Cobb Collaborative's annual Fourth Quarter General Membership Meeting & Human Services Awards Luncheon was held on Wednesday, December 8. We would like to thank First Citizens Bank for sponsoring the luncheon for this event. We would also like to thank Amy Crowell, author of the A-Z Guide to Event Fundraising and founder of Next Stage Advisors for sponsoring our general membership meetings for 2021.

Each year, the Cobb Collaborative honors members of our community who have exhibited outstanding service to those in need in Cobb County. Jack Vaughan, Jr. was a state representative and member of the Cobb Collaborative who showed unselfish dedication to public service and strongly advocated for those less fortunate in our community. In memory of Jack’s service, the Collaborative honors a volunteer and a professional who have gone above and beyond to serve those in need.

We would like to extend CONGRATULATIONS to the following winners of the Jack Vaughan Jr Human Services Awards for 2021:

Debbie’s motto is, “Imagine having no one to look out for you. These individuals deserve a home, not just a place to stay. They need to be cared for, and SNC is going to be their family since they don’t have one. We are here for them for life!” This motto is a driving force with her dedication to the mission of Special Needs Cobb as she works toward her mission to educate, publicly serve and advocate for those less fortunate.

Don is known for having a "a tireless devotion to the cause of poverty" that is "relentlessly self-sacrificing." One of his most outstanding volunteer efforts is donating his time to lead an initiative to build a new campus with a shelter custom-designed for our unsheltered neighbors in need. This $21-million campus in Marietta is currently under construction.

This year’s Bill Hanson Collaboration award goes to an individual and the organization that she leads that have embodied the spirit of this award for many months now. Shari B. Martin, President and CEO of the Cobb Community Foundation, convened a cross-sector group of individuals beginning in March 2020 to identify the most pressing issues of the day, organize data and supply chain management approaches to scarce resources, connect people and organizations and encourage people to work together. Shari was instrumental in the first round of funding from our county government being approved and continues to advocate for responsible investments from a variety of funders to this day.

L to R: Jimmy Pace - Marietta City Schools, Shari Martin - Cobb Community Foundation, Debbie Day - Special Needs Cobb, Angela Phelps - MUST Ministries, Don Hausfeld - MUST Ministries, Debbie Ginnochio - Sweetwater Mission, Richard Pellegrino - We Thrive in Riverside Renters Association, William H. "Skip" Harper - The Extension, June VanBrackle - Senior Citizen Council of Cobb County, Soumaya Khalifa - Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta, Carolynn Puffe - Rescuing Hope, and Crystal Filiberto - Atlanta Angels.

We are excited to move into a new year and look forward to continuing to work together in 2022 and beyond to improve outcomes for children and families in Cobb County. We value our Board of Directors and appreciate their willingness to serve.

We recently dedicated the "Sweet 16th" LFL at Cobb County School District's International Welcome Center in Smyrna. What makes this LFL extra sweet is that it is full of multilingual books donated by the Khanna family of Marietta. They collected and donated these books so that children and families who immigrate to Cobb County will have the comfort and familiarity of having books in their native language Read more about this LFL on our Facebook page by clicking here.

Little Free Library #17 was dedicated at Kingsley Village Apartments in the Riverside Community recently. This LFL was built by CCSD students in the CTAE program at Allatoona High School. Long-time community champion and parent advocate Monica Delancy spearheaded the effort to get the LFL installed. You can read more about this LFL by clicking here.

LFL #18 of 21 in 2021 was dedicated at the South Cobb Early Learning Center in Mableton. This LFL at will give their pre-k students greater access to books which will help build their early literacy skills before elementary school. This, in turn, sets them up for academic success! Tune into our social media channels on Friday for more on this LFL.

At Cobb Collaborative, we are driven by a passion to improve outcomes for children and families in Cobb County. We are proud to work alongside our members and community partners as we all strive toward the betterment of our community.

We would like to welcome new members Strengthening Her Evolution, Inc and Kate's Club to the Collaborative! We would also like to recognize the following member organizations who renewed in recent weeks:

As a reminder, some Collaborative member benefits include:

If you have any questions concerning membership, benefits, etc. please contact Irene Barton. For member communications, including social media, website and newsletter, please contact Kelly Mellen.

Are you caring for a loved one and need a little more training and understand on your role? Senior Services Cobb County has partnered with Trualta to offer an online course that you can take at your own pace, according to your schedule. Trualta is a personalized, skills-based training platform for family members caring for aging loved ones living at home. Please click here for more information and registration.

Apply today by clicking here. The deadline for applications is Dec 19, 2021. Selected projects will kick-off in March. Projects can focus on almost any area of business and should be something that can be completed in 10 weeks by a team of 4-6 volunteer consultants.

Please click here for our special edition newsletter that contains resources for Nonprofits.

Jack Vaughan Jr Human Services Award Nominee in the Volunteer category, Richard Pellegrino, has graciously extended an offer to Cobb Collaborative and its member.

From Rich: "I am inviting any and all from the Collaborative and its organizations to be my guest any Monday night at Sparkles at our Flashback Mondays, which I host and provide the “oldies” music playlist for; anyone can say they are with 'Rich' and will get free admission. Have a great holiday season!"

Thank you, Rich!

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We are constantly adding new events to our calendar! Be sure to check out our website for a full list of upcoming programming.

Please help Cobb Collaborative increase our outreach and advocacy reach by: