Atlanta West End Rotarian Neil Shorthouse is spending his retirement founding a new organization, Partners in Change (PIC), that pairs trained volunteer coaches with adults who want to assert greater control over circumstances and challenges holding them back. Neil has recruited several Atlanta West End Rotarians to join him in this important work.

This is not Neil’s first venture … In 1972, he helped create Communities in Schools (CIS). Today, CIS is the nation's leading dropout prevention program, operating in thousands of schools in 25 states and engaging with 1.6 million children, most of whom are living in poverty. CIS surrounds students with a community of support, leading to a substantial increase in school attendance, grade promotion, and higher graduation rates.

Over the years, Neil came to see adults as the lynchpin for the transformation of economically-struggling communities. Having witnessed the long-lasting impact of intentional, personal support for youth, Neil shifted his focus to adults whom he saw as keys to children's success and community strength — creating Partners in Change in 2019. PIC offers a new approach to poverty reduction - taking coaching's proven track record of success for executives and college students and bringing that potential to people in low-income situations. PIC invests in the existing capacity within adults wanting to move their lives forward.

You can learn more about Partners in Change at their website (pictured here).