HOMELESS HEROES DAY
RECAP
The Backpack Project is proud to share that Homeless Heroes Day 2021 achieved our ambitious goal of packing and hand-delivering backpacks to more than 1,500 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 and the help of over 150 employee-volunteers - QTS Data Centers, Tata Consultancy Services, State Farm, KPMG, and U.S. Health Advisors - we were able to pack 1,500 backpacks for those in the Atlanta homeless community who were seeking support.
After having canceled HHD in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was finally able to return for its fourth and most successful year. The backpacks packed will be able to provide relief for the community of people experiencing homelessness in Atlanta, which numbers above 3,000 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you to our distribution partners - Veterans’ Empowerment Organization, the Gateway Center, Nicholas House, Salvation Army of Metro Atlanta, and the Evolution Center - for hosting us.
SPECIAL THANKS
Our student-led team could not have organized and executed HHD 2021 without the prior guidance and day-of assistance from another team of students: scholars from UGA’s Institute for Leadership Advancement. An additional shout-out goes to Carter Horne for graciously volunteering to capture the day’s joy and impact through photos and videos.
Finally, this event could not have happened without the support of David Murray (QTS), Butch Goldi (QTS), Kate Tioaquen (QTS), Darrell Giannotti (USHA), Hope Hefner (State Farm), Quateese Knox-Gunthrop (State Farm), Tony Merritt (KPMG), Todd Ellis (KPMG), and the entirety of TBP’s staff. We extend a wholehearted thanks to each of you for the integral role you played in serving 1,500 people experiencing homelessness in Atlanta and serving our nation’s heroes on Veterans Day.