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Community

It Takes a Community

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NCM Tacos + Tour Event
Photos by George Hunter

Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries shows how local nonprofits work together to better the lives of at-risk families.

A few years ago, Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries (NCM) acquired a complex to further the mission of helping neighbors who sincerely want to break their cycle of poverty and regain financial independence. To remind the community of its expanded facilities and partnerships with other nonprofits, NCM invited the community to an event called Tacos + Tours.

NCM Tacos + Tour Event
Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries

Stakeholders were informed about ways they could continue their support while munching on tantalizing Latin cuisine. Afterwards, guests were shown the improvements and processes NCM has devised to help those in need.

Ryan Jones, director of community development, kicked off things by explaining why he retired from his career in banking to begin the journey of helping improve the lives of people who were hungry, homeless, jobless and lacking some of life’s basic necessities.

“I realized today that it’s my two-year anniversary here,” he said. “The man is in the room who, kind of, led me on the journey to retire as a banker.” 

He motioned to Randy Redner, who had been the president of the Community Foundation at the time and now is working at Rainbow Village.

“One of the things that stood out to me as I was doing my discernment and making my career change was ‘where could I make the most impact?’” said Jones.

He shared statistics about the pockets of poverty in the community. Then the various partners talked about how they work together to improve the lives of at-risk families in Gwinnett County.

Community helping community

“We’re now a county of more than a million people. We expect to have another 500,000 in the next 20 years,” said Jones. “The poverty rate has doubled, and the vast majority of that poverty is right here in our surrounding area.”

According to the United Way’s child well-being index, 45% of southwest Gwinnett’s children are living below the poverty line. That adds up to more than 11,000 kids.

NCM Tacos + Tour Event
NCM Tacos + Tour Event

Lack of affordable housing is also a big issue in this area. “A lot of times, we have families that are living in extended stay hotels and paying more money to live there than I pay for my house,” said Jones. “What these families are facing, a lot of times, is a cycle of poverty. They’re forced to make choices between their basic needs. ‘Am I going to feed my kids healthy food or am I going to pay for transportation to get to work? Am I going to pay for my medical bills?’”

Jones added that this cycle of poverty creates low grades in school, high unemployment rates and many other negative effects.

Even though the area boasts some of the toniest homes, high incomes and high levels of education, there are pockets of poverty similar to those near Clarkson, where refugees are given solace, or west of Mercedes Benz Stadium, where homelessness and addiction are high.

Better Work Gwinnett

Luisa Beeco, a program manager for Better Work Gwinnett, part of the Georgia Center for Opportunity, (GCO) explained that GCO focuses on family work and education.

“Our goal is removing barriers, and we do it in many ways so that every person, no matter their race, past mistakes or the circumstances of their birth, can have access to quality education, fulfilling work and a healthy family life,” she said. “We have people who are working on research and policy and working on trying to keep families together.”

One way to keep families together is by making sure the adults have jobs. That’s where the Better Work program comes in.

“It’s not like a staffing agency — it’s different,” she said. “I would call it a referral program.”

Better Work has partnered with multiple employers in the area that have agreed to reach out to job candidates within 3 business days for an interview or a conversation to be able to go through their process.

“We have people go through our portal. It takes five minutes. They can do it on their phone,” said Becco. 

Once the applicant signs up, Better Work has a 30- to 60-minute conversation to understand where they fit in the work world. They assess the barriers to work — transportation, childcare, etc. Instead of creating more programs, Better Work connects clients to existing resources such GED classes and English language classes.

Next Generation Focus

Rachel Mannino, a recent UGA grad, is one of the after-school program directors of Next Generation Focus, a nonprofit afterschool program that meets Monday through Thursday, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Norcross First United Methodist Church.

“We also have locations at Discovery High School and Summerour Middle School, and we also meet virtually,” she said. “We provide out of school tutoring for our youngest scholars. That provides year-round academic support, enrichment activities, character education and life skills development for under-resourced and vulnerable youth and their families.”

She explained that since its inception, the mission has been to provide high quality educational and developmental opportunities to impact underserved communities. Students from kindergarten through 12th grade receive assistance in all subjects, including English language classes. There are even English language classes for parents.

Rainbow Village

Rainbow Village is the largest transitional housing nonprofit in Gwinnett County. It was founded by Christ Church in 1991 and used to be a bunch of scattered homes. It is now a 2.5 acre campus in Duluth.

“We can handle 30 homeless families at a time. Those families can stay with us for up to two years. We are not a quick fix program,” said Redner. “This is not a rapid rehousing program, because that just keeps rehousing them again and again. That doesn’t really help families.”

Redner explained that Rainbow Village is working to expanding so it can help more than 30 families at a time. “We have over 2,000 homeless kids in our school system,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do and we’re working hard to expand.”

He said that when he was the CEO of the Community Foundation, he saw that there are six great cooperative ministries across the county that were created 30 years ago by very future thinking leaders.

“When you add all those cooperative ministries together, we see 100,000 people a year; 10% of our population will go through our cooperative ministry,” Redner said. 

Rainbow Village sees a 90% success rate in helping families break the cycle of poverty. So, the charities started a pilot program in January where one or two social workers were embedded at other nonprofit organizations.

“We’re working side by side to take a look at that and learn how nonprofits can work closer together,” said Redner.

The NCM tour

Intake at NCM begins in the front lobby where clients are screened to make sure they are eligible for services.  “Here they tell a little bit of their story, their background, a little bit of what’s going on,” said Jenny Ortega of NCM. 

After being processed, they meet with caseworkers. “Once they come back to us, the options include clothing, food, hotel, rent and utilities,” added Ortega.

The complex also has space for those who just need a little extra help, such as once-a-month food distribution to stretch the grocery budget or clothes for back to school or job interviews, as well as assistance with utilities or finding work.

“We talk to them about all the various different ministries that we have here,” said Ortega. “It’s not just financial; there are also spiritual ministries,” she said.

And there are English classes and healthcare sessions where clients can get blood pressure checks and talk to someone about medical assistance and/or prescriptions assistance.

During COVID, NCM offered a drive-through pantry, but now clients can enter the expanded food facility with more space for cold and frozen foods. Healthy snacks are offered during tutoring sessions.

The changes at NCM are focused on helping families become independent and stand on their own. With the newly formed partnerships, all involved pray that the years ahead see more at-risk families becoming stable and able to give back to the organizations so they can help other families.

By the numbers

11,018 children face hunger in NCM’s service area.

256 individuals were served by NCM in 2022.

336,439 pounds of food was distributed by NCM in 2022.

41 families were served by Rainbow Village in 2022.

274 individuals were connected to jobs and services by Better Work Gwinnett in 2022.

450 to 500 students are served virtually and in person by Next Generation Focus.

28% of Norcross residents spend more than half of their income for rent.

119 billion pounds of food are wasted in the U.S. each year.

Arlinda Smith Broady is part of the Boomerang Generation of Blacks that moved back to the South after their ancestors moved North. With approximately three decades of journalism experience (she doesn't look it), she's worked in tiny, minority-based newsrooms to major metropolitans. At every endeavor she brings professionalism, passion, pluck, and the desire to spread the news to the people.

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Community

Take A Walk Back in Time For The Holidays

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Three men dressed as the three wise men at a holiday Walk Through Bethlehem event

New experiences await at this season’s Walk Through Bethlehem

An annual must-see holiday event, Walk Through Bethlehem, presented by Simpsonwood United Methodist Church, will take place over three evenings, December 13–15. 

With 1,200 luminaries, Simpsonwood Park is transformed into Bethlehem on the night of Jesus’ birth. After being welcomed by live camels and a census taker, visitors are invited to interact with shopkeepers and witness a live nativity.

A camel as part of a Walk Through Bethlehem holiday event
photo courtesy of Simpsonwood United Methodist Church

Visitors can also enjoy a fire with stories from shepherds, pet live animals and watch as wisemen bring gifts to baby Jesus. 

Before your journey ends, enjoy a photo opportunity with a Roman Guard and hot chocolate and cookies. 

Make plans to attend:


Friday, December 13 and Saturday December 14, from 7 to 9 p.m.
Sunday, December 15, from 6 to 8 p.m.

FREE admission; accepting canned food donations for Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries

A woman dressed as a shopkeeper from old Bethlehem, surrounded by lit candles and items for sale
photo courtesy of Simpsonwood United Methodist Church

For more information, visit simpsonwoodumc.org/walk-through-bethlehem.

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Business

PCBA Continues Charitable Giving at November Event

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Members of the PCBA and United Way of Greater Atlanta standing together holding an oversized donation check for $500

The Peachtree Corners Business Association (PCBA) awarded a check for $500 to the United Way of Greater Atlanta (Gwinnett County) at their Business After Hours networking event in November.

The local organization was chosen by PCBA’s Outreach Committee because of their commitment to providing assistance and bettering the lives of children within the community.

United Way of Greater Atlanta

The mission of United Way of Greater Atlanta is to engage and bring together people and resources to drive sustainable and equitable improvements in the well-being of children, families and individuals in local communities.

“Greater Atlanta is one of the most vibrant regions in the country, but the region has significant barriers to realizing its potential in the future because of its continued ranking at the bottom of the list of metro areas in income mobility,” stated Vanessa Roussell, United Way senior director of corporate relations.

A short-haired woman in black pants and print top standing in front of a PCBA event backdrop
Vanessa Roussell, United Way of Greater Atlanta

“Children born in low-income households have only a 4% chance of getting out of poverty in their lifetime,” she continued. “We at United Way of Greater Atlanta don’t like those odds. Our work is about changing them so that children — regardless of where they’re born — have the chance to realize their potential and build lives that sustain themselves, their families and their communities.

Assessing needs within the county

The organization’s goal is to help every child unlock their full potential, by improving education, healthcare, resources and economic mobility in the communities where they live. Their “every child program” includes every child in Gwinnett. 

Based on the 2023 census track for Gwinnett County, 94,308 people living in Gwinnett County are at risk, particularly in and around Sugar Hill/Buford, Duluth, Norcross, Lawrenceville, Lilburn and Snellville. The highest-need residents are located in the I-85 corridor, mainly around Duluth, Norcross and Lilburn.

Giving back to support the community

“The PCBA is proud to donate a check for $500 to United Way of Greater Atlanta (Gwinnett County),” said PCBA President, Lisa Proctor. “Our outreach committee and board are committed to supporting our community, and investing in the well-being of the children in our community aligns with our core principles. We know that our dollars will be targeted to help those at highest risk … We are glad to have the local Gwinnett chapter located right in our community.”

Funds for the PCBA Community Outreach Program are raised throughout the year from PCBA membership, sponsorship and an annual charity event. Donations and scholarships are awarded at their monthly events so that members have the opportunity to learn more about the community organizations and their programs.

Over the past 12 years, the PCBA has awarded 19 scholarships to outstanding graduating high school seniors and donated in excess of $165,500 back into the community.

About Peachtree Corners Business Association

“Where businesses come to grow,” the Peachtree Corners Business Association (PCBA) is a business membership organization that focuses on innovative approaches, programs, shared resources, community outreach and opportunities for member businesses and professionals to connect, develop, grow and prosper.

The PCBA is made up of businesses of all sizes and types who want to expand their reach and grow their business within Peachtree Corners and the greater metro Atlanta area. 
 
For more information visit peachtreecornersba.com.

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Community

Holiday Glow Event Offers Chance to Give Back While Celebrating the Season

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The City of Peachtree Corners and Intuitive have partnered to support local non-profit, Because One Matters, at this year’s event.

It’s time again for one of Peachtree Corners favorite annual traditions: The Holiday Glow Lighting and Concert on the Town Green — December 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

With live musical performances, trackless train rides, fun holiday activities and sparkling Christmas Tree and Menorah lightings — along with complimentary hot chocolate for guests — this festive, all-ages celebration has become a holiday tradition for many families in and around the city.

Kids and adults can immerse themselves in the joyful atmosphere, mix and mingle with neighbors, friends, family and entertainers and experience the magic of the season beneath the night sky and twinkling holiday lights.

Partnership for a special cause

Special for this year, the City of Peachtree Corners has partnered with Intuitive to support Gwinnett County non-profit, Because One Matters, at the event.

The organization provides assistance to children and families in the foster care system through donations and fundraising.

“[The] holiday event … is a good place to partner with companies like Intuitive and non-profits like Because One Matters to get their message out and allow more people to be involved [in helping] a good cause,” said Louis E. Svehla, director of communications for the city.

“Intuitive came to us, wanting to be more involved in the community,” Svehla continued, “We [looked at] a list of all of the non-profits that are [located] in the city or that help assist in ways in the city … and they [chose] Because One Matters.”

A custom-designed holiday ornament

Together, the city, the company and the non-profit decided to partner for the Holiday Glow event and do a limited-edition ornament — custom-made, custom-designed and hand-numbered to 200 — making it available as a gift to anyone who brings an item to donate from the organization’s wish list.

The city designed the ornament with input and agreement from both Intuitive and Because One Matters.

“And now here we are,” said Svehla. “It’s our first time offering a limited-edition ornament for people at the event who donate clothing, toiletries, things that [the organization] needs — it’s not a cash donation. And we’re hoping that we can do this every year, whether it’s a different company or a different non-profit, to do a series of [Holiday Glow event] ornaments to bring companies in, to support locals, to support non-profits and make sure we’re giving back.”

Because One Matters

With a mission of helping children in the foster care system as well as children and families in need, Because One Matters runs a variety of service programs throughout the year.

Their Wrapped in Love Closet initiative provides those families the opportunity to shop for new or like-new clothing items, toys and books, all free of charge. They also provide kids entering foster care with a duffle bag filled with essential items to increase comfort and security during their earliest days of placement.

Foster, adoptive or kinship families who would like to participate in the program, can find information on the Because One Matters website. For individuals, families or local businesses who would like to assist, a variety of donation, fundraising and volunteer opportunities are available.

During Holiday Glow, guests who bring an item to donate from the organization’s wish list will receive one of the special Holiday Glow ornaments in return — a great way to make giving back part of your holiday festivities.

“We are thrilled to be part of the Holiday Glow event and deeply grateful for the City of Peachtree Corners and Intuitive’s incredible partnership,” said Andrea Barclay, CEO of Because One Matters. “Their support not only brings joy to the community during this festive season but also helps raise awareness and vital donations for our mission. Together, we’re making a meaningful impact for the children and families we serve.”

The donation wish list

  • New underwear for girls (sizes 2T–14)
  • New bath towels & washcloths (no white towels, please)
  • New boy clothes (sizes 7–18)
  • New girl clothes (sizes 2T–12)
  • New boys’ boxers (no briefs; sizes 2T–14)
  • Bath body wash (for sensitive skin)
  • Non-spicy toothpaste
  • Single toothbrushes
  • Ikea bags
  • New girls’ & boys’ shoes (all sizes)
  • $50 store gift cards for teens
  • Pjs for girls & boys (all ages)

In addition to the food, fun and festivities, the crowd will enjoy live performances from:

  • Simpson Elementary Chorus
  • Peachtree Elementary Chorus
  • Pinckneyville Middle Band
  • North Metro Academy of Performing Arts Chorus and Dance
  • International Charter Academy Chorus
  • Chabad Enrichment Center Chorus

The Town Green offers free parking directly on-site or in nearby parking areas, which are accessible by a short stroll on the center’s nature path. Guests can also access the Town Green via Peachtree Corners’ landmark bridge, which connects to The Forum and the city’s pedestrian and bicycle trail system.

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