The Big Event - Altanta Homeless Connect

On Sunday, October 25, 2009 a number of non-profit organizations, educational institutions, government agencies and the community at large will come together to recognize one important issue: Homelessness. Atlanta Homeless Connect will be Georgia's first major event to encompass a broad scope of collaboration to address homelessness using the federal government's Project Homeless Connect model. This model has been used successfully in a number of other states including California, Washington, Oregon, Iowa and Minnesota. The event will be registered as part of serve.gov, a community service initiative of President Barack Obama which runs from June 22nd to September 11th.

Here are the details of the Atlanta Homeless Connect event:

- The event will take place at Georgia State University's Sports Arena

- A number of non-profits and state government agencies such as Living Room, United Way, Salvation Army, Trinity Community Ministries, the Atlanta Mayor's office, Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Gateway, Covenant Community, The Anti-Aging & Vitality Center of Atlanta, The Sullivan Center and others will come together to provide program intake, information and resources to the community.

- We will provide refreshments and entertainment to all individuals who attend the event

- We will provide showers, hygiene kits, food, intake services and other resources to the homeless and at-risk community

- We will have a day of celebration to honor some champions to the cause of homelessness within the Atlanta area (Two pioneers in the fight to end homelessness will be retiring this year and we will honor their contributions.)

- We will showcase the many talents of homeless individuals by providing a talent show. We will also have a number of local artists from the community who would like to perform.

- Local universities will provide student volunteers and conduct a number of service projects during Atlanta Homeless Connect.

- The community at large is invited to participate and engage homeless individuals so we can increase understanding and awareness of this epidemic. (I would love to see this be an event for the whole community with food and fun. I hate the stigma of homeless in the title but we need to bring awareness to this problem.)

You are invited to help organize, participate, perform and volunteer. If you are interested in participating in this event please go to http://www.cleopatrajones.org/ to join the social network and register at serve.gov (this registration is very important in organizing the event). I will be providing you with more details about the event on the website. We can change the world one person, one household, one neighborhood, one community, one city, one state, one nation and........ one world at a time.

Cleopatra Jones Day...... Making Change One Person at a TIme

Yesterday The Cleopatra Jones Crusade, Inc. (A.K.A "The Crusade") had it's first annual celebration of Cleopatra Jones Day and it was a great success. June 11th was proclaimed by the Westchester County Board of Legislators as Cleopatra Jones Day in remembrance of Cleopatra Jones and her 50 years of service to the community. The day was celebrated by volunteering to make CHANGES: Culture, Health, Arts, Nutrition, Generosity, Education/Environment, and Service a reality in at risk communities.

In Atlanta volunteers attended a meet, greet and eat with the homeless at the Salvation Army Red Shield on Luckie Street. Volunteers participated in a number of tasks such as; feeding the homeless, working in the clothing closet to organize donations, and helping the maintenance crew with minor tasks throughout the building. Everyone learned from each other while participating in the activities and fun was had by staff, volunteers and individuals who are clients in Salvation Army programs.

Networking for collaboration of future events and volunteer opportunities were discussed by "The Crusade" and Salvation Army staff and plans for a meeting to solidify arrangements were made. The event opened doors for organizers to work together to create volunteer opportunities and make change a reality in the nearby community.

"What a great way to honor a great lady and we would love to participate in any other volunteer opportunities offered by this organization." said Alicia Brown, Lead Case Manager at Salvation Army Red Shield.

Criteria for Volunteering

The Cleopatra Jones Crusade, Inc. is a non-profit organization that concentrates it's efforts in bringing awareness to and working in at-risk communities. Many times it is necessary to recruit volunteers to work along with staff on a project in order to obtain the desired impact.

The following are the guidelines for volunteering in the community:

1) Each volunteer should work in the community to make it better and make a positive impact.
2) Each volunteer should choose an agency that has a positive mission statement and vision
3) A volunteer should never work in an agency they feel is not making positive CHANGES in the community.
4) The Cleopatra Jones Crusade does not condone working in any agency that is not promoting a positive impact in the community.
5) The Cleopatra Jones Crusade does not condone violence or explicit acts of violence towards any person
6) The Cleopatra Jones Crusade will not be held liable for any person who volunteers in the community and does not uphold the mission of the crusade.
7) The Cleopatra Jones Crusade is making a suggestion to people to volunteer in the community and people can choose when and where they volunteer.
8) Volunteers freely choose the agency/organization where they will volunteer and the work agreement is between the agency/organization and the volunteer.

Expected Outcomes from volunteering:

1) Volunteers will have a feeling of accomplishment and goodwill
2) The community will receive positive impact from the efforts of the volunteers activity
3) The community and the volunteer will both benefit intrinsically from volunteer activities

It is important for people to volunteer in their communities and make the community better for all the residents of that community. The mission and vision of the Crusade is to create and promote positive CHANGES that will profoundly affect people's lives. Volunteering in the community is not an opportunity to take advantage of anyone but rather to help others change their negative circumstances and grow as human beings. We hope all who volunteer in the community understand their help is needed to make positive change a reality and their behavior should reflect making a positive impact.

Cleopatra Jones Day - A Worldwide Initiative

The Cleopatra Jones Crusade, Inc. was created to honor the memory of Cleopatra Jones, a civil rights leader, and her crusade to make positive CHANGES in the community. Mrs. Jones was an activist in the pure sense of the word. She stood against injustice and poverty issues within the Westchester County community and worked with many politicians to promote change. 

June 11th is the day the Westchester County Board of Legislators choose as Cleopatra Jones Day in Westchester County, New York. It is a day to honor Mrs. Cleopatra Jones for her many contributions and her 50 years of service to the community.  The Crusade is a movement to follow the legacy of Cleopatra Jones by volunteering in the community and promote different events to celebrate our individuality. This year The Cleopatra Jones Crusade will be campaigning for volunteerism all over the world on June 11th.

In Atlanta, Georgia some volunteers will work at Salvation Army Red Shield on Luckie Street from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm at a meet, greet,and eat with the homeless. During this time it is the planners hope that we both volunteers and clients alike will engage in conversation to learn from one another. If you are in the Atlanta area and cannot find a place to volunteer, come and join us..... we would love to have you!