Our CDF Freedom Schools® program aims to shape children’s futures by developing strong, literate, and empowered children through six weeks of summer reading enrichment for children who might otherwise not have access to books or the environmental structure necessary to do summer reading. Check out what our scholars have been up to all summer.
Students of Atlanta Public Schools return next Tuesday, August 1 and Emmaus House has set an ambitious goal: to provide backpacks and school supplies for 1,000 area students.
Please help us equip these students with tools they need for success, by dropping off your donation at Emmaus House M–F, between 9–3pm. Distribution will take place during National Night Out at Four Corners Park in Peoplestown.
If you need to arrange a drop off after-hours or if you have any questions, please contact Rakia Reeves at 404-525-5948, ext. 31 or at rakiareeves@emmaushouse.org.
Kindergarten School Supply List
Elementary School Supply List
Middle School Supply List
High School Supply List
Emmaus House’s 50th anniversary gala featured a history walk, where 30 posters lined the Carter Center’s beautiful reflecting pool, an apt place for people to read and reflect on Emmaus House, the Peoplestown community, and the civil rights movement in Atlanta.
The history walk began with a prelude to Emmaus House, the 1966 Summerhill Riot. The four-day incident resulted in the death of one African American and revealed the frustration among lower-income black communities in the face of systematic oppression. From there, the history walk moves right into the beginning of Emmaus House, with the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta buying the building and the Rev. Austin Ford moving into it in 1967. The other main events highlighted in the showcase include the opening of the Poverty Rights Office in 1970, the launching of the Summers Away Program in 1980, and the partnering with the Children’s Defense Fund to become a CDF Freedom Schools® program.
The history walk did not end with a sentence but with a "to be continued," echoing the theme of the evening, "Forward from 50." Reflecting back on the event, Emmaus House Executive Director Greg Cole said, “As we recalled the past, we were excited to look forward.”
Click on posters below to expand view.
Blue skies and warm temperatures made for a great day to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Emmaus House serving the Peoplestown community. Nearly 200 guests attended the “Forward from 50” Gala May 7 at the Carter Center, helping to raise nearly $100,000 during the event.
“Father Ford was inspired to move to Peoplestown in 1967 to advocate for justice during the civil rights movement,” Greg Cole, Emmaus House’s new executive director, said. “Likewise, we are inspired to begin the next chapter with a renewed sense of purpose.”
The gala included a history walk, where people could read about events from the last 50 years of Emmaus House, Peoplestown, and the civil rights movement on 30 billboards that lined the outdoor portico. The history walk did not end with a sentence but with a "to be continued," echoing the theme of the evening, "Forward from 50." Experience the history walk here.
The Rt. Rev. Robert Wright, bishop of the Diocese of Atlanta, opened up the event with a welcome and invocation, followed by remarks from Cole. Speakers also included ACLU of Georgia Executive Director Andrea Young as well as Youth on the Move’s own Alexis Peterson and Khairi Corporal. The gala concluded with Fund-a-Need Bidding, where Emmaus House supporters had the opportunity to make donations toward Emmaus House programs and initiatives.
Reflecting back on the event, Cole said, “Emmaus House is here because of your commitment and passion for this work. I invite each of you to continue this journey with us as we work to help even more people in the years to come.”
The Road Episcopal Service Corps of Atlanta is now accepting applications for the 2017-2018 service year. The Road offers young adults the opportunity to make connections between faith and social change, commit to community and simplicity, and grow in capacity for compassionate, courageous, and imaginative leadership. Road fellows work 32 hours per week in nonprofits addressing issues around homelessness, unemployment, education, immigration, addiction, refugee resettlement, the environment, and much more. One day a week is devoted to spiritual discernment and reflection, leadership development, and community action in the neighborhoods of urban Atlanta.
Qualifications: College graduate, commitment to social justice and working with marginalized populations.
Qualities and skills: Compassion, flexibility, open-mindedness, and communication.
Road fellows receive a monthly stipend. In addition to room and board, public transportation to and from service sites is also provided at no cost to the Road fellow. The Road fellow will live in apartments at Emmaus House during their 11-month fellowship.
Applications are available here and will be accepted on a rolling basis until June 30, 2017.
Visit us at www.theroadatl.org to learn more about The Road Episcopal Service Corps.
Dear Members of the Emmaus House Community and Supporters,
A few months ago, we wrote to you with the news that the Executive Director of Emmaus House was moving to Chicago to pursue a new opportunity. At that time, the Advisory Board began its efforts to identify a new Executive Director, but to ensure that the programs of Emmaus House continued uninterrupted, Greg Cole, Director of Development for the last four years, was appointed the Deputy Director of Emmaus House to help lead us in continuing our work in the Peoplestown neighborhood of Atlanta.
At the time, the decision to promote Greg was based on our desire to maintain stability and continuity in the senior leadership at Emmaus House and our faith in Greg to provide that leadership. After observing Greg’s performance in this senior leadership position and conducting an extensive review and interview process regarding his strengths, motivations, goals, objectives, and commitment to the organization, the Advisory Board is pleased to announce that Greg Cole has been named Executive Director of Emmaus House.
Greg was an integral part of the development of Emmaus House’s new Strategic Plan that was launched in late 2016, and he is dedicated to promoting the strategic priorities captured in the Plan:
As we enter our 51st year, we are excited to see the mission of Emmaus Housein such capable and committed hands. Through Greg and the entire leadership team at Emmaus House, we continue (in the words of the Strategic Plan) to “harness the power of community, education, hope and love to dismantle poverty, racism, and other barriers to opportunity in the lives and communities we serve.”
Thank you for your ongoing support,
Ward S. Bondurant
Chair, Emmaus House Advisory Board
The Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta and the Rt. Rev. Robert C. Wright are pleased to announce that Greg Cole has been named the new executive director of EmmausHouse in Atlanta. Emmaus House is a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta that provides vital support, education, and services to residents in the Peoplestown community.
Cole previously held the title of deputy director following the departure of former Emmaus House Executive Director Joseph Mole in December. Cole joined the staff of Emmaus House in 2013 as director of development and communications.
“I am honored to serve Emmaus House as we move into our next 50 years,” Cole said. “As we have for the last 50, we will continue to advocate for those in our community whose voices are not heard.”
The Rt. Rev. Robert C. Wright, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, is looking forward to the future of Emmaus House with Cole as executive director. “We are delighted that Greg will lead Emmaus House at this important time,” the Rev. Wright said. “He has the heart of a servant, the mind of a leader, and is on fire for this work. Emmaus House and the Peoplestown community will be well served by Greg’s leadership.”
Cole received a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School and earned a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of North Florida. He has also worked with the Episcopal Church in a variety of capacities, including as a stewardship consultant to the national church.
Before his tenure at Emmaus House, Cole served as director of development for Habitat For Humanity in Jacksonville, Florida. While there, he developed a strong interest in community development as it pertains to poverty reduction, he said.
Since adding Cole to its staff four years ago as director of development and communications, Emmaus House has almost doubled the financial support that it receives, allowing it to dramatically increase its programs and its effectiveness in the neighborhoods it serves. Now as executive director, Cole will lead the organization in its continued efforts to support the residents of Peoplestown as they work toward economic security.
“During this time of community change, we want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to thrive in Peoplestown and the surrounding neighborhoods,” Cole said. “I’m thrilled to work at an organization that’s dedicated to making measurable, systemic change that results in transformed lives.”
Applications are now available for the summer Freedom School at Emmaus House. The camp is a Children's Defense Fund Freedom Schools® program, open to completed kindergarten through fifth-grade scholars and is free for all eligible campers. The camp offers six weeks of reading enrichment, art, field trips, recreation, breakfast, lunch and snacks. Freedom School takes place June 12-July 21, Monday through Friday, from 8 am to 3 pm and is located at Emmaus House, 1017 Hank Aaron Drive, SW, Atlanta, GA 30315. Parents or guardians are required to attend mandatory parent meetings each week. Applications are available at D.H. Stanton Elementary School and Emmaus House. The application deadline is April 21.
The Emmaus House Freedom Schoolparticipates in the Summer Food Service Program. Meals will be provided to all eligible children free of charge. Children who are part of households that receive foods stamps, or benefits under the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) are automatically eligible to receive free meals.
Acceptance and participation requirements for the program and all activities are the same for all regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service. Meals will be provided at Emmaus House, Mondays through Fridays. Breakfast will be served at 8-8:30 am, snacks at 10:30-10:45 am and lunch 12-1 pm.
Mindfulness, as a means of stress reduction, has been around for many years. Recently, mindfulness practices have entered the mainstream, providing opportunities for implementation in a variety of settings. Knowing this, in 2016, Emmaus House began to incorporate mindfulness practices into its program. We did this in response to parents who said that dealing with stress is one of the issues with which they need the most help. In partnership with Dr. Andy Roach, Associate Director at the Center for Leadership in Disability at Georgia State University we taught simple mindfulness practices to those who attended our Great Start for Parents program. The project was funded by Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning,
This pilot program was so successful that we decided to move further with mindfulness as an intentional practice. In 2017, with a grant from Trinity Church, Wall Street, to support social-emotional development, we plan to incorporate mindfulness practices into some of our other programs: Youth on the Move, the Road Episcopal Service Corp, and our Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools® program.
Susan Kaiser Greenland, mindfulness educator, defines mindfulness as “the capacity to be alert and open to life experience as it occurs in a non-reactive, resilient and compassionate way.” We at Emmaus House are very excited about this latest development in our journey to becoming a more impactful, transformative presence in Peoplestown and beyond.
To facilitate this work, Emmaus House engaged with Mindfulness Without Borders, a leading provider of best practices and evidenced-based programs on secular mindfulness and social-emotional intelligence to youth, educators, health and corporate professionals in communities around the world. On Monday, February 6, 11 members of the Emmaus House staff, along with nine people from Georgia State University, took part in the first of three days of training to become certified facilitators of the Mindfulness Ambassador Council (MAC). The MAC program “offers youth a forum to meet face to face and learn about constructive ways for addressing personal, social and community challenges.”
Stay tuned for updates as we participate in the remaining two days of training and begin to practice greater mindfulness as a staff and with our neighbors in Peoplestown whom we serve.
The Road Episcopal Service Corps began in 2011 as a conversation with a diverse and energetic group of people about building a dynamic young adult formation and leadership program in the Diocese of Atlanta. Youth on the Move started in 2003 to provide middle and high school students with opportunities that will prepare them for success as adults. In 2016, Emmaus House had the privilege of taking on and offering leadership to these two programs. We are very excited about the ways in which these two programs enrich our work at Emmaus House.
Ryan Bigg is a second-year fellow of The Road and works with Youth on the Move. He offers his reflections here.
“Hi, my name is Ryan Bigg. A lot of you might know me or have seen me around at Emmaus House the last year and a half or so. I am a second-year fellow for The Road Episcopal Service Corps and have spent both of those years on site at Emmaus House.
During this time, I have been a catch-all resource for Emmaus House. I have worked at the Lokey Center, the Chapel, Freedom Schools® summer program and the Parent Power literacy program. More recently, my focus has been with the Youth on the Move after school program, which is the newest Emmaus House program.
One of the reasons I am such a catch-all resource and always seem to be around is that The Road Episcopal Service Corp is now a program of Emmaus House, which hosts, offers staff support for and provides housing to the ten fellows who take part each year.
So, I live and work full time here on the campus. By design, the fellows live in community with Peoplestown neighbors. I am an example of how well this can work. I have loved living here, working here and being among the people of Peoplestown.
This experience has been life-altering because it has changed my perspective on how the world works. The relationships I have built here are more fruitful than those I have previously experienced. I think this speaks to the value of the community of Peoplestown. Even though there are not as many resources in this area, the richness of joy and love that I feel here outdoes that of any other place I have experienced.
These characteristics have been clear to me recently in my work with the Youth on the Move program. The goals of Youth on the Move are to educate, enrich and empower middle and high school students in the Peoplestown area through various activities and experiences. In my time being with these students, I have seen growth in each of them, and I have enjoyed the richness of life with them.
One of the activities that we offer is college/career workshops that show the youth some of the possibilities that are available after high school. A few months ago, my mom and sister, both nurses at Emory, held a workshop about being a nurse.
The workshop was very successful. They created four different interactive stations to show the students different aspects of nursing. At the Look and Listen station, they took each other’s blood pressure and listened to heartbeats with a stethoscope. At the Hand Hygiene station, they learned how to put on sterile gloves. They practiced putting bandages on each other at the First-Aid station. Finally, at the Healthy Habits station, they discussed how essential daily exercise and eating healthy are for our bodies. The program concluded with a Having Fun exercise where my mom showed them a favorite dance of hers. In turn, they taught her a favorite dance of theirs. That was the highlight of the day!
This work at Emmaus House has been crucial for my personal development and growth. Instead of trying to describe how it changed my life, I want to encourage everyone to find a way to get involved. Being able to bring my family into the Youth on the Move programs and intersect my two worlds for a moment brought so much life into the space. I would love to see more of that around here. After all, that is what Emmaus House and The Road is about – meeting someone on a path, intersecting and interacting with them and having your life and theirs be different afterwards.”
