“Star-C and our families are so very grateful for outpouring of support from our donors who stepped up to assist vulnerable families in these unprecedented times,” says Marjy Stagmeier, who has over 20 years of experience as an apartment landlord and is the founder of Star-C. “We have fielded thousands of phone calls from so many hard-working people who just were simply not prepared for the consequences of the COVID pandemic. It was so encouraging to see the Atlanta community rally to provide support to those less fortunate.”

Still, she notes that even as the world is wading into post-pandemic life, the Fund is not winding down. Because of the lingering effects of the pandemic – which disproportionately affected affordable housing residents and other working families – Star-C’s eviction relief work will continue in earnest for the foreseeable future, including fundraising. Star-C is currently providing rent and utilities assistance in Cobb County, under a $4.1 million Emergency Rental Assistance Program allocation.

“You might say we grabbed the tiger by the tail, but it has been a wonderful and consuming ride,” says Audrea Rease, Executive Director of Star-C Programs. “Through incredible collaboration, grants and strong individual giving, we’ve been able to help more people across a broader area than we ever imagined, and that need continues, which is why we are continuing to ask for donations to continuing helping hardworking Atlantans who have temporary challenges paying rent.”

“Last year we quickly pivoted from primarily providing after-school and related programs to offering what we thought would be a relatively short-term rental-assistance program,” Rease says. “Once kids have (in part) returned to classrooms and, especially, as we offer our traditional summer programs for them, we’ve ramped back up Star-C’s core programs, but at the same time recognizing that the eviction crisis continues.”