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In 2019, Gas South awarded $300,000 to six local nonprofit organizations - Atlanta Mission, Kate’s Club, Los Niños Primero, Nana Grants, Shepherd Center and Sunshine on a Ranney Day were all recipients of $50,000 each. Additionally, Covenant House of Georgia, Girls, Inc. and Training and Counseling Center were awarded $10,000 each.
Gas South makes it our mission to be a fuel for good for the community we serve. We strive to put our customers, employees and our community first in everything we do. Donating 5% of our profits to children in need is a core pillar of our mission to be a fuel for good, but you may be wondering how exactly those funds are allocated.
The Gas South investments address three main types of needs:
- Basic needs
- Illness and disability
- Education
Let’s take a look at how Gas South’s past basic needs investment winners were able to make a difference in our Georgia community in 2019, and how the 2020 basic needs winners are planning to use the investment funds this year.
2020 Basic Needs Investment Winners
Covenant House of Georgia
Covenant House of Georgia (CHGA) is Atlanta’s only homeless shelter serving youth ages 18 to 21. Most of their youth are African American (80%) and the remainder are Caucasian (10%) and Latino (10%). About one-third were in the foster care system and more than half have a history with the criminal justice system. Covenant House will be providing interview and work attire for 200 youth in their vocational program with the $10,000 Innovation Investment from Gas South.
Atlanta Mission
Atlanta Mission provides each child that comes to them for help, basic needs and services that include shelter, bedding, meals, shower, essential healthcare, laundry facilities, childcare, afterschool and preschool programming, and other social services.
With an Impact Investment grant from Gas South, at the cost of about $30 per day, they will provide over 1,600 children with a bed and bedding, meals, showers, essential healthcare, daycare, preschool programming, school uniforms, school supplies, and other necessities.
When a child arrives with his or her mother at the doorstep of their Atlanta Day Shelter, they immediately begin meeting their basic needs. They provide three hot meals per day, showers, essential healthcare, laundry facilities, and a safe, secure place to sleep. In addition to a bed, they provide each individual their own sheet set, blanket, and pillow to help them find comfort off the streets.
Children are also given a bunk bag, which contains games, coloring books, and other stimulating activities to allow them a sense of play and normalcy amidst the chaos of homelessness. Infants and young children are enrolled in our quality childcare program, and school-aged children are enrolled in Centennial Academy Charter School to ensure educational stability and growth while they stay with them.
Kate's Club
Kate’s Club empowers children facing life after the death of a parent or sibling. Kate’s Club serves children in the greater metro Atlanta area, from five to 18 years old, who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling or primary caregiver at no cost to the child’s family.
Kate’s Club will use our funding to support their Clubhouse Services and Camp Good Mourning. Camp Good Mourning is a bi-annual two-night, three-day retreat held at Camp Twin Lakes in Winder, Georgia. Their members participate in both camp recreation and therapeutic activities.
Their approach is two-fold: 1) they provide therapeutic services children need to grieve and cope with their loss and 2) they provide fun, recreational activities, which encourage them the be a kid in an environment where their peers are experiencing a similar loss. As with their other programs, they experienced an increased need for Camp Good Mourning – funding will help expand the number of children who could attend Camp Good Mourning in April 2020.
2019 Basic Needs Investment Winners
Street Grace
Street Grace is a faith-driven organization that collaborates with faith, business and community leaders providing a comprehensive path to end the sexual exploitation of minors. CSEC involves the recruitment, harboring, transportation, and/or the obtaining of a child under the age of 18 for the purpose of a commercial sex act. Street Grace mobilizes community resources – financial, human, and material – to fight CSEC through prevention/protection, policy and pursuit.
The Gas South Impact Investment was the final piece of funding needed for the development of a self-contained online toolkit that can be distributed to any school that wants to implement the Youth Education Initiative. The Youth Education Initiative is a student-led prevention program that partners with middle and high schools to teach children about commercial sexual exploitation, how to recognize it, talk about it, report it, and protect themselves and their friends against it.
In 2018, Street Grace reached over 61,000 youth with this critical message. Currently, creative production, including building and producing files for all educational materials to be placed on the website, is underway along with a strategic social media campaign to support the expanding initiative.
The final phase of this project involves testing and then finally, implementation of the Online Toolkit within Dekalb Public Schools and Atlanta Public Schools, reaching 72 middle and high schools and approximately 100,000 students in the 2019/2020 school year.
“These exciting updates would not be possible without the financial support and trust of partners like Gas South. Thank you for believing in us and supporting us in such a substantial way.” – Bob Rodgers, President/CEO Street Grace
Covenant House
The Gas South Impact Investment directly impacted vulnerable young people in the residential programs and wrap-around services in 2019. The investment provided shelter to 518 youth seeking refuge from the streets of Atlanta. It also helped 119 youth to advance their education by registering for and taking the GED, applying to college and completing FAFSA applications. Finally, the investment trained and certified 48 youth in specialized vocational programs that provided skills and knowledge to meet current demand in the job market.
An example of the Gas South impact is Leigha. She came to Covenant House nearly a year ago with an extensive history of homelessness, abandonment and neglect. Leigha expressed interest in becoming a dietitian, so she enrolled in the Health Technology and Administration certification program. She excelled in her studies, gained full-time employment and successfully transitioned to the independent living program. She is currently enrolled at Perimeter College for the fall semester.
“We know it was the generous spirits of the Gas South team members that made this grant possible! Please pass along our sincerest appreciation and know that your support ensures that we can continue providing the services needed to triage, stabilize, and heal this vulnerable population.” – Dr. Alieizsoria Redd, Executive Director
2020 Vision: Looking Ahead
As a leading provider of natural gas in the southeastern U.S., Gas South has taken a close look at how we can make sure our success as a company directly benefits the communities we serve. We believe our communities are strongest when children are well and have opportunities to reach their full potential. This means helping families build strong foundations, helping to meet their basic needs and providing positive pathways for kids. That’s why we’ve committed 5% of our profits to help children in need.
Through volunteerism, charity partnerships and ongoing financial support, we’re helping people in our community fulfill their potential with the hope that, one day, they’ll join us in being a fuel for good.
