Sledgehammer Ceremony Kicks Off Renovations    

  Teen Holds School Uniform Drive   

Mason, a North Springs High student who volunteers at the CAC Food Pantry, decided to donate school uniform clothes that he no longer needed. Then he thought if he had these clothes sitting in his closet, maybe other families did, too.  So he set out to collect school uniform clothes to donate to CAC by writing letters and networking with neighborhoods. His mother, Cindy, drove him around to pick up donations from neighbors and strangers alike. "There was a time when I was a single mother and couldn't afford new uniforms so to me there's no reason why people can't give clothes they aren't using to someone who needs them," she said. They collected a car-load of school uniform clothes and delivered them to CAC to be given to local families in need. Mason plans to continue his efforts to collect uniforms for children in need.

Donors and volunteers helped make CAC summer programs for kids a success. With their support and manpower CAC distributed 700 new backpacks custom filled with school supplies per school and grade. We are continuing to distribute an additional 300 backpacks to local schools this month. Families in need are grateful for the backpacks which they otherwise may not have been able to provide to their children for the start of school. CAC's Tools for School program makes it possible for donors to give a child a new backpack with school supplies for just $35 each, a $50 retail cost. Many individuals and groups contributed including grants from foundations, Holy Innocents' Episcopal Church, UPS, Altrusa, The Packaged Good, Rivercliff Lutheran Church and more.

	NCL Dunwoody Chapter packed Lunch Bags

CAC summer programs for kids addressed food insecurity among local children during the 8-week summer school vacation. CAC's Summer Lunch Bag program assists families who depend on the free school lunch program to have enough food for their children.  CAC distributed 2,086 Summer Lunch Bags containing 5 lunches each, providing 10,430 meals to 500 children in Sandy Springs and Dunwoody. Each child received 4 Summer Lunch Bags, providing for half of the lunches they needed during this summer break, or 20 out of 40 lunches. The program was made possible by the support of many individuals and groups including Kairos Church, Bank of North Georgia, Must Ministries, United Way, Cisco, Focus Grant, National Charity League, CIT and more. CAC provides food to about 500 families a month year-round.

Join the hundreds of volunteers who help their neighbors in need at CAC!  We have immediate needs for volunteers in the Food Pantry and CAC Boutique Tuesday - Friday, reception desk on Wednesdays and Fridays, and bilingual volunteers for client evaluations. Volunteers are also needed for the Teacher's Closet program, Monday - Thursday, to fill classroom supply requests from teachers. Most volunteer shifts are morning or afternoons. Volunteers would ideally work on a regular basis, such as once a week. Contact Debbie at [email protected].

A Look Ahead ...