#GivingTuesday 2021

by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Nov 29, 2021

#GivingTuesday 2021

Giving Opportunity

The days following Thanksgiving have become jam packed with advertisements for all the product sales happening after the holiday. The volume of advertisements often becomes overwhelming and obnoxious.

As we reflect on all we have accomplished this year—and what still needs to be accomplished—we’re asking you to persevere through the barrage of ads and think about tomorrow. #GivingTuesday is globally recognized every year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving—this year November 30th. The purpose of the day is to inspire people to give to the causes and organizations they care about.

We’ve set a goal for $150,000, and we need your help.

We see this day as an opportunity to help more of our neighbors and to share the impact of our work. Through your tax-deductible gift, we have been able to expand opportunities in local communities and help children and families access the education options not previously available to them. We have built onto our BETTER WORK model helping connect the chronically un- and under-employed with the resources they need to get back to work. And we have partnered with community schools, churches, and organizations providing the tools families need to build healthy foundations, allowing them to withstand the stressors of life.

#GivingTuesday isn’t just about the dollars you donate. It’s about transforming lives. It’s about helping REAL people, and giving opportunity for success when there was no hope of a better life to be found. YOU can make the difference. Please, don’t wait until tomorrow to give. Give the gift of opportunity right now.

Give a gift today.

Additional Ways You Can Support The Georgia Center For Opportunity:

AmazonSmile

Find out how you can give to GCO while shopping this holiday season. It’s easy, fast, and fun!

Steps to set up AmazonSmile »

Kroger Community Rewards

Connect your Kroger Rewards card with the Kroger Community Rewards Program. If you have a card, you can connect it to Georgia Center for Opportunity by going to the community rewards and searching for PF157.

Connect your card today! »

Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner Expected To Hurt Those In Need

by Jim Eckstein | Nov 22, 2021

Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner Expected To Hurt Those In Need

The Farm Bureau Released A Report That The Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner Was Going Up Significantly.

What is happening

Many people are gathering for the first time in nearly 2 years for Thanksgiving.
A recent Farm Bureau report shows the impact of Inflation and other factors that are leading to a 14% increase in the cost of Thanksgiving dinner.
GCO’s work in our community is shedding a light on the impact higher prices is having on many communities and social support efforts.

Why it matters

The hardest hit will be those already facing food insecurity.
Inflation impacts those already living in the margins far more than it hurts many of the decision-makers
Family is a vital component to a flourishing life and can be undermined by creating a financial burden for family gatherings.

My family and I are headed home to the mid-west this Thanksgiving to see my extended family and 95-year-old mother. The pandemic kept us away from each other, and my children are really looking forward to catching up with mom and their cousins. We have a lot to be thankful for and I am extremely grateful for my parents and siblings and the love we have for each other. Family matters so much and the Eckstein’s are blessed in abundance.

I note a Farm Bureau report this week that estimates the cost of that Thanksgiving dinner to again be on the rise—up 14% from last year. Of course, last year we were in the heart of the pandemic and we hadn’t yet felt the supply chain crush brought on by lockdowns and the employment market. As a result, demand and prices were low.

The Success Sequence provides an outline of how to reverse the cycle of poverty in our communities. GCO uses this as a framework for much of our work.

Given our families blessings, we don’t feel the impact of these swings as much as some of the people we work with at GCO. We work in coalitions with partners focusing on food security, housing, and mental health. We bring our expertise in employment, education, and family relationships to make those within the partnership more effective, allowing them to have greater impact. We see a lot of families that would be impacted by even a small increase in price. It can seem hard sometimes for those blessed like us to believe that the Farm Bureau’s estimate of just under $6 for a group of 10 to eat that Thanksgiving dinner is unaffordable to some. But we can assure you that is the case. Inflation impacts the poor disproportionately and we are witnessing its devastating impacts on families daily.

Our prayer for those families—and for you and your family— is that this holiday will be a time of peace, an opportunity to be grateful for all families big and small and the communities they live in.

Can Cash Payments Help Atlanta’s Poor? | AJC

by Corey Burres | Nov 22, 2021

Can Cash Payments Help Atlanta’s Poor? | AJC

Almost three years ago, a simple yet radical experiment was begun in Stockton, Calif., based on an idea floated by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. more than half a century ago.

With no strings attached, 125 low-income residents were given $500 a month for two years.

They spent their money on food, clothes, home goods, auto costs and utilities or saved it as a cushion for emergencies. Many were spurred to find better jobs. Most reported feeling a greater sense of well-being and less anxiety and depression, organizers said…

Buzz Brockway, a former Republican state legislator now at the right-leaning think tank Georgia Center for Opportunity, said he’s open to programs that provide a flexible hand-up for low-income families. But he said such initiatives should be focused on people who are working, actively seeking a job or in a training program.

“We think that what’s important is that people begin to earn their way to self-sufficiency,” he said.

Read the full article here

School choice should be an easy choice | Gainesville Times

by Corey Burres | Nov 12, 2021

School choice should be an easy choice | Gainesville Times

Schools are not one size fits all and school choice is a freedom that all should have. According to the Georgia Center for Opportunity, the goal of school choice is to ensure that all families have options when it comes to quality education for their child whether that be public, private, homeschool, or even online and hybrid options.

Unfortunately, in most cases, the opportunity for school choice is weighed heavily on where a family lives. It is unfair and unreasonable to expect that a family move to or live out of their means in an affluent neighborhood, requiring them to pay hefty mortgages in order to send their child to the school of their choice in that area…

Read the full article here

Inflation hits 30-year high as holiday season nears | Center Square

by Corey Burres | Nov 10, 2021

Inflation hits 30-year high as holiday season nears | Center Square

The prices of everyday goods are getting increasingly more expensive, new federal data confirm.

The Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday released its monthly report on the consumer price index, a key marker of inflation, which showed that consumer prices rose 0.9% in October and are currently rising at the fastest rate in decades…

Erik Randolph, director of research for the Georgia Center for Opportunity, disagrees, pointing to increased spending under the Biden administration as a cause for concern.

“Hoping that inflation is just transitory may be wishful thinking at this point,” Randolph said. “This October report is a warning bell for Congress and the Federal Reserve to focus on fiscal spending and monetary causes. As Congress proposes spending more on programs using debt, they are at risk of causing more financial woes and not the relief they seek.”

Read the full article here