To help ease the hardship from the COVID-19 pandemic, Gwinnett Community Services has partnered with the Atlanta Community Food Bank to provide fresh and shelf-stable food to families across the county. Working with local community partners, Tuesday’s distributions have been incorporated in drive-thru, walk-up, and home delivery formats.

Nine community food distributions have been implemented since April, where staff, community partners, and volunteers have distributed more than 117,000 pounds of food and personal care items. More than 2,400 households have been served, impacting more than 10,200 residents.

In addition, residents over the age of 60 or their caregivers have been able to receive supplementary self-stable meal kits through Gwinnett Health and Human Services. Do you know of a senior facing hunger, health, or mobility issues? Visit GwinnettHumanServices.com to learn more.

In this time of uncertainty, we will continue to be agile and adaptive in supporting the needs of the communities we serve!

Meet Community Outreach Program Coordinator Jessica Stewart! Jessica is a passionate, strategic community leader who is currently completing her Master’s in Public Administration from Troy University. A lifelong Gwinnettian, Jessica is honored to be in a position to serve and promote the diversity of Gwinnett County!

Gwinnett Community Outreach promotes strategic communications and outreach with diverse constituencies, cultural events, and programs to engage and empower residents to be more informed and involved with Gwinnett County Government. Some of the signature programs include Gwinnett 101 Citizens Academy, Gwinnett Youth Commission, and Disadvantage Business Enterprise Outreach. In addition to these robust programs, Community Outreach partners with the community to honor diverse cultures found across the county. Staff has adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic by using online platforms to continue outreach efforts. For example, Community Outreach honored Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month through a webinar series, hosted a successful How to Do Business with Gwinnett County online event, and kicked off its fifth Gwinnett Youth Commission program virtually this month!

Chairman Charlotte Nash, on behalf of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, shared a digital proclamation to recognize April 19 – 25, 2020, as National Volunteer Week in Gwinnett County. The proclamation acknowledged all of Gwinnett’s volunteers for their hard work, which makes a strong, positive impact on the community.

In 2019, more than 91,000 volunteers contributed a total of 1.1 million hours valued at an estimated financial impact of more than $28 million. We want to recognize and thank the many thousands of volunteers and community partners for their generous year-round contributions, which make Gwinnett County a great place to live, work, and play. We couldn’t do it with you! We hope to celebrate with everyone in November at the annual Gwinnett Volunteer Appreciation Fair!

Do you have hard-to-dispose-of items like paints, pesticides, and batteries? Get rid of these items for free at the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event, hosted by Gwinnett Water Resources and Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful. Disposing of these items safely helps protect our natural environment from potential contaminants. The event will be held Saturday, July 18 from 8:00am to noon at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds, located at 2405 Sugarloaf Parkway in Lawrenceville. For more information, including a full list of materials that will be accepted at the event, visit Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful’s event page.

Gwinnett Health and Human Services would like to recognize Timothy Hall, an enthusiastic volunteer who is always prompt and ready to assist with general yard work for Gwinnett’s seniors. Timothy recently went above and beyond to help a local senior who needed help mowing, raking, weeding, and cleaning up their property. After assessing the Suwanee home, Timothy spent two days beautifying the 1.75-acre property.

Timothy’s invaluable service enabled the senior resident to walk safely on their steps, walkway, and driveway and enjoy the beauty of their yard. We are so lucky to work with a volunteer like Mr. Hall and cannot thank him enough for all that he does for Gwinnett’s seniors!