank Atlanta) has awarded Simple Needs GA (SNGA) a $7,000 grant for people in need in Cobb County.

The 2019 sponsorship represents a continuation of FHLBank Atlanta’s support of SNGA, said Brenda Rhodes, Founder and Executive Director of the Marietta-based nonprofit. “We’re so touched and grateful to receive this amazing gift from FHLBank Atlanta,” she said. “The Bank has helped our organization in so many ways over the past few years. This latest gift, the largest yet by the Bank, will allow us to help even more children and families in need this year.”

With FHLBank Atlanta’s support, Rhodes noted, SNGA continued to broaden its reach in 2018: Its My Birthday Matters program brought birthday presents and other useful items to 256 homeless schoolchildren, up from 217 in 2017. Its Simple Household Needs program brought furniture and household items to 126 clients, a major increase over the 77 it helped in the prior year. And its Spirit of Christmas program provided 159 children in 61 families with $100 in requested gifts along with extras like puzzles, board games, hats, gloves, scarves and, for parents, a $25 Walmart card.

“Major financial contributions such as those provided by FHLBank Atlanta are critical for us and make a real difference for our clients,” Rhodes said. “For example, we typically don’t receive enough in-kind donations of mattresses and box springs to meet the overwhelming demand in our community. Financial donations like this allow us to buy beds so that our furniture clients and their children don’t have to spend too many nights sleeping on a bare floor.”

For more information about SNGA, email brenda@simpleneedsga.org.

For more information about the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, please visit www.fhlbatl.com.

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Simple Needs GA to have Saturday open house in Marietta

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A couple weeks ago we wrote about Brenda Rhodes of Simple Needs GA, who was named the East Cobb Citizen of the Year.Simple Needs GA open house

She noted that the non-profit she started to help people in need with basic, everyday items is holding an open house Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

They’ve got a warehouse in the Marietta area, and will be giving tours, discussing their programs and asking for volunteers to help them help families in need. Here’s more from Rhodes:

 

“We’re inviting everyone in our community to stop by the warehouse to chat, grab a bite to eat, meet some clients and learn about our mission. The open house is a great opportunity to see for yourself what Simple Needs GA does for people in need in Cobb County and to learn how you can get involved. Those who take the tour always learn something new about our programs.”

The open house coincides with a donation drive in which SNGA is collecting household items, winter wear and more. For more details, visit simpleneedsga.org.
For more information and to get the warehouse address e-mail: brenda@simpleneedsga.org.

 

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East Cobb Citizen of the Year is Brenda Rhodes, Simple Needs GA founder

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East Cobb Citizen of the Year, Barbara Rhodes
Brenda Rhodes receives the East Cobb Citizen of the Year plaque from Johnny Johnson of Edward-Johns Jewelers. (East Cobb News photos by Wendy Parker)

The East Cobb Citizen of the Year for 2018 has an expansive background in community service, but she noticed some seemingly small things from her primary volunteering effort that led to larger action.

Volunteering at MUST Ministries inspired Brenda Rhodes to do something more for the homeless and low-income people who relied upon the non-profit agency for shelter, food and other basic assistance.

In 2010, the East Cobb resident started Small Needs GA, a non-profit that helps those in need with a little more—like bringing tents to those living in the woods, or duffel bags with toiletries and other household items.Barbara Rhodes, 2018 East Cobb Citizen of the Year

It’s grown to much more than that, but her philosophy has remained the same.

“I just happened to see some needs that were being unmet,” Rhodes said Thursday as she was honored by the East Cobb Area Council of the Chamber of Commerce at a breakfast at Indian Hills Country Club.

“So I thought that I should do something about it.”

That was in 2010. Since then, Simple Needs GA has helped hundreds of clients, many of them single mothers with children, often fleeing domestic violence and abuse. Among the items delivered are birthday and Christmas presents, shoes, furniture, bedding and mattresses and school uniforms.

Last year, Simple Needs GA provided birthday gifts and other items to more than 200 homeless children in Cobb through the My Birthday Matters and Spirit of Christmas programs.

Rhodes, who holds down a corporate job as a business analyst at Genesys, says she spends 20-30 hours a week with Simple Needs GA, and even drives delivery trucks.

“It’s actually fun to drive a big truck,” she said.

“Our goal is to meet the needs that aren’t being met” by other agencies. “We’re trying to fill the gap.”

Simple Needs GA accepts donations of money and other items on its website. More about its programs and community partnerships can be found here.

Rhodes has served in many capacities as a community volunteer. In addition to MUST, she has helped with Good Mews Animal Foundation, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, Hands On Atlanta, WellStar Foundation and The Center for Family Resources.

She contributes to local missions teams, sings in the choir at First United Methodist Church of Marietta and belongs to the Georgia Symphony Orchestra Chorus.

Rhodes is a two-time recipient of the National Points of Light Award and was Hands On Atlanta’s Premier Volunteer in 2004.

She is a graduate of the 2016 class of Leadership Cobb and the winner of the 2016 W. Wyman Pilcher Jr. Memorial Grant for community service from the Leadership Cobb Alumni Association.

The East Cobb Area Council chooses the Citizen of the Year from nominations made by members of various community service organizations, including the East Cobb Lions Club, Rotary Club of East Cobb, the East Cobb Civitans Club, the East Cobb Business Association and others.

 

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East Cobb-based Simple Needs GA non-profit gets Wells Fargo grant

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Press release:

The Atlanta office of Wells Fargo has awarded Simple Needs GA (SNGA) a $5,000 grant to help people in need in Cobb County. 

The Human Services & Basic Needs grant will go toward SNGA’s Simple Household Needs program, which provides furniture, household items and cleaning kits to people transitioning out of homelessness or escaping from domestic violence. 

“We are deeply honored to receive this generous grant from Wells Fargo’s Atlanta office,” said Brenda Rhodes, an East Cobb resident and Founder and Executive Director of SNGA. “This will help dozens of children and families in need in Cobb. It will translate directly into people moving from the floor or air mattresses to real beds, or finally having kitchen or bath basics that most of us take for granted.”

The Atlanta office of Wells Fargo is proud to support SNGA’s commitment to the community, said Tai A. Roberson, Vice President, Senior Community Development Officer, Wells Fargo Government and Community Relations. Each year, she noted, local offices of the national bank provide similar grants to a wide variety of community organizations across the country. 

“At Wells Fargo, we believe that grant-making decisions are more effective when made locally,” Roberson said. “That’s why Wells Fargo is actively involved in the communities where we live and work, and why our team members are leaders in helping our communities succeed.”

SNGA’s Simple Household Needs program provides all-new cleaning kits to help families sanitize and dignify their surroundings. The new laundry baskets are filled with more than a dozen cleaning products and tools—supplies not covered by food stamps. “Social workers help us distribute these kits to families,” Rhodes said. “They also go to our furniture clients and to several agencies who shelter clients in apartments, such as LiveSAFE Resources.”

Via the program, SNGA also relies on donations of household items, including dishes, linens, silverware, microwaves, vacuums and cookware for clients and collects donations of gently used furniture such as beds, tables and chairs, dressers and more. “It’s all the essential items you would need if you had nothing in a new home,” Rhodes families. “Struggling families are typically overjoyed when we drive up in the delivery truck and also when they see all the household items from which they can choose during their appointment at our space. Most leave with no room left in their car. This program helps them live with greater ease and dignity.”

For more information about SNGA or Simple Household Needs, email brenda@simpleneedsga.org.

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