As part of its Week of Caring, Mercedes-Benz USA honored its Greatness Lives Here heroes on Wednesday, October 7, for their sustainable leadership and lasting impact on those they serve by planting 18 trees in a commemorative ceremony along with partner organization Trees Atlanta. Beautifully engraved granite markers displaying each hero’s name and respective organization lay at the foot of each tree planted at the Georgia World Congress Center campus.  

The MBUSA Greatness Lives Here program is an initiative highlighting individuals that make a difference in underserved communities in Atlanta and are dedicated to enhancing the lives of the city’s vulnerable populations, especially empowering the areas youth. From an organization founded by a Holocaust survivor who feeds the city’s food insecure by distributing leftovers from supermarkets and restaurants, a dog lover who leverages canine companionship to change the lives of incarcerated men, the first double-amputee Ironman finisher and a couple that uses bikes as a tool for children to build life skills, these GLH heroes shine a light on the common heart thread  that connects Atlantans. 

The following individuals were recognized at the event:

Tim and Becky O’Mara, Bearings Bike Shop; C.J. and Kelli Stewart, L.E.A.D.; Kim Bearden, The Ron Clark Academy; John Gordon, Friends of English Avenue; Charmaine Minniefield, The New Freedom Project; Scott Rigsby, The Scott Rigsby Foundation; Zack Leitz, The Backpack Project; Dantes Rameau, Atlanta Music Project; Zac Brown, Camp Southern Ground; Betty Klein, Childkind; Guenther Hecht and Joe Labriola, Second Helpings Atlanta; Dr. Diamond Ford, M. R. Hollis Innovation Academy; Larry Witherspoon and Shawn McHargue, Automotive Training Center; Maria Armstrong and Tangee Allen, Raising Expectations; Susan Norris, Rescuing Hope; Dean Leeper, The Kindezi Schools; Amy O'Dell, Jacob's Ladder; Susan Jacobs-Meadows, Canine CellMates. 

MBUSA’s Week of Caring provides MBUSA employees an opportunity to participate in online activities and webinars to support, volunteer and learn about MBUSA’s community partners.