Cover Story: Make A Difference
Want to do your part to improve our community? Metro Atlanta is home to thousands of great charities and volunteer organizations - many of which are listed each week in Creative Loafing’s Happenings section, or on our website at atlanta.creativeloafing.com. Here are 11 worthy groups that could put you to work on a good cause:
AID ATLANTA empowers HIV-positive Georgians to live independent, productive lives. The organization also organizes educational programs that help stop the spread of HIV by reducing at-risk behavior in targeted populations. Volunteers are needed on nights and weekends to provide social, emotional and practical support for clients. Clients are matched with volunteers based on geographic location. 404-870-7700. www.aidatlanta.org.
THE ATLANTA COMMUNITY FOOD BANK provides food and other donated goods to more than 750 nonprofit partner agencies serving 38 counties across North Georgia. Volunteers help inspect, sort and pack donated food, paper goods, medicines and cleaning products for distribution, and participate in planting, mulching, weeding and harvesting vegetable gardens. 404-892-3333. www.acfb.org.
ANIMALS DESERVE BETTER finds happy, healthy homes for unwanted dogs. Many of the group´s pups are saved from death row at animal control. We confess that Creative Loafing´s own Lisa Peachey started the organization, which is based in Cobb County. Sign up to adopt a dog or to be a foster parent. 770-424-8118. www.AnimalsDeserveBetter.com.
THE ATLANTA HUMANE SOCIETY is a haven for abandoned pets. The society cares for animals and facilitates adoptions, education, advocacy, and consultation and crises intervention. Volunteers are needed to help with pet therapy, kennel duties, and administrative work. 404-875-5331. www.atlantahumane.org.
CAFÉ 458 serves weekend brunch to paying customers from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. But brunch is just a front. During the week, the café serves the homeless. Only those referred by social-service agencies are eligible. Diners choose from a menu and are served by a volunteer waitstaff. The revenue from weekend brunches goes toward paying for the meals and programs that Café 458 provides its homeless customers. Café 458 is looking for servers, hosts, a line cook, and people to help with food preparation. 404-523-1239. www.cafe458.com.
EYEDRUM ART & MUSIC GALLERY is staffed entirely by volunteers. That includes the board members who handle day-to-day operations, audio engineers who run sound for musical events, and workers who serve refreshments at events. Interns and volunteers also make their time available to gallery-sit during regular gallery hours. Eyedrum is looking for volunteers to give tours, welcome visitors and put up flyers. 404-522-0655. www.eyedrum.org.
HANDS ON ATLANTA may be the region´s largest volunteer group. Hands On Atlanta helps individuals, families, and corporate and community groups find volunteering opportunities at more than 400 service organizations and schools. It´s like a dating service for people looking to volunteer. You tell the Hands On folks what you´re looking to do, and they´ll put you in the right place. Everything from tutoring to construction to feeding the homeless. 404-979-2800. www.handsonatlanta.com.
INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE is the nation´s largest nonsectarian refugee organization. Its regional resettlement center in Decatur is among the busiest. Some IRC volunteers ¨adopt¨ families from any of more than 20 nations and help them adjust to new lives in the United States. Volunteers also are needed in IRC´s thrift shop, as tutors, and for tasks as basic as helping newcomers learn how to use public transportation. 404-292-7731. www.theirc.org/index.cfm/wwwID/483/locationID/3.
Nicholas House assists families in making the transition from homelessness to self-sufficiency. The house helps families address the root causes of their homelessness by offering counseling, case management, assistance with life skills and parenting, and other supportive services. Volunteer as a tutor, a landscaper, or an after-school assistant. 404-622-0793. www.nicholashouse.org.
Project Open Hand provides meals and nutrition services to people living with symptomatic HIV/AIDS, homebound seniors, and individuals with other critical illnesses or disabilities. Volunteers are needed to drive vans, pack coolers and package meals. 404-419-3334. www.projectopenhand.org.
TREES ATLANTA is dedicated to protecting and improving the urban environment by planting and conserving trees, and educating the public about the value of trees. Volunteers are needed to assist with tree planting, protection, and maintenance. 404-522-4097. www.treesatlanta.org.??