Latest from Securing Atlanta’s Future
‘Would You like to Round Up to Support …?’ Cause Marketing: A Win-Win Strategy for Businesses and Nonprofits
By David Jernigan, CEO & President, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta Imagine yourself at your neighborhood department store, shopping for a few essentials. You find a couple of great deals on clothes and home items, and with your basket full, you head to the register. The cashier rings up your purchases and then…
The Critical Role of Early Childhood Education in Fostering Lifelong Success: An Update from YWCA Greater Atlanta’s Early Learning Academy
The 2023-2024 school year has finished, and YWCA Greater Atlanta celebrates the achievements and advancements of our Early Learning Academy. At the heart of YWCA Atlanta’s mission to eliminate racism and empower women is ensuring children have access to quality education and childcare while also empowering teachers in our Early Learning Program through professional development…
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Atlanta is currently experiencing a period of incredible growth and transformation. During this time, it is imperative that we remain committed to caring for our most vulnerable citizens, children. Creating and sustaining an environment where children thrive means actively working to support all aspects of their healthy development. Organizations like GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students, YWCA, Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta, Atlanta Speech School and Learn4Life are dedicated to promoting and investing in programs that provide high-quality early learning, wrap-around supports for children and their families, and community engagement that facilitates the strengthening of Atlanta’s communities, thus securing a successful future for all. Join us weekly as we examine some of the most pressing issues children and families face. We’ll explore potential solutions and discuss steps we are currently taking to address these obstacles
More on Securing Atlanta’s Future
GEEARS’ Recommendations for the Georgia Senate Study Committee on Access to Affordable Child Care
The Georgia Senate Study Committee on Access to Affordable Child Care has been staffed! The bipartisan septet of legislators chaired by Senator Brian Strickland includes several parents of young children and will spend the rest of 2024 delving into our state’s challenging child care landscape. But wait a minute, GEEARS, we can hear you thinking.…
Talk With Me Baby is Defining the Future for Every Atlanta Baby
In January 2022, Atlanta’s new Mayor Andre Dickens shared his vision to make Atlanta the best place to raise a child. This commitment to children and families in the city was especially bold, given the well-documented disparities in educational and economic access among children born in the city and resulting tragically low rates of social…
Learn4Life Bright Spots Face ‘FAFSA Fiasco’ Head On
By Damian Ramsey, MSW The long awaited financial aid overhaul that took place this year has been coined the “FAFSA Fiasco.” Revamped for the first time in 40 years, the new FAFSA was supposed to simplify what has historically been an overly complicated process to secure aid to pay for college (2-year, 4-year, or technical…
Summer Can Heat Up Child Care Challenges. We Have Tips and Resources!
Summer child care can be daunting What’s the most challenging part of being a working parent or caregiver? Many will tell you—child care! Finding high-quality, accessible care, snagging a spot in that program, and paying for it—parents have told GEEARS that such tasks can pervade their parenting and their careers. Sometimes child care even changes…
Nature & Nurture: How Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta’s Camp Kiwanis Fortifies Youth Leaders
By David Jernigan, President & CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta We’ve all heard stories of city kids arriving at overnight camp, apprehensive about the wilderness and none too thrilled to disconnect from their devices. By the end of camp, those same kids are gazing at stars with wonder and tranquility, swapping stories…
Empowering Women Through Technology: YWCA Greater Atlanta’s Digital Skills Academy (DSA)
YWCA Greater Atlanta is on a mission to eliminate racism, empower women, and promote peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. The association has four core programs, curated to ensure positive change for women and their families in the Atlanta community. One of YWCA Greater Atlanta’s programs is the Digital Skills Academy (DSA), aimed at…
The Mayor’s Summer Reading Club’s Kicks Off its 12th Season on June 6th!
The Mayor’s Summer Reading Club—the beloved GEEARS initiative that fosters early literacy with partner-led programming and free, original books—is entering its 12th season! The central goal of the Mayor’s Summer Reading Club is to create an environment in the City of Atlanta which supports brain development, early literacy, and learning by encouraging family engagement throughout…
Georgia Early Literacy Acts already gaining traction
The Rollins Center for Language & Literacy (Rollins) is partnering with state, regional and local agencies, districts, schools, businesses, and nonprofits to advance universal literacy from the 3rd trimester of pregnancy when auditory channels are forming through early learning, literacy, and building the foundations for deep reading brain construction. These partnerships expand on Rollins’ work…
900,000 fewer kids enrolled in college since the pandemic; direct intervention is essential
By: Taylor Ramsey, Executive Director, OneGoal Metro Atlanta Last month, OneGoal Metro Atlanta hosted our third annual Student Summit at Clayton State University where 600 OneGoal juniors and seniors from across the metro area came together for a day of inspiration, connection and empowerment as they pursue their postsecondary goals. During the event, students explored…
Sine Die Brought Big News for Georgia Families with Young Children
In the wee hours of Friday, March 29th, GEEARS’ Executive Director Mindy Binderman emailed the GEEARS board and staff. The subject line: “We DID it!!!!!” What did Mindy mean with this jubilant message? That the dogged advocacy of the GEEARS staff, along with that of our partners, resulted in some major 11th-hour wins for Georgia’s…
$1M to Support Safe Spaces for Atlanta Teens at Boys & Girls Clubs
By David Jernigan, President & CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta I could open this story with a series of devastating headlines about teens in Metro Atlanta. However, instead of focusing on their shadows, I’d prefer to take this opportunity to project their light. “A masterpiece in the making is a perfect phrase…
YWCA Greater Atlanta’s Georgia Women’s Policy Institute Ensures a Seat at the Table for Women
YWCA Greater Atlanta is on a mission to eliminate racism, empower women, and promote peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. The association has four core programs that have been curated to ensure positive change for women and their families in the Atlanta community. One of these programs is YWCA Greater Atlanta’s Georgia Women’s Policy…
The Choreography of Strolling Thunder: A Balance of Challenges and Joys
By GEEARS It was almost one pm on February 22nd and GEEARS’ seventh annual Strolling Thunder at the Georgia Freight Depot was trickling to its end. The trash bins were full of chocolate milk cartons, spent Bingo cards, and crumpled maps of the Georgia Capitol. The babies and young children who’d come to help their…
Unprecedented Milestone: Georgia-Grown online Cox Campus receives International Accreditation
The Rollins Center for Language & Literacy’s Cox Campus has been awarded accreditation from the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), for the Cox Campus Structured Literacy Certificate Program. This unprecedented milestone makes Cox Campus the only free, nationally accredited Structured Literacy program for educators. IDA is the gold standard educator training in Structured Literacy. Cox Campus is already…
Atlanta nonprofits lead the way in supporting children’s literacy development
By Dr. Rebecca Parshall Metro Atlanta’s literacy crisis is real: just 41% of 3rd graders scored proficient on last year’s English Language Arts exam. Fortunately, solutions are also real and underway. A large body of research in ‘the science of reading’ shows how to build young readers, and it’s everyone’s responsibility. Over the last few…
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