We hope 2020 is off to a great start for you! After ten years of hard work in the neighborhood, we saw a number of good things bloom in 2019. I wanted to share some of them with you as we look forward to another year.
One of the big blessings and challenges was relocating to a new location right at the end of the year. Thanks to the generosity of Brookhaven Presbyterian Church, we moved our office, studio, and pop-up shop base to 1294 N Druid Hills Rd NE, Brookhaven, GA 30319. While we’re in a new office, our vision and work remains focused on the children of immigrants in our neighborhood.
Through neighborhood-based tutoring, mentoring and personal development, Presencia helps kids see the beauty in themselves and recognize it in others, inspiring the next generation of leaders in Atlanta's immigrant community.
In 2019, we...
Served 2,904 individual, hot, nutritious meals.
Provided 1,980 hours of homework assistance to kids in our community.
Served 2,904 servings of fresh fruit to the kids afterschool.
Paid 7 young leaders to serve as Presencia staff. This experience helps them grow, supports their future, and serves them well on job applications, scholarships, and college applications.
Enjoyed our first full year in our new apartment space in our neighborhood.
Hosted 8 Pop-up Shops, providing our staff and youth with the opportunity to share their stories, engage new partners and share about the important work of Presencia.
Partnered with Atlanta Workshop Players and Tower Lights Foundation to provide performing arts camps and class for our students throughout the year. Through this program they develop confidence, courage, collaborative skills, and broaden their creativity and understanding of themselves and others.
Hosted 10 career speakers to share about what they do, why they love it and how our kids could do it too!
Helped two of our Presencia staff register for college. They were the first in their families to ever take this step.
Partnered with Los Vecinos De Buford Highway, Local Adventurer, Gwinnett Tech, WonderRoot, Off the Wall Atlanta, Colin Kaepernick’s “Know Your Rights” Camp, and Super Science Kids to provide our community with opportunities for school choice, travel, leadership development, team building, empowerment, education, access to internet, and research projects.
Received a $25,000 matching grant through meeting our 2019 year end goal of $25,000 for our 2020 staff development and care!
Looking back at all the good that happened in our work last year fills us with hope and gives us clearer vision moving into the new year. Will you help us bring more good things into bloom in our neighborhood in 2020 by becoming a financial partner this year? You can set up a monthly or one-time gift here.
With deep gratitude,
Ruth Ann North
Executive Director
