Central Homeless Shelter Projects

North Atlanta Rotary historically goes to the Central Shelter in downtown Atlanta during February to serve the homeless men. This February was no different. PP Don Millen made arrangements for roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, rolls, ice cream and cookies, a dinner for 75 individuals. He also procured sandwich meat, bread, condiments, bananas and chips for a sack lunch. We took these items down to the shelter on a chilly night where the men that could, had a safe and warm place to stay, with a delicious hot meal.

At lunch earlier that day club members created a production line to produce 75 goodie bags: two pairs of socks, two hand warmers, a small packet of wipes, a friendly hand written note of encouragement with Rotary Has Heart on it, and put all this into a zip lock baggie. These were given out with the sack lunch the next morning as the men left the shelter for their day. Yes, six of our volunteers stayed the night, spelling each other in two hour shifts, as chaperones.

This hands on service project touches your heart as a volunteer. I helped check in at the door and spoke briefly with each individual. I learned from the coordinator the process these folks have to go through in order to be allowed to come into the shelter. It was quite an experience and helps me understand why this is one of those projects NA Rotary does each year, even during Atlanta's snomagedden!