Information: www.drakehouse.org
Seven years ago, local business women in Sandy Springs and the Perimeter area came together to give back to local charity in hopes to make an impact in their neighborhood.
The Women’s Business Network of the Sandy Springs-Perimeter Chamber of Commerce have supported The Drake House since 2008 to inspire and give back to women in need in their local area.
“Since the nonprofit provides services to homeless women and their children, and we are a women’s group, it was a great fit,” said Karen Trylovich, chairperson of the WBN. “In 2014, 41 percent of The Drake House residents were from Sandy Springs. It is an increasing problem, right now we are the only organization raising funds from the Sandy Springs area.”
The Women’s Business Network of the Sandy Springs-Perimeter Chamber of Commerce held its third annual fashion show, Fashion Goes Global, at the UPS World Headquarters to raise money for The Drake House. Chamber members and other women’s business and community leaders modeled clothing and accessories from the Drake Closet at the event. With over 300 attendees, the fundraiser collected over $16,000 for the nonprofit.
The Drake Closet is a local women’s fashion boutique that sells donated new and gently used women’s clothing, shoes and accessories to support The Drake House. The nonprofit provides short-term crisis housing, education and empowerment programs for homeless mothers and their children in North Fulton County.
In addition to financial support, the goal of Fashion Goes Global is to raise awareness of the Drake House and encourage people to support their programs by donating their gently-used clothing and accessories to the Drake Closet. In addition to the fashion show, WBN also donates food and other supplies to the organization.
The community can also give back to The Drake House by volunteering in various ways. From sorting and stocking the food pantry, becoming mentors for the women and children, or working the floor of the Drake Closet, volunteers help the organization meet its mission of assisting women and children thrive.
Reflecting upon the success of Fashion Goes Global, Trylovich added, “Giving back builds a stronger community and is important to grow and prosper as a city.”
In other news: Stand Up for Stand Down toiletry drive for Georgia's homeless Veterans will run July 4 to Sept. 11 collecting much needed toiletry and personal care items to help homeless veterans who visit the Atlanta VA Medical Center. All of the metro area Georgia Cancer Specialists, affiliated with Northside Hospital Cancer Institute, clinics are serving as a drop-off locations for the community. For more information, contact Katherine Watson at katherine.watson@northside.com
The Rotary Club of North Atlanta collected new and gently-used home medical equipment to benefit Friends of Disabled Adults and Children, a non-profit organization providing refurbished HME to the disability community at little or no cost to the recipients. Wheelchairs, walkers, strollers, shower benches and other assistive equipment worth over $96,000 were collected across DeKalb County. This is the third equipment drive sponsored by the North Atlanta club and over the past two years, the club has collected over $200,000 in equipment for FODAC.
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