2020 Voter Guide Now Available in Spanish
When DLA Piper’s Matt Miehl pitched a voting guide for the 2020 election as a pro bono project for Georgia Appleseed, we knew that it was a perfect fit. The easy-to-understand guide embodies Georgia Appleseed’s commitment to accessible language, and it reflects our values of nonpartisan engagement and data driven, pragmatic solutions.
“The 2020 Voter Guide is an important resource because it makes voting more accessible to everybody by guiding them through the voting process – whether in-person or through the mail – in a simple and effective manner,” says Matt Miehl. “Opportunities like this are why I love doing pro bono work for Georgia Appleseed. I get to use my skills and experiences to pursue justice in areas that resonate with me and help make my community’s tomorrow better than its today.”
The 2020 How to Vote Guide is now available in Spanish and in mobile friendly formats, thanks to the pro bono work of Nelson Mullins and Wingard Graphics.
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Join Us: Tribunal Representation Training October 30, 2020
With an expected influx of children coming into the foster care system this fall and winter, we need more trained pro bono lawyers to help these children stay in school and out of the juvenile justice system. Our volunteers represent children in school discipline tribunals facing long-term suspension and expulsion.
Join us on October 30, 2020, from 9:00 a.m. to noon, via Zoom to learn the procedural steps of a Tribunal hearing, ways to address discovery issues, mitigation, and client representation. After completing the training, you will have the opportunity to join our Tribunal Lawyers Volunteer Network to provide pro bono representation to some of our state’s most vulnerable children and youth.
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Help Guides for Children with Behavior and Learning Challenges: Now in Spanish!
So much has changed for students, parents, and teachers in the last year, but the need for strong, informed advocacy on behalf of Georgia’s children and youth remains a constant.
Georgia Appleseed’s Help Guides are one- to two-page informational handouts meant to inform and to support advocates and caregivers of children with behavior and learning challenges.
We are also excited to share that we are beginning to translate the Help Guides into other languages. We currently have a selection available in Spanish and are working on a set of guides in Korean. We will continue to increase those and the number of languages available as we are able. Find the Spanish Help Guides here.
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Raj M. Nichani and Charisse M. Williams Join the Board of Directors
Georgia Appleseed is glad to welcome two fantastic additions to the board of directors:
Raj M. Nichani, the founder and president of The RMN Agency, is passionate about helping attorneys and law firms find the right fit for each other. Prior to forming The RMN Agency, he was a vice president for two well-known legal recruiting firms. Raj is also as committed to the legal and charitable communities as he is to legal recruiting. He is a member of both the New York and Georgia Bars, and is a past president of both the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association (GAPABA) and the South Asian Bar Association of Georgia (SABA-GA). Read more.
Charisse M. Williams is a lawyer by training, who worked in the nonprofit and social justice sectors for 25 years at organizations focused on human rights, education, and criminal and juvenile justice reform issues. In her executive leadership roles, she consistently attained ambitious goals including launching program sites in new cities, raising millions of dollars, and recruiting dozens of board members and volunteers. As a leadership coach, she helps others find their own answers while offering facilitation, guidance, tools, and resources. Read more.
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Deepening Engagement: Parents, teachers, counselors, and others who care about children joined Georgia Appleseed and the Truancy Intervention Project online to talk about best to support students at Deepening Engagement: Keeping Kids in School During a Pandemic on September 10, 2020. Watch the recording on our website.
Pictured above: (Top row, left to right) Larita Frazier, School Social Worker, Atlanta Public Schools; KyMara Guidry, Georgia Appleseed Equal Justice Works Fellow; Anita Speed, parent representative from Georgia Parent Support Network; (Middle row, left to right) Sarah Babcock, Deputy Director, Truancy Intervention Project; Curlandra Lightfoot Smith, PBIS Coordinator, Bibb County Board of Education; Alexis, youth representative; (Bottom row) Emelie, youth representative
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Free Your Feels: Georgia Appleseed Joins Mental Health Campaign
Did you know 17 percent of youth experience a mental health disorder?
Free Your Feels is a mental health awareness campaign spearheaded by Georgia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and Voices for Georgia’s Children. Georgia Appleseed has joined those organizations and countless other partners to encourage Georgia’s young people to explore their feelings and share them fearlessly.
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Corporate Support Spotlight: HD Supply
As companies across the U.S. publicly commit to tackling systemic injustices in our society and communities, one company decided to take action and directly support Georgia Appleseed’s mission.
Atlanta-based HD Supply organized a “Walk Forward” initiative for their employees to show support for equality, equity, and justice. Hundreds of their associates – from all over North America – participated. Thank you, HD Supply, for taking a stand…and a Walk. We are so grateful for our other corporate and law firm supports who continually support our work toward systemic change.
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Additional Resources
In recognition of the incredible impact COVID-19 is having on our lives and throughout our communities, we are continuing to share resources on our social media channels and our website. Below are a handful of resource lists gathered by trusted partners, which we hope will help connect people to the resources they need at this time:
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GECC— Visit our Georgia Education Climate Coalition (GECC) page for information about partner organization's upcoming webinars and trainings.
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211—Calling 211 or searching the website can help you find food, pay housing bills, access childcare, and more.
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Atlanta Legal Aid—This resource list includes information about court closings, emergency food help, and more.
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Georgia Department of Education—This DOE site includes links to school closure information and online learning resources.
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Voices for Georgia’s Children—Voices has put together a robust list of news and resources around COVID-19, including financial resources, food assistance, closures, guidance on talking to children about the pandemic, and more.
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Children's Healthcare of Atlanta—CHOA's Strong4Life resource page provides parenting guidance for the COVID-19 era, including how to talk about social distancing with kids, avoiding injuries during isolation, and much more.
We'd also like to share additional links that are helping us think about justice-related issues of the day:
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Georgia Appleseed Needs Your Support
At Georgia Appleseed, we focus on dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline and advocating for healthy housing because we believe these areas are powerful leverage points for meaningful, systemic change.
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