LAA northwest Georgia outreach center staff have all been vaccinated thanks to the LAA's partnerships in the region.
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LAA works with community organization and business to prioritize vaccinating Latino community
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For the past few weeks, LAA staff in northwest Georgia has played a key role in getting the Latino population vaccinated in the area. LAA northwest Georgia outreach center director, Eva Rodriguez, and her staff have developed strong relationships in the area for the past 3 years. Dalton City Councilmember Annalee Harlan recently approached the LAA NWGA office about a way to easily vaccinate a vital group of the county's workforce that oftentimes is overlooked.
“We have been persistent to be present in community conversations so we are able to representing our community,” said Eva. All the members of the LAA’s northwest Georgia staff continue to advocate for removing barriers and educating the community to diminish misinformation and vaccine hesitation.
About 5,000 people have been vaccinated in Whitfield county thanks to a partnership between the three major flooring companies in the area. 80% of those vaccines went to Latinos. Mohawk Industries, Shaw Industries and Engineered Floors, located in northwest Georgia put their competition aside to collaborate and get the majority of their employees vaccinated. “Competitors worked together for the betterment of the community,’’ said LAA CEO Santiago Marquez on the vaccination efforts in the carpet capital of the world.
In the Atlanta metro area, the LAA has pushed for vaccinations as well. On Thursday, April 15, the LAA partnered with Cruz and Associates and the Public Health Departments of Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale counties to vaccinate 100 people at Santa Fe Mall in Duluth. On April 17 and April 29, the LAA hosted a vaccination drive at our Atlanta outreach center on Buford Highway in collaboration with CORE Georgia, DeKalb County Department of Public Health and International Rescue Committee Atlanta. Through these efforts, the LAA facilitated vaccinations for approximately 370 people.
The LAA will be offering COVID-19 vaccines throughout the month of May in partnership with CORE Georgia, DeKalb County Department of Public Health and International Rescue Committee Atlanta. If you would like to receive more information about future vaccine dates, sign up here. If you would like to volunteer for upcoming vaccine drives, sign up for a volunteer shift here.
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Volunteer intern and Georgia State graduate student Xochitl Zavala (left) moved to Georgia from Mexico when her husband got a job at Home Depot as a software engineer. She has been helping Family Stabilization and Well-Being staff educate the public on the COVID-19 vaccine. Jose Vargas (right) finishes up his master's in social work at Georgia State University this spring. During his internship he spearheaded LAA volunteer coordination from August 2020 through April 2021.
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Volunteers provide vital support during pandemic
Many things have changed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic; volunteering at nonprofits has changed drastically. In the past, the LAA has relied on many in-person volunteers on a daily basis: for monitoring waiting and reception areas, administrative tasks like stuffing envelopes, providing event support and many others. Just as operational changes have taken place across the organization, so have the roles and activities of volunteers.
This spring the LAA has hosted approximately 28 volunteers across all of our departments both on-site and remotely. We had additional volunteers at food drives, vaccination drives, and virtually for events and internships.
Georgia State University master of public health student and Mexican primary care physician, Xochitl Zavala, interned at the LAA during the 2020 spring semester with our Family Stabilization and Well-Being department. She reached out to the LAA to intern there because of the ways that the LAA addresses the needs of the Latino community like food insecurity, financial assistance, and improving access to health programs and services. Xochitl has been working hard this winter and spring not only assisting in day-to-day operations at the LAA, but in developing a survey to assess the barriers that Latinos face accessing the vaccine. This month Xochitl received the approval of Georgia State’s Institutional Review Board and has begun administering her survey to clients via phone.
Jose Vargas is also a student at Georgia State, completing his master’s degree in social work. Jose has been interning with the LAA since August 2020 and largely overseeing the volunteer coordination efforts in his role. While Jose has found the role challenging during the pandemic, he has also found the role rewarding. “Generally, I am surprised at how much people want to help,” said Jose. “When COVID [felt] very real back in the fall, volunteers risked their lives to come here. That’s incredible.”
Gina Piazza is an economics major and senior at Georgia Tech. She has been volunteering in our Family Stabilization and Well-Being department since January 2021. She took many intake phone calls for the department at the beginning of the year. Then our food pantry re-opened and Gina has largely worked with the organization, packing food for clients on food distribution Thursdays. “[Volunteering at the LAA] has helped me put COVID into perspective,” said Gina, “Yes, it’s a virus and health issue, but it’s causing food insecurity and personal financial hardship in a lot of communities.” Gina came to volunteer at the LAA to keep up her Spanish, but has been so glad that she can give back in a capacity where she’s addressing large-scale issues like food insecurity in a small, but meaningful way.
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Dear friends,
Last month we hosted Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, commissioner of Georgia Department of Public Health, Dr. Kathleen Toomey and Insurance Commissioner John King for a round table discussion with many other community and business partners from our state to discuss the importance of the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines in the Latino community.
This month, we hosted the first of many vaccine drives through partnerships with many other organizations listed in the article above. We are so grateful for our partners, supporters and volunteers that made our first vaccine drives a success.
April is National Volunteer Month. We are so grateful for all of our volunteers. Our volunteers have adapted strongly during the pandemic. They continue to be mentors to our high school and middle school students. They come to our building and distribute food to those who most need it. They are college and graduate students who give their time in exchange for learning new skills. They are working or retired professionals who use their spare time to volunteer their expertise on our board of directors or advisory committees. Without our volunteers, we could not do what we do. So, thank you to our volunteers this month and every month!
Until next time,
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We invite you to join us on Thursday, June 10, for a virtual celebration of Georgia's Latino community. Keynote speaker will be Alfredo Rivera, President of North America for the Coca-Cola Company.
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Atlanta Outreach Center
2750 Buford Highway, NE
Atlanta, GA 30324
404.638.1800
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Northwest Georgia Outreach Center
508 E Morris St.
Dalton, GA 30721
706.272.1992
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Gwinnett Outreach Center
308 North Clayton St.
Lawrenceville, GA 30046
678.205.1018
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