Tom Hamilton, a volunteer at Emmaus House who helped many Atlanta residents obtain Social Security Disability Insurance, passed away on September 8, 2021. Thanks to Tom's efforts and many years of service, many people with severe disabilities were able to get off the streets and secure a place to stay with enough food to eat. Tom's heart and passion for helping others were truly a gift that we will miss here at Emmaus House.
Thanks to a recent anonymous donation, we were able to purchase a new (to us) box truck for our food pantry. This means no more trips to U-Haul to rent a truck each time we go to the Atlanta Community Food Bank to restock our food pantry. The truck also presents more opportunities for distribution to the communities that we serve. Next stop for the truck — a wrap with our logo on the sides and back. Thank you to the donor for making this possible — you know who you are!
At the end of Freedom School in July, 20 scholars traveled to Toccoa, located in beautiful northeast Georgia, to attend Camp Mikell for a week. Camp Mikell is the Camp and Conference Center of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta. Its 460 acres include mountains, valleys, waterfalls, and Little Toccoa Creek. Our children enjoyed swimming in the pool and creek every day, hiking, crafting, eating lots of food, making s'mores, playing four square, and scaling the climbing tower. For many Emmaus House campers, this was their best experience of the summer.
Making s’mores at the bonfire on the first night is a Camp Mikell tradition.
Ms. Bridget and Freedom School scholars lead the morning Harambee program at Camp Mikell.
A great new tradition at Camp Mikell is Science Night! Emmaus House children love helping with the experiments.
After a successful summer of Freedom School, we’re excited to offer fall programs to Emmaus House community members of all ages. We will continue to support our Freedom School scholars and other elementary school students at the Barack and Michelle Obama Academy (BAMO) with in-school tutoring. We learned this summer that many students are struggling with basic reading skills after being at home during the pandemic. Emmaus House volunteers will give them extra academic help at BAMO in the Supports for Success program.
Our afterschool program for middle and high school students, Youth on the Move (YOTM), met online last year because of Covid-19 restrictions. This year, YOTM will resume in-person at Emmaus House, and in addition to homework help, we will have classes in art, pottery, woodturning, boxing, college preparation, and dance. Justin Rothrauff, the Director of Community Engagement for Impactful Brush in Atlanta, will teach art classes. He’s a former art teacher for schools in Philadelphia and Chile and a favorite teacher of our Freedom School scholars!
Emmaus House will provide art instruction to the neighborhood “555” senior citizens group this fall. The “555” men and women meet at Four Corners Park for meals, devotions, programming, and lively conversations. We look forward to many rewarding and creative experiences together! If you would like to volunteer to help with Supports for Students or Youth on the Move or assist with Arts for Seniors, please contact Ann Fowler at annfowler@emmaushouse.org or 404-525-5948.
Justin Rothrauff and YOTM manager Rakia Reeves, help Freedom School children in art class last summer.
“555” seniors talk to Freedom School children about their experiences during the National Day of Social Action in July.
Since its founding in 1967, Emmaus House children have visited Camp Mikell, the Camp and Conference Center of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, for a week at the end of the summer. Generations of campers remember this experience fondly; many Freedom Schools© grandparents and parents tell their children how much they loved attending Camp Mikell when they were young.
Unfortunately, this year, because of the pandemic, we didn’t have enough scholars to go to North Georgia to make it economically possible for Camp Mikell to host us. However, the Church of the Epiphany parishioner, Joy Boyden, came to the rescue when she heard that we would need to cancel the trip. Joy’s donation of $10,000 ensured that Camp Mikell could provide a week of outdoor adventures to 20 Emmaus House children.
Learning of her generous contribution, Camp Mikell Executive Director Ken Struble said Joy qualified as one of the saints among us. We totally agree!
After many months of working with clients remotely, the Lokey Help Center at Emmaus House is happy to announce that we are back to seeing clients in person, Monday through Friday, from 9 am – 3 pm. Our mission is to treat each client with dignity and respect, so we provide a hospitable environment where we listen to the individual needs of the people we serve.
We schedule appointments for our food pantry on Tuesdays and Thursdays. An Atlanta Community Food Bank representative is on-site on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for food stamp applications and renewals. We welcome residents to call our office and inquire about emergency rent, utility, and mortgage assistance daily. Medical prescriptions and co-pay help are available every day, as are general referrals and mail checks.
Requests for help with Social Security Disability Insurance applications are processed over the phone and starting in August, Emmaus House will resume helping people get GA State IDs. In a time where communal support is needed, we look forward to serving our neighbors again.
Learn more about Lokey Center services.
It truly takes a village to make Emmaus House run. In addition to our hundreds of individual donors, we thank the many organizations that provide funding for our social service and education programs. In the first half of this year, the following organizations made generous contributions to help us support our mission:
Foundations:
Annie E. Casey Foundation
The Scott Hudgens Family Foundation
Government:
The Stadium Neighborhood Community Trust Fund
Fulton Country - Community Service Project
Georgia Department of Education - 21st Century Community Learning Centers
Corporate:
H. J. Russel & Company
Churches:
Central Presbyterian Church
Holy Innocents Episcopal Church
St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church
St. Martin in the Fields Episcopal Church
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
All Saints' Episcopal Church
St. Veronica's Guild at the Cathedral of St. Philip
Church of the Epiphany
Other:
A Million Matters
Georgia Family Connection
The Atlanta Community Food Bank
Your support means the world to us!
This summer and fall, Emmaus House is excited to participate in an innovative program called Project Catapult, designed by CEO of My Life and sponsored by The Arthur M. Blank and Annie E. Casey Foundations. The goal of Project Catapult is to propel youth into economic pathways to sustain families and cultivate individual talent. Annie E. Casey’s Changing the Odds report reveals that 76% of Black youth live in high poverty areas and economic activity centers are predominantly white. Atlanta’s entrepreneurship ecosystem offers limited programming designed exclusively for youth entrepreneurship within the Black community.
Official Press Release
Evidence of this lack of opportunity became clear when young boys and men entered the City’s highways and byways to sell water with proceeds supplying basic needs and financial support to families. This simple act is a testament to the entrepreneurial spirit of Atlanta’s youth. Moreover, it amplifies the need to offer culturally relevant, innovative solutions that tap into young people’s aspirations versus a punitive approach that continues to mischaracterize the issues and opportunities at hand.
Each year, CEO of My Life, a black-female-led youth entrepreneurship and leadership program provider, offers a 4-week summer and 8-week fall program for 30 high-schoolers. This program immerses students in entrepreneurial courses that will accelerate them into their futures. Students work with a cohort of peers in an agile, fast-paced, experiential environment representing the types of work culture, personal life challenges, and business environments they will soon encounter.
Focusing on the entire family is vital to student success. Therefore, Emmaus House and Helping Empower Youth (HEY!) provide case management, wraparound services, transportation, and meals during the daily convenings. Both organizations also offer two-generation support, including familial access to basic needs, workforce, and adult entrepreneurship classes.
What a joy it was to have children on the Emmaus House campus again this summer. The sounds of our scholars gave us signs of new hope as they chanted, sang, played, and read books!
Take a look at the joyous moments captured throughout the program.
During our six-week summer Freedom Schools© program, scholars’ reading and social skills improved dramatically. Due to months of COVID restrictions, some kindergarteners and first-graders had their first experience with a structured in-person learning program. As a result, students learned how to interact with other children—and adults—outside of their family units. In addition, scholars attended a social-emotional learning (SEL) class every afternoon, taught by two professional school counselors.
Because our site was smaller this summer, staff and volunteers gave extra academic and emotional help to students who needed it; this attention resulted in measurable academic growth. Initial program assessments show that every scholar maintained or increased their reading levels, with many increasing two and three grade levels!