These funds will distributed to local support organizations helping the homeless PRESS RELEASE - August 2012 - Macon, GA
The 2012 class of Leadership Macon is working on a project to change the nature of giving in Downtown Macon by installing a series of donation stations in the city center. Each Leadership Macon class must complete a service project for the community. This year’s class was struc
k by the pervasive poverty and homelessness in Macon and Bibb County and began researching the donation station programs in cities across the country. In these tough financial times, it is important to explore every option and opportunity to raise privately funded revenue to support essential programs to fight homelessness. Donation stations supporting homeless programs have caught on around the country, with local governments, nonprofits, and business groups starting programs in such cities as Portland, Denver, Baltimore, Tempe, and Nashville. Programs raise anywhere from several thousand dollars in smaller communities, to $100,000 in larger communities like Denver. Based on the success of several of these programs and learning from the mistakes of others, the Leadership Macon class has worked with a number of community partners to build a comprehensive program for Macon that will support organizations that are members of the Macon Coalition to End Homelessness. “The Power of Change” project will provide grant opportunities to the member organizations that provide direct services to support the homeless community in Downtown. This project potentially offers a reliable revenue stream for the community’s homelessness prevention and service programs. The donation stations and this campaign would not be intended to run off panhandlers, but would educate the community about the plight of the homeless and act as an effort to redirect the dollars given to panhandlers into efforts that provide meals, job training, substance abuse counseling, housing and other support services and programs for those in need. The donation stations would essentially offer downtown patrons an alternative opportunity to contribute. Members of the class are currently working with Macon City Council to pass legislation that will allow installation of donation stations in locations throughout Downtown. The class is working to secure sponsorships that will completely cover the cost of the project and ongoing operations at no cost to the City. The fiscal agency has been secured through the Macon/Bibb County Urban Development Authority and a partnership has been established with that agency and the Community Foundation of Central Georgia for the application and granting process. Leadership Macon hopes this project would serve as the impetus for generating community awareness around homelessness in Macon/Bibb County and direct needed resources for creative solutions to these issues.
