Pandemic Won't Halt Season of Giving For Atlanta Housing Residents

ATLANTA, Dec. 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Atlanta Housing's 2020 Season of Giving is in full swing, with thousands of philanthropic dollars and gifts for AH residents; backpacks full of books and supplies for AH youths; letters to Santa read and fulfilled, and a host of other activities despite the pandemic.

"The spirit of giving continues – maybe with even more enthusiasm because of the pandemic," said Eugene E. Jones, Jr., CEO of Atlanta Housing. "I am proud of the work the AH staff has done in conjunction with our partners to ensure that AH residents have the best possible holiday season following a challenging year for us all."

The Season of Giving activities include:

• Atlanta Housing's Workplace Giving Campaign, which has raised more than $700,000 in scholarships for AH-assisted college students through United Way and the James Allen Community Scholars Award. The award was recently renamed to honor longtime AH employee and Commissioner James Allen, who passed away this year.
• AH partnered with Santa for a Day to fulfill the holiday wish lists of 1,530 AH-assisted children. Santa for a Day worked with retailers and givers to shop for the children's gifts, then packaged and delivered them to AH. Santa for a Day accepts donations all year long. This year, the gifts will be distributed to parents in a "Drive-Thru Gift Distribution" at AH's Zell Miller Center.
• The Dunbar Elementary School Angel Tree Program had to go on despite the pandemic, which kept AH staff from performing their usual "Angel Tree" duties with the youngsters. But the AH team would not let the Dunbar Angels down. AH purchased 150 large, colorful backpacks and PPE supplies, including hand sanitizers and masks, and stuffed the backpacks to the brim with age-appropriate books from the Book-Rich Environments Program. AH Cares Volunteers will play Santa and distribute the backpacks to the children during a social-distancing event at Dunbar Elementary School.
• "Share the Warmth Coat and Food Giveaway" is an AH partnership with Hosea Helps and Fellaship Cigar Lounge and Acere Cigar Lounge to distribute 150 food boxes and coats of all sizes to AH residents. Coats can be dropped off December 18-19 at Fellaship Cigar Lounge at 110 Centennial Olympic Park Drive and or Acere Lounge at 230 Thornton Road, Suite A, Lithia Springs, GA 30122.
• "Christmas Toy Drive at The Dome" is a soft opening for a new 70,000-square-foot event venue across from Mercedes Benz Stadium. Event partner The Dome will welcome 500 families to the toy drive December 20, 1-3 p.m., at 174 Northside Drive. AH Cares employees will sort toys and guide families through the shopping experience.
• Atlanta Housing is participating in Book Rich Environments, a program of the National Book Foundation in collaboration with the U.S. Department of HUD, the National Center for Families Learning, the U.S. Department of Education and the Urban Libraries Council. AH received almost 5,000 newly donated books from eight publishing companies and distributed them to AH residents. AH worked with our local literacy partners BOOK (Better Outcomes for Our Kids), Georgia Literacy for All and the Fulton County Library to promote literacy for our families. The book giveaway targets the young from newborns to teens.
• Finally, the pandemic won't stop the Annual Resident Leadership Holiday Luncheon, which was held December 17, virtually this year, to acknowledge the hard work of AH community resident leadership officers.

"It has been a year of challenges, but it is also a year of giving, caring and supporting our residents, young and old," said CEO Jones. "On behalf of the AH staff and Board of Commissioners, Happy Holidays to all, and may we all enjoy a far happier New Year!"

About Atlanta Housing

Led by President and CEO Eugene Jones, Jr., the Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta, Georgia (AH), is the largest housing authority in Georgia and one of the largest in the nation. AH provides and facilitates affordable housing resources for approximately 25,000 low-income households comprised of approximately 50,000 people.

These affordable housing resources include AH-owned residential communities, AH-sponsored mixed-income, mixed-finance residential communities, tenant-based vouchers, project based rental assistance, supportive housing arrangements and homeownership opportunities. AH's programs are funded and regulated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD").

Visit Atlanta Housing at atlantahousing.org or follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook at @housingatlanta.

SOURCE Atlanta Housing