Community Newsletter Launch

The Georgia Tech Office of Government and Community Relations (GCR) is proud to bring you the inaugural issue of Community Buzz, a newsletter to keep you informed about Tech's engagement in the metro-Atlanta community.  In keeping with the school's motto of "Progress and Service", Community Buzz will present contributions Tech students, faculty and staff are making to improve the quality of life for all people within Tech's reach both near and afar.  The newsletter will also provide it's readers with opportunities for volunteerism, and news and information on events in Tech's surrounding neighborhoods.  "It's our goal to better connect the students, faculty, and staff at Tech to opportunities for service in the community, but also share the outstanding service individuals at our institution are engaged with off campus", said GCR executive director, Dene Sheheane.  Community Buzz will be a publication distributed electronically every semester. 

K-12 and Beyond

The Atlanta Girls School

The Atlanta Girls' School (AGS) is looking for tutors to volunteer in their Learning Lab.  If you have 1 hour of open time per week, and would like to either tutor a subject or help students learn organizational skills, please consider this opportunity.  Tech students have staffed the Learning Lab at AGS for the past two years and we'd like to continue the tradition.   For more information on AGS, see www.atlantagirlsschool.org.  Students are girls in grades 6-12, but men are very welcome to work as tutors.  AGS is just a few minutes from Tech's campus by car.  The Learning Lab is open Monday through Thursday, 3:00 - 4:00 pm, and Friday 7:45 - 8:45 am.  Tutors are needed for all academic subject areas at the middle and high school levels.  For more information, contact Beth Spencer at at Beth.spencer@provost.gatech.edu

Centennial Place Elementary
The Ferst Center for the Arts has announced their Arts Education Program Workshops for the 2011-2012 season.  The Arts Education Program is an education program designed to expose students and their families at Centennial Place Elementary to the Arts by allowing them to attend select events at the Ferst Center.  In addition to attending performances, students also attend workshops with the artists and receive study guides which incorporate curriculum based on the Georgia Educational Standards.  Workshop dates are as follows:

• Jade Simmons (Classical Pianist) - February 17, 2012
• Earl Klugh (Jazz Guitarist) - March 2, 2012
• Jake Shimabukuro (Ukulele) - March 30, 2012 

In addition to the workshops, comedian Bill Cosby, and pianist David Benoit have special events where students will have the opportunity to meet the artists, and even sing along.  Centennial Place is an official partner school of Georgia Tech.

CEISMC K.I.D.S. Club Science Saturdays

K.I.D.S. Club is a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) program for 2nd-5th grade students to help promote interest and success in STEM disciplines.  K.I.D.S. Club is held in the Instructional Center on Tech's campus, and is easily accessible to anyone living on campus.  Volunteers are needed mostly to help with classroom management, the K.I.D.S. will participate in hands-on experiments that allow them to further discover and understand STEM concepts.  K.I.D.S. Club runs from 9am-Noon on Saturdays November 12, December 3 , March 3, and March 24.  Volunteers will need to arrive at 8am and will be done by 12:30pm, coffee and snacks will be provided.  Volunteers will get to participate in the activities while helping K.I.D.S. explore STEM concepts in exciting ways.  For more information contact Andrew Burch at andrew.burch@ceismc.gatech.edu.

The Scholarship Academy

The Scholarship Academy will host their second annual I am College Material scholarship fair.  The mission of The Scholarship Academy is to encourage low-income/first-generation high school students to consider college as a realistic possibility. Their aim is to increase the amount of non-federal financial aid “average” students obtain by equipping them with the necessary tools to aggressively pursue viable scholarship options.
The fair will be held at Atlanta City Hall, November 3, from 4:00 - 8:00 pm.  The event is being hosted by council-member Aaron Watson.

Hands On Future Tech 2011

On November 19, the Georgia Tech student chapter of the National Organization for the Professional Development of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChe), and the Center on Materials and Devices for Information Technology Research (CMDITR) will host Future Tech 2011 at the Georgia Tech Student Center.  This event is a program for boys in grades 6, 7, and 8 who are interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). The program is open to all boys, their parents and teachers.   

Boys will participate in hands-on STEM activities with science and engineering students, faculty, and industry representatives. There will also be workshops and career panels for students and parents. The overall goal for this event is to expose participants to the STEM disciplines that are part of their everyday life, show that STEM careers are interesting and exciting, and expose students and parents to the necessary academic background and courses recommended for high school and college.  Participants will be given information on other Tech programs and metro- Atlanta programs that will help sustain their interest in STEM.  For more information, contact Keith Oden at keith.oden@chemistry.gatech.edu.
The event will be held in the Georgia Tech Student Center Ballroom, 350 Ferst Dr., Atlanta, GA 30332.

Centers of Hope

During his campaign for Mayor, Kasim Reed promised to re-open and maintain all the City of Atlanta recreation centers. Mayor Reed made good on that promise by garnering the necessary funding from both public and private sources, and continues to expand the programs available at city recreation centers.  Many centers were designated as Centers of Hope, whose mission is to provide a safe productive environment for kids after school, but also incorporate programs such as mentoring, fitness, acting, dance, and robotics.  Tech has been an active supporter of the Centers, but additional volunteers are always needed to enable them to maintain the provision of quality service.  To get involved with any of the Centers of Hope, contact J. Nicholas Williams, Interim Director, at jnwilliams@atlantaga.gov. The Office of Government and Community Relations collaborates with various departments at Tech to provide mentoring and tutoring services in APS and the Centers of Hope.  If you're interested in serving as a tutor or mentor, please contact Chris Burke, Director of Community Relations at chris.burke@gatech.edu.

Neighborhoods

Atlanta Promise Neighborhoods

A consortium of universities, local government agencies, and non-governmental organizations are collaborating to develop an action plan to improve the health and educational achievement in neighborhoods just west of Tech's campus.  The Atlanta Promise Neighborhood is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Education that seeks to improve the educational development of children in a designated 1.7 mile radius which includes the communities of Vine City, Washington Park, Ashview Heights, Bankhead, West End, Mechanicsville, English Ave., and Adair Park.  These neighborhoods were selected because demographics illustrated them to be of greatest need. The program is modeled on the Harlem Children's Zone and other successful programs geared at improving educational components in the most distressed urban communities.  The Morehouse School of Medicine received the planning grant to develop a comprehensive strategy, which first required the identifying of specific indicators to gauge how the APN compares to the rest of the City of Atlanta, but also to allow researchers to determine programs effectiveness once they have been implemented.  Much of the focus is centered around the physical and emotional health of the children in these neighborhoods.  With this in mind, strategies for creating a healthy environment underline the five indicators developed by the advisory committee: education, housing/public infrastructure, safety/security, economic development, and health and wellness.  The Morehouse School of Medicine along with the support of The United Way recently applied for a second round of funding to implement the strategies developed.  A decision on funding should be determined before year's end.  For more information about APN, go to
http://www.msm.edu/atlantapromiseneighborhoods/.  The Office of Government & Community Relations joined the Advisory Board of the Atlanta Promise Neighborhood earlier this summer.

Home Park

The Home Park Community Improvement Association (HPCIA) represents the Home Park neighborhood just north of Tech's campus.  The HPCIA holds regular monthly meetings the second Tuesday of every month, and encourages the participation of students residing in the neighborhood.  To get more involved in the community, go to the their website at http://www.homepark.org or email them at hpcia@yahoo.com.  

Project Wrap Around & Community Job Fair

Tech will partner with the Integrity Community Development Corporation to implement a program geared to revitalize the English Avenue neighborhood.  Project Wrap Around is a program administered by Integrity that will provide job training necessary to work on home renovation and other construction projects in the community and offer financial literacy counseling services.  Through Project Wrap Around, Integrity will purchase vacant properties for demolition or remodeling, and hold weekly neighborhood clean-ups to rid the neighborhood of illegal dump sites and overgrown lots.  The program is funded in-part through the city of Atlanta Weed and Seed program.  Tech will provide technical assistance with home design, and volunteers for clean-up projects.

Hands On Tech
HOA is launching a new program aimed at increasing the non-profit sectors knowledge and use of technology, Hands On Tech. HOA will match program volunteers to select non-profits with the intent of increasing their capacity for service and overall understanding about how technology can benefit their organization.  HOA is currently seeking volunteers to ensure this effort is successful.  For more information please contact Kelly Harcrow at khacrow@handsonatlanta.org or at 404-979-2847. 

A Day of Service
To commemorate the ten-year anniversary of September 11, Hands On Atlanta held a weekend of charitable events around metro-Atlanta for its Day of Service event.  This replaced their annual Hands On Atlanta Day, typically held in October.  Tech partnered with Hands On Atlanta to provide volunteers for their Discovery Program.  Discovery is a volunteer-led Saturday tutoring and enrichment program that supports Monday through Friday homework assistance, tutoring, educational games, and enrichment through field trips and service-learning projects.  For the Day of Service event, children in the Discovery Program decorated mugs and filled them with goodies for local servicemen and women, and created care packages for military families.  For more information about how you can volunteer with Hands On Atlanta, go to http://www.handsonatlanta.org/. 

Grove Park Community Land Trust

The Grove Park neighborhood recently completed the process of garnering a Community Land Trust designation.  This designation allows the community to establish non-profit status which will provide them the opportunity to seek grants and other funding for community improvement projects.  Tech graduate students in the school of City and Regional Planning are providing assistance with conducting an inventory of existing housing stock to provide a snapshot of the neighborhood, and develop an action plan for community improvement. Grove Park is located about three miles northwest of Tech’s campus.  For more information about the Grove Park Community Land Trust, click here. 

Atlantic Station Fan Fest

Atlantic Station continues to host Tech football fans every Friday evening prior to home football games. The Fan Fest provides a tailgating-style atmosphere with food, live-music and fun for students, alumni, and fans. Atlantic Station also offers gameday parking and shuttles to and from Bobby Dodd Stadium.