The Westside Future Fund has announced the launch of its newest initiative, the Westside Volunteer Corps, a year-round program to attract and mobilize volunteers—residents and non-residents, individuals and corporate groups—who are inspired to be part of the revitalization of Atlanta’s Historic Westside.

To date, more than 60 Westside non-profit agencies—ranging in size and focus area—have joined as partners of the Corps, which will recruit, train, match and deploy volunteers based on their individual skill sets, interests and availability.

Many longtime Westside nonprofits, such as Raising Expectations, a youth development organization that has been servicing the community for more than 13 years, are encouraged by the potential impact of the program and are eager to introduce their work to a new audience of supporters.

“Through our partnership with the Westside Volunteer Corps, we are excited to build bridges and connections that will directly impact the experiences our young people and their families have on the Westside,” said Maria Armstrong, co-founder of Raising Expectations. “We firmly believe that relationships are what changes lives, and we look forward to giving our city’s volunteers a chance to become part of our mission to help children realize the greatest versions of themselves.”

The Corps will officially kick-off Saturday, August 26 with a “Day of Service,” connecting hundreds of volunteers to service projects throughout the community.

“The beauty is that so many are joining forces to support creating a better quality of life for residents in Atlanta’s four historic Westside neighborhoods. To quote Vine City resident Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., ‘everybody can be great, because anybody can serve,’ said John Ahmann, executive director of the Westside Future Fund. “Such an enthusiastic response advances both the goals and the spirit of the Westside Volunteer Corps.”

A collaborative approach “The United Way”

The Westside Volunteer Corps is part of Westside Future Fund’s collaborative impact approach to community revitalization, which revolves around cross-sector coordination.

The Westside Future Fund created the Corps in partnership with United Way of Greater Atlanta and the Chick-fil-A Foundation, also a founding sponsor.

Much of the immediate focus of the Corps’ volunteer efforts will be in the areas of education, housing and health and wellness, addressing some of the community’s most immediate needs and coinciding with the Westside Future Fund’s four impact areas—“college-to-career” education, mixed-income communities, community health and wellness, and safety and security.

“We know that communities can’t thrive unless children thrive, and no one agency or entity can create thriving communities alone. Through the Corps, we will bring our convening power and expertise in developing and implementing successful volunteer programs to scale. This corps will add more muscle to the wonderful work that is already underway,” said Milton J. Little, Jr., President and CEO of United Way of Greater Atlanta.

The volunteer efforts are also in alignment with United Way’s Child Well Being Index, the set of measures used to assess how children, the families that support them and the community that surrounds them are doing.

“While our Child Well-Being Index scores tell us that Westside neighborhoods need support, zip codes are not destiny,” Little continued. “Through the Westside Future Fund’s volunteer corps, we will ensure that we have babies born healthy, kids who read proficiently by 3rd grade and teens who graduate from high school ready for college—and that they are growing up in communities where people are educated, employed, healthy and housed. If you are passionate about our city and about building great communities across our city, we need you to do your part and join the resident volunteers to transform the Westside.”

A partner for good

The Chick-fil-A Foundation (Foundation) is actively involved in the revitalization efforts of Atlanta’s Westside, working as a partner to many non-profit and civic groups doing good in the community. As founding sponsor of the Corps, the Foundation—whose mission is to help every child become all they were created to be—hopes to broaden the Westside’s base of support by inspiring more Atlantans to engage.

“Bringing about lasting change requires a true community effort,” said Rodney Bullard, Vice President of Community Affairs for Chick-fil-A, Inc., and Executive Director of the Chick-fil-A Foundation. “Through the Corps, we have the opportunity to unite as an Atlanta community and serve side-by-side with our Westside neighbors—it’s the Atlanta way. I hope you’ll join us at one of the volunteer projects on August 26 and show the children and families who call the Westside home that they aren’t alone. Let’s show them that Atlanta cares.” 

Registration for the Westside Volunteer Corps is open now. The Corps will officially kick-off Saturday, August 26, with a “Day of Service,” which will deploy hundreds of volunteers to service projects throughout the community.