Press Room

HomeAid Atlanta Essentials for Young Lives Drive Helps Homeless Moms & Babies

ATLANTA - May 11, 2011 - Even in a challenging economy, metro Atlanta area companies, community organizations and individuals dramatically increased their support of HomeAid Atlanta's 10th annual Essentials for Young Lives® Drive, held April 25 - May 2 in honor of Mother's Day. This year, their combined efforts brought in more than 72,000 diapers, baby wipes and other "essential" baby items, nearly doubling the 2010 count. Items collected through the community-wide drive included diapers, baby wipes, baby food, formula and baby hygiene products, all in an effort to provide aid to one of the fastest growing segments of the homeless population - women with children. HomeAid distributed everything collected through the drive to local nonprofit organizations serving homeless families.

Businesses, community organizations and individuals throughout the metro Atlanta area joined hands with HomeAid to collect essential baby items amongst their employees, associates, friends and families. Among those that collected items for the 2011 Essentials for Young Lives Drive were The Atlanta Academy, Atlanta Remodelers Council, Atlanta Sales & Marketing Council, Bank of America, Boral Bricks, Bucknell University Alumni Club of Atlanta, CB Richard Ellis, CharterBank, Coldwell Banker NRT Development Advisors, Cooper Homes, Dunwoody Baptist Church, Evolv, Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, IIDA Student Chapter of the Art Institute of Atlanta, John Willis Homes, Lincoln Property Management Company, LoanSouth Mortgage, Mast Custom Woodworks, MetLife Home Loans, mRelevance, Northwest Exterminating, Oneida Builders, Purdy Real Estate, State Bank & Trust Company, SunTrust, Technology Dependent Intensive Care Unit at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta-Scottish Rite Campus, Upper Cervical Health Centers of America, Valley Brook Baptist Church and Weissman, Nowack, Curry & Wilco.

On May 6, just a few days before Mother's Day, Atlanta-based UPS teamed up with HomeAid Atlanta to assist with delivering the thousands of items collected to seven local nonprofit organizations that provide housing and supportive services to homeless families and young children. These organizations operate facilities that have been built in partnership with HomeAid Atlanta and include Decatur Cooperative Ministry (Decatur), Genesis - A New Life (Atlanta), HomeStretch (Roswell), My House (Cherokee County), Phoenix Pass (Conyers), Tapestry Youth Ministries (College Park and Fairburn) and The Drake House (Roswell).

With 42 percent of homeless children in Georgia being under the age of 6, the donated items were a welcomed sight, providing critical support to the recipient organizations and the families they serve. "Donations from the Essentials for Young Lives Drive are such a blessing to our clients," said Monifa Watson, program director for HomeStretch, one of the recipient organizations. "Being able to save money on such ‘essentials' allows our clients to dedicate more of their income to debt repayment, rebuilding credit and creating a nest egg for their future. We are all so very grateful for the items and those who provided them."

The Essentials for Young Lives Drive was first launched in Atlanta in 2002 and since then more than 300,000 essential baby items have been distributed to homeless mothers and their babies.

About HomeAid Atlanta:
Founded in 2001, HomeAid Atlanta is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working in partnership with the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, and is a local chapter of HomeAid America, a leading national provider of transitional housing for the temporarily homeless. The HomeAid mission is to build and maintain dignified housing where homeless families and individuals can rebuild their lives. HomeAid acts as the housing developer and liaison between homeless service providers, builders, trade partners and community volunteers. To date, HomeAid Atlanta has completed 16 housing developments that serve the temporarily homeless, including victims of domestic violence, teen mothers, abused and abandoned children, and homeless families. For more information about HomeAid Atlanta, visit www.homeaidatlanta.org.                                                                

MEDIA CONTACT: Haley Livingston, HomeAid Atlanta
678.775.1401, haley_homeaid@atlantahomebuilders.com                                                 

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