Project CEO is a presentation that allows students to show what they have learned from their companies. At AVLF, I have learned the value of client service, giving back to the community by helping the less fortunate, and the importance of paying attention to detail.

One Saturday morning at AVLF I showed up bleary-eyed, half thinking about the Saturday morning activities I was giving up. And then I met Ms. Danielson.

“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 21st.

Now in her first year of law school, Gabriela Medina-Nuñez previously spent a year teaching Spanish in a predominantly African-American, low-income middle school in Augusta. This experience moved her to go to law school. As she put it, “The kids came to school to eat and feel safe.”

Liz’s death has left a void in the Atlanta legal community and in our hearts. Please join us in honoring her memory.

After fourteen years, Mr. Reece’s landlord decided not to renew his lease. Mr. Reece couldn’t find a place to move by the deadline his landlord gave him. Three days later, he came home to find the locks had been changed – with all of his belongings still inside. The property manager insisted that the law was on the landlord’s side, but Mr. Reece knew his rights.

Ms. P’s boyfriend had been violent before, but his abuse had been escalating in frequency and intensity. After a recently attack, he was arrested and charged with simple battery. After the arrest, the Solicitor’s Office recommended that Ms. P visit the Safe Families Office.

An Atlanta grandmother and her grandsons lived in subsidized housing. From time to time, the grandsons would visit their mother, but the mother’s lifestyle meant that the boys always returned to their grandmother’s home – the only stable home they had.

We are grateful to our March 2017 volunteers.

“I am trying to do better for myself first to make it better for them. It’s something I’m learning. At 43, I’m learning, and I’m going to keep on learning, both for my kids and myself.”

Imagine that you have just been berated, beaten, and bloodied by your partner. Maybe it’s the first time. Maybe it’s the 51st time. It happened in front of your three children. You once conveyed some of what has been happening to friends and family, but they looked at you like you had to be exaggerating.

AVLF is one of ten finalists for United Way’s 2017 SPARK Prize. This competition – which had 70 entries – awards grants to organizations that address the needs of Atlanta-area children and families. Check out our video, and help us win!