Steele Bridge unveiled, Trees Atlanta reaches new milestones, interfaith efforts alive and well in Atlanta – SaportaReport

This week in 1995, Georgia was officially declared the “Peach State.”

Peaches were first introduced to the state in the 16th century by the Franciscan monks and production skyrocketed after the Civil War. While production has declined to 2.8 bushels each year, the fruit is embedded in Georgia’s culture with more than 70 roads named after peaches. 

On to other local news:

Centennial Yards pedestrian bridge unveiled, renamed Steele Bridge

A new pedestrian bridge was installed at Centennial Yards, replacing the former Nelson Street bridge, and has been renamed Steele Bridge. The new name honors Carrie Steele Logan who created a refuge for abandoned Black children in the 1800s, becoming one of Atlanta’s first African American land and business owners.

Steele was born into slavery and, after being emancipated, later worked as a maid at Atlanta’s Union Station. There, she noticed abandoned African American children so she began to house them in empty boxcars while she worked. She went on to start an orphanage and wrote and sold an autobiography, allowing her to buy a property and a three-story brick home. The Carrie Steele-Pitts Home is still open today, serving over 20,000 children. Steele rests in Oakland Cemetery.

A dedication ceremony was held on April 4 — 404 Day — and included Mayor Andre Dickens, councilmembers and representatives from the Carrie Steele-Pitts Home. The new bridge spans 500 feet, is covered in a pattern of blue and green and includes a small public plaza on the eastern end.

— Hannah E. Jones

Trees Atlanta reaches new milestones

It is a time of change and growth for Trees Atlanta, a nonprofit that was founded 38 years ago.

Greg Levine assumed the title as the sole executive director of Trees Atlanta on April 1. Levine had been serving as co-executive director with Connie Veates, an innovative dual leadership structure that had been in place since 2011 when founder Marcia Bansley retired.

Levine and Veates hosted their final joint duty on March 30 when they led the official ribbon cutting ceremony of the new Trees Atlanta Kendeda TreeHouse at 825 Warner St. S.W.

The new facility is designed to engage surrounding communities and increase the presence of Trees Atlanta in the region.

The organization now serves 14 cities in metro Atlanta, and it is positioned to address urgent environmental issues in the region.

Levine thanked Veates for her leadership.

“Connie has been a fantastic partner,” Levine said. “She is a strategic, decisive, collaborative, and a growth-minded leader. I am very excited for her, as she will be using her talents as a consultant to help other nonprofits.”

Trees Atlanta will hold a Community Open House at its new location on Earth Day – Saturday, April 22.

The organization also announced its 2023 Tree Champions: philanthropist Diana Blank, Central Atlanta Progress, volunteer Jean Millkey, Delta Air Lines and the Peachtree Hills neighborhood for seeking to protect and improve Atlanta’s tree canopy.

— Maria Saporta

Interfaith efforts alive and well in Atlanta

Spring is an especially holy time of year ­for numerous religions.

Atlanta held several interfaith events to honor the various faiths in our community.

The Atlanta Jewish Committee held its 2023 Atlanta Unity Seder at the Temple on March 29 with the involvement of Christians, Jews and Muslims.

In the program, the AJC stated: “Pluralism of thought, identity, culture, background and faith make us a stronger and more compassionate society.”

For several people in attendance, it was their first time at a seder and even their first time in a synagogue.

Another example of Atlanta’s interfaith spirit was the Islamic Speakers Bureau’s annual Ramadan Iftar event held in the atrium of Atlanta’s City Hall on April 4. 

The event included comments of unity from Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, continuing a tradition that ISB of Atlanta, under the leadership of Soumaya Khalifa, started in 2017 in partnership with City Hall.

The evening also provided attendees with a greater understanding of the month of Ramadan when practicing Muslims fast daily until sunset. 

— Maria Saporta

Home Depot Backyard releases 2023 schedule with 170-plus free events

The folks with The Home Depot Backyard — an 11-acre multi-use greenspace adjacent to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium — recently announced over 170 free community events that kick off on April 24. This year’s 27-week schedule is themed “BE OUT5IDE,” which promotes outdoor activity while also playing on five years of the Backyard.

The schedule includes a whole gamut of events. The health and wellness events include yoga, Zumba, senior fitness and more. Expanded learning classes will focus on STEAM education, self-defense and outdoor cooking classes. Arts and culture programming feature dance, DJ workshops, poetry and improv classes.

Last year, over 7,100 folks participated in the 100 community events offered. To check out the 2023 schedule in further detail, click here.

— Hannah E. Jones

Chamblee Hosting Book Drive for Sister City in Ukraine

The City of Chamblee, in partnership with the Georgia Branch of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America and the Chamblee Library, is accepting book donations to stock an English-language library in Kovel, Ukraine.

The city aims to donate at least 1,000 books in different genres to ship to the library. Books can be dropped off at the Chamblee City Hall on Broad Street or the Chamblee Library on Clairmont Road. 

In addition to accepting books, the Georgia Branch of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America is accepting donations to assist with shipping the donated books. 

For more information, visit their website.

— Allison Joyner

ADL Southeast honors Ed Bastian for fighting hate

The annual Torch of Liberty event of the Anti-Defamation League Southeast on March 30 at the Delta Flight Museum was bittersweet.

It was bitter because of the rise in anti-Semitism around the country and the region.

“We are living in times of rising hatred,” said Allison Padilla-Goodman, ADL’s regional vice president. “In 2022, we saw the highest number of antisemitism incidents in our history.”

ADL has countered that rise with “No Place for Hate” campaigns in schools throughout the state.

Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines, was honored with ADL’s Torch of Liberty award for his leadership in standing up for anti-discrimination legislation and for voting rights.

“We can’t just keep preaching to the choir,” said Doug Hertz upon presenting the award. “We need leaders in the community like Ed Bastian.”

The Spirit of Delta was prevalent during the dinner – the actual 767 that employees donated to the airline 40 years ago was the backdrop during the event.

“This is our living room,” Bastian said. “We are holding tonight’s dinner at a very important time. [ADL’s] work today is more important than ever in showing what we need to do to counter hate.”

Barry Berlin, co-chair of the dinner, set a goal to raise $767,000 during the dinner, asking dinner patrons to contribute.

“I think we set our goal too low,” Berlin said at the end of the dinner, announcing that $772,000 had been raised.

Without making an announcement, Delta contributed $250,000 to the dinner.

— Maria Saporta

Clark Atlanta partners with University of Lomé to promote economic development

Earlier this week, the presidents of the University of Lomé and Clark Atlanta University (CAU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Lomé, Togo, in a partnership facilitated by the World Bank Group.

The partnership will create opportunities for students and faculty to collaborate on research and promote more inclusive and sustainable social and economic development.

“Recognizing the great interest by HBCUs in research exchanges and collaboration with strong African education institutions, bringing these institutions together has been a priority. I look forward to the World Bank Group’s continued role as a convening entity to help forge partnerships among educational institutions,” said David Malpass, President of World Bank Group.

“The cutting-edge research of Clark Atlanta and the University of Lomé will be further amplified through this transnational collaboration and represent an inflection point within higher education with creative modalities of engagement in the mission to eradicate extreme poverty,” said Dr. George French, President of CAU.

Since 2014, the World Bank has provided more than $600 million through the ACE program to support more than 70 centers across 20 countries across Africa. In Western and Central Africa, the World Bank’s annual commitment to education tripled between 2018 and 2021 from $400 million to $1.2 billion.

— Allison Joyner

Heroes, Saints & Legends honorees announced

The Foundation of Wesley Woods will honor Veronica Biggins, former Gov. Nathan Deal and his late wife, Sandra Deal, at its annual Heroes, Saints & Legend Gala.

The gala will be held on the evening of Sept. 21 at Flourish in Buckhead. The awards honor people who have had a lifetime of achievement and commitment to leadership, service and philanthropy.

The event, founded in 1990, is the major fundraiser for the Foundation of Wesley Woods, which has 10 retirement communities throughout north Georgia, providing various levels of care for its residents.

Biggins has spent more than four decades working in Atlanta’s corporate and civic community, working primarily in the search industry. Biggins also served as director of presidential personnel under President Bill Clinton.

Gov. Deal served as the 82nd governor of Georgia from 2011 to  2019. During his tenure, De Georgia became the number one state in the nation for business multiple years in a row. He also emerged as a strong leader in criminal justice reform.

During her tenure as Georgia’s first lady, the late Sandra Deal championed reading and literacy across the state, appearing at more than 800 schools — reading to students in all of Georgia’s 159 counties.

“Our 2023 honorees are true icons of Georgia and embody the very best of what it means to be true leaders and public servants,” said Diane Vaughan, president of Wesley Woods Foundation. ” It is an honor to recognize their lifelong service and leadership with the Heroes, Saints, and Legends Award.”

— Maria Saporta

CareSource helps relaunch Safe Families for Children in Georgia

There are over 11,000 children in Georgia’s foster care system. CareSource and Safe Families for Children (SFFC) are working to reduce that number. CareSource recently donated $200,000 to relaunch SFFC’s local chapter, Safe Families for Children in Georgia.

CareSource is a mission-driven Medicaid plan serving over 500,000 Georgians and SFFC is an organization that works to keep children from going into the foster care system. The organization has over 100 chapters across the U.S. and 79 percent of participating families stayed out of the foster system. 

Under this program, the organizations aim to become a long-term mentoring resource to support vulnerable families while also preventing children from entering foster care. Using this model, children and families will have access to “health care friends,” who will help caregivers navigate Medicaid resources, health care options and assistance programs. These mentors will also help families navigate obstacles like childcare or transportation.

“We’ve seen the benefits of Safe Families for Children in other states and are proud to help bring this resource to Georgia,” wrote Kellie Hans-Reid, CareSource director of child and family health. “The addition of health care friends will lessen the stress parents, foster parents, and caregivers face by providing mentorship to help families navigate the resources available to them – working together to address the needs of families in crisis and maintain a safe and healthy home environment. In order to ensure healthy outcomes for children, we must also support those who love and care for them.”

— Hannah E. Jones