http://www.cartercenter.org/homepage.html
http://www.cartercenter.org/homepage.html
One Copenhill
453 Freedom Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30307
The Carter Center: Creating a world in which every man, woman, and child has the opportunity to enjoy good health and live in peace
The Carter Center, in partnership with Emory University, is committed to advancing human rights and alleviating unnecessary human suffering. Founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, the Atlanta-based Center has helped to improve the quality of life for people in more than 70 countries.
Led by the Carters and an independent board of trustees, the Center's staff wage peace, fight disease, and build hope by both engaging with those at the highest levels of government and working side by side with poor and often forgotten people.
In this way, the Center has strengthened democracies in Asia, Latin America, and Africa; helped farmers double or triple grain production in 15 African countries; mediated or worked to prevent civil and international conflicts; intervened to prevent unnecessary diseases in Latin America and Africa, including the near eradication of Guinea worm disease; and strived to diminish the stigma against mental illness. A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, the Center's work is supported by donations from individuals, foundations, corporations, and countries.
Our Mission
The Carter Center, in partnership with Emory University, is guided by a fundamental commitment to human rights and the alleviation of human suffering; it seeks to prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and democracy, and improve health. While the program agenda may change, The Carter Center is guided by five principles:
The Center emphasizes action and results. Based on careful research and analysis, it is prepared to take timely action on important and pressing issues.
The Center does not duplicate the effective efforts of others.
The Center addresses difficult problems and recognizes the possibility of failure as an acceptable risk.
The Center is nonpartisan and acts as a neutral in dispute resolution activities.
The Center believes that people can improve their lives when provided with the necessary skills, knowledge, and access to resources.
The Carter Center collaborates with other organizations, public or private, in carrying out its mission.
Showing posts with label Government/Public Policy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Government/Public Policy. Show all posts
Monday, November 10, 2008
Regional Council of Churches
http://www.rccatl.org/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=34
100 Edgewood Avenue, Suite 812
Atlanta, GA 30303
Our Mission
The mission of The Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta is to develop relationships, foster dialogue, and advocate collaboration among all Christians throughout the 20 county Atlanta region.
Our Vision
The Council magnifies the work, worship, and witness of the body of Christ in the Atlanta region by:
Amplifying and strengthening our voice on key regional issues, events, and policy decisions to cultivate leadership and social responsibility.
Fulfilling our Christian call for social and economic justice through advocacy, education, facilitation, and action taken in partnership with existing infrastructures and agencies.
Deepening community among people of faith through fellowship and ecumenical activities.
Goals
The council will gather and support the ecumenical faith community
The Regional Council of Churches will hold a Monthly Pastors Breakfast. This will be a time for rejuvenating fellowship and mutual support; a time to hear concerns and issues, and to garner the common wisdom and energy of the faith leadership.
The Regional Council will host a monthly evening Young Ministers Roundtable. An ecumenical community of peers offers young ministers safe space in which to explore how the church and its world are changing and ways the church can remain relevant.
The Council will sponsor a community–wide ecumenical worship service at Pentecost.
The Council will maintain robust communication forums.
The Council has built a network of ministries, affinity groups, and congregations which reaches deeply into the faith community and widely across the region. The eNewsletter which goes to 10,000 faith leaders each week supports and informs this network.
The website www.rccatl.org is visited by hundreds of people a day for information, resources, or to participate in the daily online devotionals we offer. The website contains articles on issues of concern to the faith community as well as educational articles and opportunities to participate in celebration, worship, and ministry. The website features a community calendar and volunteer opportunities section.
The Council maintains a searchable data base of congregations and ministries a portion of which is accessible to visitors logged on to the website.
The Council will inform and learn from the faith community in matters of the common good and will amplify the voice of faith in the public arena.
The Council participates with faith and community partners to develop forums around critical issues such as homelessness, prison ministry and reentry, living wage, economic justice, and reconciliation.
The Council will facilitate and enable collaborative work in responsive ministry often including community organizations and agencies that are not faith-based.
The Council will in coalition with other groups develop congregational resources. Currently, we are finishing work on a resource guide to help congregations begin a conversation about work and wage.
The Council will continue the Ecumenical Intern Program which gives seminary or graduate students studying public policy or nonprofit management hands-on experience and an opportunity to explore their vocation in the broader ecumenical community.
100 Edgewood Avenue, Suite 812
Atlanta, GA 30303
Our Mission
The mission of The Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta is to develop relationships, foster dialogue, and advocate collaboration among all Christians throughout the 20 county Atlanta region.
Our Vision
The Council magnifies the work, worship, and witness of the body of Christ in the Atlanta region by:
Amplifying and strengthening our voice on key regional issues, events, and policy decisions to cultivate leadership and social responsibility.
Fulfilling our Christian call for social and economic justice through advocacy, education, facilitation, and action taken in partnership with existing infrastructures and agencies.
Deepening community among people of faith through fellowship and ecumenical activities.
Goals
The council will gather and support the ecumenical faith community
The Regional Council of Churches will hold a Monthly Pastors Breakfast. This will be a time for rejuvenating fellowship and mutual support; a time to hear concerns and issues, and to garner the common wisdom and energy of the faith leadership.
The Regional Council will host a monthly evening Young Ministers Roundtable. An ecumenical community of peers offers young ministers safe space in which to explore how the church and its world are changing and ways the church can remain relevant.
The Council will sponsor a community–wide ecumenical worship service at Pentecost.
The Council will maintain robust communication forums.
The Council has built a network of ministries, affinity groups, and congregations which reaches deeply into the faith community and widely across the region. The eNewsletter which goes to 10,000 faith leaders each week supports and informs this network.
The website www.rccatl.org is visited by hundreds of people a day for information, resources, or to participate in the daily online devotionals we offer. The website contains articles on issues of concern to the faith community as well as educational articles and opportunities to participate in celebration, worship, and ministry. The website features a community calendar and volunteer opportunities section.
The Council maintains a searchable data base of congregations and ministries a portion of which is accessible to visitors logged on to the website.
The Council will inform and learn from the faith community in matters of the common good and will amplify the voice of faith in the public arena.
The Council participates with faith and community partners to develop forums around critical issues such as homelessness, prison ministry and reentry, living wage, economic justice, and reconciliation.
The Council will facilitate and enable collaborative work in responsive ministry often including community organizations and agencies that are not faith-based.
The Council will in coalition with other groups develop congregational resources. Currently, we are finishing work on a resource guide to help congregations begin a conversation about work and wage.
The Council will continue the Ecumenical Intern Program which gives seminary or graduate students studying public policy or nonprofit management hands-on experience and an opportunity to explore their vocation in the broader ecumenical community.
Seedco in Atlanta
http://www.seedco.org/atlanta/
477 Windsor Street, Suite 101
Atlanta, GA 30312
Seedco: Innovations in Economic Opportunity
Seedco is a national nonprofit organization that works with local partners to create economic opportunities for disadvantaged job seekers, workers and neighborhood entrepreneurs.
We use practical, effective strategies to address the challenges confronting Americans who are struggling to leave poverty and achieve economic success. Working on these issues for more than two decades, we are leaders in implementing innovative, multi-partner initiatives that foster financial advancement and security.
Our work focuses on three critical goals for people seeking economic well-being:
Access: Our work connects people to what they need to make ends meet - an entry-level job, basic workplace skills and access to key benefits such as health or child care.
Security: We foster economic stability by helping people stay on the job, build new skills and take steps to become financially secure.
Mobility: Our programs provide long-term economic options for workers and entrepreneurs - through higher-level education and training, asset building and career advancement strategies.
While much of our work focuses on assisting individuals, we recognize that addressing poverty also requires a broader approach. To that end, we work with a broad spectrum of employers, government agencies and other institutions to improve the quality of jobs and promote the wider availability of critical workplace supports. And we invest in low-income communities in many areas of the country through our subsidiary Seedco Financial to create jobs, support neighborhood entrepreneurs and jumpstart economic opportunity.
How We Work
Seedco looks for promising ideas for creating economic opportunity for people who are struggling to move out of poverty. Our extensive experience allows us to move nimbly and efficiently to turn those ideas into programs, using careful research to shape our work. In doing so, we typically follow these steps:
We identify traditional and new local partners who share our goals, and we join them in workable, community-focused alliances. Our partnerships may include employers in need of qualified workers or community-based organizations that can respond effectively to local challenges. In many areas, we work with Seedco Financial, a national leader in community development financing.
We move aggressively to secure resources from many sources - foundations, local organizations, the private sector and government agencies - that we leverage to secure other community resources.
With partnerships established, we launch and operate model programs. In many cases, we work with government agencies to effectively implement public policy.
At every step, we use data to measure and improve our performance. Over time, our results become a critical tool for holding ourselves and our partners accountable.
Finally, we share our lessons and expertise with other nonprofits, policy makers and service providers - providing technical assistance to local groups around the country, taking part in policy discussions and issuing expert reports through the Seedco Policy Center. A key goal is to identify market-tested programs that can be replicated locally and nationally.
Seedco has firmly established itself as a unique, nonprofit intermediary that brings a fresh approach to challenging issues. In all of our work, Seedco is creating new and sustainable economic opportunities for low-income Americans.
Seedco in Atlanta
Seedco launched its EarnBenefits® program in Atlanta in January 2006.
Local Partners
EarnBenefits Atlanta is currently being funded by the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. In launching EarnBenefits Atlanta, Seedco has subcontracted with four local, community partners who implement the program at their sites. The Blank Family Foundation has a special interest in providing EarnBenefits to families with young children in the City of Atlanta. To fulfill this need Seedco has partnered with Quality Care for Children, Sheltering Arms, and Metro Atlanta YMCA. Each of these organizations will provide EarnBenefits services to families in their child care and Head Start programs at centers around the city, in both Fulton and Dekalb counties. As part of their efforts to strengthen the networks and infrastructure of distressed communities, The Annie E Casey Foundation is providing EarnBenefits to working families living in the six Atlanta neighborhoods that comprise Neighborhood Planning Unit V - Adair Park, Capitol Homes, Mechanicsville, Peoplestown, Pittsburgh and Summerhill. EarnBenefits will be implemented by the Center for Working Families which is the Foundation's primary strategy for building stronger financial futures for families.
EarnBenefits Services
In collaboration with Seedco, our community partners offer clients a three-tiered approach to benefit enrollment. This approach includes education around available benefits, eligibility screening and application assistance, and on-going benefits management. These activities are accomplished through a public website (www.EarnBenefits.org) and an innovative, password-protected screening tool that streamlines the application process.
Expected Outcomes
Over 500 families are expected to receive at least one benefit through EarnBenefits services during the first year of implementation. Clients are offered benefit assistance for multiple benefits, including Low-Income Medicaid, PeachCare for Kids, WIC, Food Stamps, LIHEAP, and federal tax credits. EarnBenefits also provides clients with free tax preparation services through the IRS's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.
477 Windsor Street, Suite 101
Atlanta, GA 30312
Seedco: Innovations in Economic Opportunity
Seedco is a national nonprofit organization that works with local partners to create economic opportunities for disadvantaged job seekers, workers and neighborhood entrepreneurs.
We use practical, effective strategies to address the challenges confronting Americans who are struggling to leave poverty and achieve economic success. Working on these issues for more than two decades, we are leaders in implementing innovative, multi-partner initiatives that foster financial advancement and security.
Our work focuses on three critical goals for people seeking economic well-being:
Access: Our work connects people to what they need to make ends meet - an entry-level job, basic workplace skills and access to key benefits such as health or child care.
Security: We foster economic stability by helping people stay on the job, build new skills and take steps to become financially secure.
Mobility: Our programs provide long-term economic options for workers and entrepreneurs - through higher-level education and training, asset building and career advancement strategies.
While much of our work focuses on assisting individuals, we recognize that addressing poverty also requires a broader approach. To that end, we work with a broad spectrum of employers, government agencies and other institutions to improve the quality of jobs and promote the wider availability of critical workplace supports. And we invest in low-income communities in many areas of the country through our subsidiary Seedco Financial to create jobs, support neighborhood entrepreneurs and jumpstart economic opportunity.
How We Work
Seedco looks for promising ideas for creating economic opportunity for people who are struggling to move out of poverty. Our extensive experience allows us to move nimbly and efficiently to turn those ideas into programs, using careful research to shape our work. In doing so, we typically follow these steps:
We identify traditional and new local partners who share our goals, and we join them in workable, community-focused alliances. Our partnerships may include employers in need of qualified workers or community-based organizations that can respond effectively to local challenges. In many areas, we work with Seedco Financial, a national leader in community development financing.
We move aggressively to secure resources from many sources - foundations, local organizations, the private sector and government agencies - that we leverage to secure other community resources.
With partnerships established, we launch and operate model programs. In many cases, we work with government agencies to effectively implement public policy.
At every step, we use data to measure and improve our performance. Over time, our results become a critical tool for holding ourselves and our partners accountable.
Finally, we share our lessons and expertise with other nonprofits, policy makers and service providers - providing technical assistance to local groups around the country, taking part in policy discussions and issuing expert reports through the Seedco Policy Center. A key goal is to identify market-tested programs that can be replicated locally and nationally.
Seedco has firmly established itself as a unique, nonprofit intermediary that brings a fresh approach to challenging issues. In all of our work, Seedco is creating new and sustainable economic opportunities for low-income Americans.
Seedco in Atlanta
Seedco launched its EarnBenefits® program in Atlanta in January 2006.
Local Partners
EarnBenefits Atlanta is currently being funded by the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. In launching EarnBenefits Atlanta, Seedco has subcontracted with four local, community partners who implement the program at their sites. The Blank Family Foundation has a special interest in providing EarnBenefits to families with young children in the City of Atlanta. To fulfill this need Seedco has partnered with Quality Care for Children, Sheltering Arms, and Metro Atlanta YMCA. Each of these organizations will provide EarnBenefits services to families in their child care and Head Start programs at centers around the city, in both Fulton and Dekalb counties. As part of their efforts to strengthen the networks and infrastructure of distressed communities, The Annie E Casey Foundation is providing EarnBenefits to working families living in the six Atlanta neighborhoods that comprise Neighborhood Planning Unit V - Adair Park, Capitol Homes, Mechanicsville, Peoplestown, Pittsburgh and Summerhill. EarnBenefits will be implemented by the Center for Working Families which is the Foundation's primary strategy for building stronger financial futures for families.
EarnBenefits Services
In collaboration with Seedco, our community partners offer clients a three-tiered approach to benefit enrollment. This approach includes education around available benefits, eligibility screening and application assistance, and on-going benefits management. These activities are accomplished through a public website (www.EarnBenefits.org) and an innovative, password-protected screening tool that streamlines the application process.
Expected Outcomes
Over 500 families are expected to receive at least one benefit through EarnBenefits services during the first year of implementation. Clients are offered benefit assistance for multiple benefits, including Low-Income Medicaid, PeachCare for Kids, WIC, Food Stamps, LIHEAP, and federal tax credits. EarnBenefits also provides clients with free tax preparation services through the IRS's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.
Park Pride
http://www.parkpride.org/
Park Pride, Atlanta
675 Ponce de Leon Ave., NE
8th Floor
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
About:
Park Pride, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1989, leads and inspires action for parks and greenspace. In 2007, Park Pride coordinated more than 20,000 hours of volunteer work in Atlanta parks, developed new conceptual park plans for seven parks and helped start more than a dozen “Friends of the Park” groups. Park Pride is able to engage and serve the community by generating Friends of the Park groups, focusing on advocacy efforts as well as promoting participation in its Adopt-a-Park, Park Visioning, Volunteer, Fiscal Partners and Micro Grant programs. Park Pride continued to work with local organizations and community members to support the creation of the Atlanta BeltLine, which promises to create more than 1,000 acres of new parks and 33 miles of trails. The organization’s annual Parks & Greenspace Conference serves as the signature event in our work to create a world class park system in Atlanta.
Mission Statement
To lead and inspire action for parks and greenspace.
Vision Statement
To create a world-class park system in Atlanta
Park Pride, Atlanta
675 Ponce de Leon Ave., NE
8th Floor
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
About:
Park Pride, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1989, leads and inspires action for parks and greenspace. In 2007, Park Pride coordinated more than 20,000 hours of volunteer work in Atlanta parks, developed new conceptual park plans for seven parks and helped start more than a dozen “Friends of the Park” groups. Park Pride is able to engage and serve the community by generating Friends of the Park groups, focusing on advocacy efforts as well as promoting participation in its Adopt-a-Park, Park Visioning, Volunteer, Fiscal Partners and Micro Grant programs. Park Pride continued to work with local organizations and community members to support the creation of the Atlanta BeltLine, which promises to create more than 1,000 acres of new parks and 33 miles of trails. The organization’s annual Parks & Greenspace Conference serves as the signature event in our work to create a world class park system in Atlanta.
Mission Statement
To lead and inspire action for parks and greenspace.
Vision Statement
To create a world-class park system in Atlanta
Chattahoochee Nature Center
http://www.chattnaturecenter.com/
9135 Willeo Road
Roswell, GA 30075
CNC is dedicated to introducing people to the ecology of the Chattahoochee River watershed and works to provide a learning environment that allows people to better understand their impact on the natural world and make informed decisions.
What to Bring
Binoculars
Camera
Good Walking Shoes
Picnic Lunch
Rain Gear
Sunscreen
For the protection of our resident wildlife, we do not allow pets on the grounds. Smoking and alcohol are not allowed. Film and disposable cameras, snacks, beverages and rain ponchos are available in the Nature Store. Limited picnic areas are available for use on a first-come basis.
The Creeks named the river, Chatto-hoche, river of painted rock. It rised out of the rocks in the Blue Ridge Mountains, trickles through forest as it flows southwest and south to mingle its waters with the Flint, and rolls into the sea more than 500 miles from its birth.
Centuries later, as our population has grown, the Chattahoochee has become the most endangered natural resource in metro Atlanta. More than 4 million residents depend on 300 million gallons a day for water supply and discharge of wastewater.
Protection & Conservation
There are over 75 native animals unable to survive in the wild due to imprinting or injury that now work as partners in education at the Chattahoochee Nature Center. Visitors can watch beavers busy with construction, get close to an opossum or learn to recognize the shrill call of a barn owl.
The CNC works with other organizations to rescue, propagate and reintroduce threatened and endangered native Georgia plant species. The nature center is spangled with hundreds of native plant species, blooming with sensational aromas and attracting all types of wildlife thriving on their bounty.
Hands-on Environmental Education
The Chattahoochee Nature Center fosters environmental stewardship through partnerships with local schools. More that 30,000 students connect to CNC each school year through hands-on interactive learning experiences and curricular programs designed to comply with Georgia’s teaching standards.
CNC also offers programs in home schooling and specialized study courses to achieve Scout achievement badge requirements.
The exciting experiences connect today’s youth to the natural world, stimulate curiosity and help build critical thinking skills. CNC’s staff of experienced certified naturalists offer support and specialized knowledge to our teaching partners in the classroom.
Self-Guided Interpretation of the Local Environment
Each year, more than 30,000 people from metro Atlanta, the Southeast and around the world come to learn about the Chattahoochee by exploring on their own. They follow interpretive signage through the gardens, then along the forest trails. A shaded boardwalk takes them through a bottomland hardwood forest and marsh habitat to reach the river.
In addition, the CNC offers regular programs throughout the week during which visitors can enjoy a hands-on experience with a trained naturalist, enjoying guided hikes, animal encounters, storytelling and special entertainment at no extra charge.
After 30 Years, CNC is Still Expanding with the Growing Demands of the Environment
In 2006, the city of Roswell will expand its ambitious river greenway project, “Roswell River Walk, to include the recreational area fronting the Chattahoochee Nature Center. Ultimately, it will connect to similar riverfront trails underdevelopment in Cobb and Gwinnett counties, forming the metro Atlanta component of the 180-mile statewide Chattahoochee River Greenway corridor. The CNC, squarely in the center of this corridor, is a unique place to focus on the ecology of this valuable natural resource and the role people play in protecting it.
9135 Willeo Road
Roswell, GA 30075
CNC is dedicated to introducing people to the ecology of the Chattahoochee River watershed and works to provide a learning environment that allows people to better understand their impact on the natural world and make informed decisions.
What to Bring
Binoculars
Camera
Good Walking Shoes
Picnic Lunch
Rain Gear
Sunscreen
For the protection of our resident wildlife, we do not allow pets on the grounds. Smoking and alcohol are not allowed. Film and disposable cameras, snacks, beverages and rain ponchos are available in the Nature Store. Limited picnic areas are available for use on a first-come basis.
The Creeks named the river, Chatto-hoche, river of painted rock. It rised out of the rocks in the Blue Ridge Mountains, trickles through forest as it flows southwest and south to mingle its waters with the Flint, and rolls into the sea more than 500 miles from its birth.
Centuries later, as our population has grown, the Chattahoochee has become the most endangered natural resource in metro Atlanta. More than 4 million residents depend on 300 million gallons a day for water supply and discharge of wastewater.
Protection & Conservation
There are over 75 native animals unable to survive in the wild due to imprinting or injury that now work as partners in education at the Chattahoochee Nature Center. Visitors can watch beavers busy with construction, get close to an opossum or learn to recognize the shrill call of a barn owl.
The CNC works with other organizations to rescue, propagate and reintroduce threatened and endangered native Georgia plant species. The nature center is spangled with hundreds of native plant species, blooming with sensational aromas and attracting all types of wildlife thriving on their bounty.
Hands-on Environmental Education
The Chattahoochee Nature Center fosters environmental stewardship through partnerships with local schools. More that 30,000 students connect to CNC each school year through hands-on interactive learning experiences and curricular programs designed to comply with Georgia’s teaching standards.
CNC also offers programs in home schooling and specialized study courses to achieve Scout achievement badge requirements.
The exciting experiences connect today’s youth to the natural world, stimulate curiosity and help build critical thinking skills. CNC’s staff of experienced certified naturalists offer support and specialized knowledge to our teaching partners in the classroom.
Self-Guided Interpretation of the Local Environment
Each year, more than 30,000 people from metro Atlanta, the Southeast and around the world come to learn about the Chattahoochee by exploring on their own. They follow interpretive signage through the gardens, then along the forest trails. A shaded boardwalk takes them through a bottomland hardwood forest and marsh habitat to reach the river.
In addition, the CNC offers regular programs throughout the week during which visitors can enjoy a hands-on experience with a trained naturalist, enjoying guided hikes, animal encounters, storytelling and special entertainment at no extra charge.
After 30 Years, CNC is Still Expanding with the Growing Demands of the Environment
In 2006, the city of Roswell will expand its ambitious river greenway project, “Roswell River Walk, to include the recreational area fronting the Chattahoochee Nature Center. Ultimately, it will connect to similar riverfront trails underdevelopment in Cobb and Gwinnett counties, forming the metro Atlanta component of the 180-mile statewide Chattahoochee River Greenway corridor. The CNC, squarely in the center of this corridor, is a unique place to focus on the ecology of this valuable natural resource and the role people play in protecting it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)