So You Want to Make a Difference!

This group will be focused around young professionals who would like to make a difference in the Atlanta area. I started this group because I have always felt compassion for the homeless and needy. I came from a poor background myself and have realized handing out money to homeless people and wondering what I could do to actually make a difference was taking its toll on me. Listening to NPR one afternoon driving home from work, I heard a special about a "Giving Circle" in Washington DC where a group of mid twenties professionals with limited recourses but a lot of heart gathered every month to eat, and discuss what charity is most is need of the donation money. Every member would pledge whatever amount they could, and with a collection pot of around 2,000 dollars they would meet with and chat with a representative from a community charity group that wants to make a difference. After whittling away the list, the group came up with a charity they would like to donate their money and time to.

I thought this was a wonderful way to meet new, interesting morally forward thinking people that would like to make a difference, but wanted to know the money was going somewhere it would be used most, and effect the most change in the community. The bonding experience of the members would include donating some time to volunteering at prospect charities and experiencing how and where the money would be spent, while reviewing financial expenditures from the prospect charity.

I was surprised to see there were not several "giving circles" in Atlanta, and certainly none with young people actively involved. In these trying times, the desire to help and effect change, however small has not dimished, yet has been stifled due to lack of recourses and a touch of cynicism. The truth is, people are dying of hunger, not just in the US, and the world, but in Atlanta, children are wearing tattered shoes to school, and mothers are struggling to put food on the table. Any amount of time or funds would be helpful to a small charity, looking to improve the way of life for so many in the Atlanta community.

I would like to compile a list of sustainable charities that encourage education and provide opportunities for self sustainability in the lower class. To simply put a band aid on an open wound will not stop the flow; only decrease the amount of bleeding. Antibiotics and constant care is the only way to heal. This is why I would like to create a group of women who have the desire to help, with the drive and persistence to volunteer, and come together once a month to share food, wine and listen to the "pitch" of a hopeful charity leader. I would also like to create a group of passionate people who hopefully will expand their social network and through word of mouth expand to different locations and bloom in various communities in the Atlanta Area.

If this group sounds like something you would be interested in, I welcome you with open arms, and look forward to meeting you, as I am sure everyone else will. No donation is absolutely required; maybe you have a talent or skill. Donations would be appreciated to create a substantial amount of money to donate to a deserving charity. If you have ever felt powerless against poverty, lack of educated people, lack of resources and housing for the poor, this is your chance to make a difference. Even if you have little in the way of monetary funds to offer.

Thank you

Sanidia Oliver