“You helped my Nana. I remember you.”

These were Deputy Director Michael Lucas’s opening words at for the United Way of Greater Atlanta’s SPARK Prize competition held during the C3 Summit on April 21^st. Michael went on to share the story of Maya and her brother, Jamal, and how they got to know our Thomasville Heights Elementary School Standing With Our Neighbors team. Both children live with their grandmother and were suffering physically and emotionally due to moldy housing conditions and the threat of eviction. Because of the Standing With Our Neighbors initiative, today they breathe a little easier.

Maya and Jamal’s story – and dozens of other stories like theirs – helped AVLF win 2^nd place in this year’s SPARK Prize, for which we received $10,000 to support Standing With Our Neighbors (SWON). Through the SPARK Prize, United Way funds grants to incentivize collaboration and social innovation among nonprofits, businesses and community groups, while showcasing Atlanta’s ingenuity when it comes to addressing the needs of children and families. In three years, the Spark Prize has granted $166,000 to 18 non-profits across Greater Atlanta.

To enter the competition, AVLF submitted a five-minute video outlining SWON (filmed and edited by Digital Communications Manager, Katie King) and was named one of ten finalists. Organizations were invited to attend the C3 Summit and present a “Shark Tank” style proposal to judges representing many segments of the community. Thanks to the United Way and their partner, the Center for Civic Innovation, we are going to be able to help even more Nanas. 

The SWON initiative partners AVLF with identified low-performing schools – in particular, its school social workers, community-based organizations, and other service providers – to concentrate AVLF’s volunteer resources on improving living conditions and housing stability to reduce enrollment turnover and enhance student attendance and performance. The initiative focuses on outreach and education, health and safety-related products, cooperative efforts with landlords and direct legal representation of tenants. It is led by a dedicated attorney program director and a full-time community advocate, and delivers these services by partnering with law firms to “adopt” the school and surrounding neighborhood.

Check out Michael’s presentation and photos from the conference below. To see more, check out United Way’s Facebook.