AT&T is teaming with the Westside Future Fund to help get two Atlanta public schools back-to-school ready.
 
Yesterday, over 150 AT&T employees enjoyed a day of volunteerism on Westside Future Fund projects at Brown Middle School and Jones Elementary – both located in Atlanta’s historic Westside. The volunteers helped teachers and faculty prepare the classrooms for the first day of school.
 
“I am grateful that Atlanta’s public and private sector leaders are collaborating so that Westside youth have the resources they need to succeed,” said John Ahmann, president and CEO of Westside Future Fund. “AT&T’s investment in Atlanta’s Historic Westside and its youth provides enhanced opportunities to help the next generation reach their academic dreams.”
 
AT&T is passionate about the strength and success of Atlanta, and through our initiative – Believe AtlantaSM – the 20,000 AT&T employees in Atlanta are collaborating with community leaders and organizations to help diminish the wealth gap and cultivate a future of opportunity in Atlanta’s Westside.
 
An extension of AT&T Believes, a larger company-wide initiative designed to drive positive change in local communities,Believe Atlanta is connecting AT&T employees to volunteer opportunities with organizations like the Westside Future Fund, City of Refuge and Westside Works, among others.
 
“We believe in Atlanta,” said Venessa Harrison, president of AT&T Georgia. “At AT&T, commitment to community is part of our DNA. And, it’s exciting to live and work in a community that shares a passion for equipping ALL of our youth with resources and opportunities to secure a better future.”
 
The volunteers helped teachers and faculty at Brown Middle School and Jones Elementary move into classrooms and prepare to welcome students on August 12, the first day of the 2019 – 2020 school year. AT&T volunteers unpacked boxes, prepared bulletin boards, created welcome packets for students and parents, organized folders, catalogued books, logged computer equipment, cleaned lockers and more.
 
While a new school year is an exciting time, it can often bring anxiety and stress to families struggling to afford supplies for their children. Over the past few weeks, AT&T employees collected school and office supplies in donation boxes that were set up at AT&T and Cricket Wireless offices across Atlanta. The school and office supplies were donated to Empty Stocking Fund, a local non-profit that empowers Metro Atlanta parents and guardians by providing support and opportunities that drive youth success. Last Friday, over 30 AT&T Believers packed and sorted supplies, helping prepare ESF to deliver supply kits to Westside students in time for the first day of school.