The Rotary Club of Marietta Metro has been at work at The Center for Children and Young Adults (CCYA) and the Emily Lembeck Early Learning Center in Cobb County.

CCYA: The club recently purchased and installed two brand new Speed Queen washers for The Center for Children and Young Adults. In addition, Rotarians will install new flooring in their medical assessment area to help them conform to code and better serve their residents.

The facility provides a safe and nurturing environment with comprehensive services for homeless youth and young adults who have been abused, abandoned, neglected, or are at risk. Established in 1981, CCYA serves several counties in the Atlanta area (primarily Cobb). Over the years, the fundamental goals have remained the same:1) To provide shelter, food and clothing for homeless youth and young adults in need; and, 2) to provide for the safety, education health and well-being of these young people while helping them to achieve a permanent home placement, OR, where no placement is available, transition them successfully to independence. This is a three-building campus offering four residential programs in a dormitory setting for up to 42 youth at a time. The Rotary Club of Marietta Metro has long been a supporter of CCYA.

Emily Lembeck Early Learning Center: The Center serves 3-5 year-olds identified with special needs and 4-5 year old Pre-Kindergarten students within the Marietta City community. For these children, an instructional ecosystem is created which focuses on social emotional learning and language, literacy and communication. In cooperation with the Ferst Foundation, the Rotary Club has committed to providing a beautiful new book each month for each of the approximately 140 students who attend. The books become the property of each child. In addition, Rotarians read to the students each month. There is a strong emphasis on families being very involved in the learning process so the club also sponsored parent training to help the parents know better how to supplement the classroom learning with reinforcement at home.Besides focusing on literacy, Marietta Metro Rotarians John Elliott, DDS, his dental hygienist wife, Leigh, Sally Platt, RN, and volunteer Rene Lanier conducted vision, hearing, nutritional, and dental screenings on children who were not yet screened. The connection between the ELELC and Marietta Metro Rotary is very congenial and enjoyed by all and look forward to conducting the yearlong project.