Everyday Heroes: Kali Cunningham

Ten years ago, Cunningham founded Huglife Cares, a nonprofit organization designed to give back to the community. He regularly hosts community cleanups, back to school drives, feed the hungry events, turkey drives, and other events to help Atlantans in need.

Originally from South Central, Los Angeles, Cunningham moved to Atlanta in 2000. It didn’t take him long to notice that the homelessness crisis was astronomical.

“I could see it was just as bad here as it was there,” said Cunningham. “My mom inspired me to start it. She used to be a part of Comcast Cares and I would go help her and witness first-hand that people really need help.”

After Huglife Cares was born in November 2013, their first event was a Turkey Drive that the nonprofit now partners with the NAACP to host annually.

At last year’s drive, Cunningham personally purchased 1,000 turkeys and gave them away to people who couldn’t afford a Thanksgiving dinner, along with other items.

“I came to a Huglife event in 2020 when COVID put me in hard times,” said Michael Thompson. “They gave out blankets and winter coats to people, and I got to be a lot warmer that winter on the street. I was very grateful.”

Huglife Cares receives donations and has many people who sponsor them ranging from NFL athletes to other nonprofit organizations. They also have hundreds of volunteers at the events and those numbers are continuing to grow.

“It was amazing to see how many people came together on a random cold Saturday just to help others. No rewards, no incentives,” said Payton Dixon, a volunteer at last year’s Turkey Drive.

Cunningham’s mother passed on January 11th, 2022, from her battle with cancer. The turkey drive has become a memorial to her because she loved helping people, he said.

“The annual turkey drive is the biggest event we do and it’s my favorite. It was my mom’s favorite, too,” said Cunningham.