HOMELESS HEROES DAY 2019
November 8th, 2019
RECAP
The Backpack Project is proud to share that Homeless Heroes Day 2019 achieved our ambitious goal of packing and hand-delivering backpacks to 1,250 people who were experiencing homelessness in Georgia. While exciting & fast-paced, Homeless Heroes Day was also a service-learning experience that facilitated education about homelessness as a social issue and empowered teams from participating companies to experience what it’s like to create the impact, not just fund it. Through the support of this year's participating companies - U.S. Health Advisors, Quality Technology Services (QTS), State Farm, Mercedes-Benz, and LexisNexis Risk Solutions - we were able to pack 1,250 backpacks for those in the Atlanta homeless community who were seeking support.
Thank you to our distribution partners - The Salvation Army of Atlanta, Veterans Empowerment Organization, Nicholas House, and Covenant House - for hosting us. A group of our volunteers had the unique experience of working with The Salvation Army's Veterans on the Move program to assemble 250+ care packages that will be sent to active-duty soldiers, and we couldn't be happier to honor Veterans Day in such an exciting way.
THANK YOU!
We would like to give a special thanks to our in-kind donors: Bombas, UHAUL, RefrigiWear, KIND, Gordini, and Cheeky Maiden Soap Co.
Homeless Heroes Day wouldn’t have been nearly as educational without our wonderful guest speaker, Julia Kelly from the United Way. Julia delivered an inspirational & informative talk about her experience overcoming homelessness and how she now has devoted her career to empowering homeless veterans in finding stability, employment, and housing.
Every event needs a cohesive bond, and we were lucky enough to have Gil Eplan-Frankel and John Henry Ward as ours. Thank you Gil & John Henry for hosting Homeless Heroes Day and incorporating your experience, proactive thinking, and dedicated planning to ensure that the event ran smoothly and lived up to its potential.
Thank you to our incredible photographer, videographer, and our entire PR team from Talking Dog. Your efforts in documenting the spirit, energy, and impact of Homeless Heroes Day will empower us to continue to grow both this event and The Backpack Project in the years to come.
Finally, this event could not have happened without the support of Butch Goldi (QTS), Kate Tioaquen (QTS), Darrell Giannotti (USHA), Hope Hefner (State Farm), Quateese Knox-Gunthrop (State Farm), Kat Reynolds (Mercedes-Benz), Monica Garrett (LexisNexis Risk Advisors), and the entirety of TBP’s staff. We extend a wholehearted thanks to each of you for the integral role you played in serving 1,250 people experiencing homelessness in Atlanta and serving our nation’s heroes on Veterans Day.
