To volunteer with South DeKalb Improvement Association, email sdiainc@gmail.com
Almost a year ago, the residents of South DeKalb realized that their neighborhood really needed some well-deserved attention. “This area has beautiful neighborhoods, and we really wanted to showcase this as people came here,” said Kevin Chapman, who founded the Wesley Chapel Curb Appeal Task Force.
Chapman speaks of the Wesley Chapel, Snapfinger Drive, Flat Shoals corridors and other areas off of Interstate 20 in South DeKalb. Since the cleanups started, volunteers planted over 100 trees and plants and removed several hundred pounds of litter from the corridor.
Almost a year old, the task force joined forces with the also newly-formed South DeKalb Improvement Association to be able to spread its work to a larger area.
SDIA came together to serve communities that touch on Interstate 78 East’s Conyers/Rockdale County area, Memorial Drive and Moreland Avenue. One of its many missions involves cleaning and beautifying the South DeKalb areas. Clean up areas have included Covington Highway, Flat Shoals Parkway, Glenwood Road, South Deshon Road, South Hariston, Snapfinger Woods Drive and Wesley Chapel Road.
“We love where we live, and when we realized that as citizens we all had the same concern for our neighborhoods, SDIA naturally came together,” said Kathryn Rice, founder of SDIA.
The group has launched the War on Litter campaign and now gathers every fourth Friday to clean and maintain landscaping on the main roads to keep South DeKalb neighborhoods looking inviting and well-representing of those communities.
The volunteer-based organization wants their local communities to be involved with the organization in any way possible. Whether it’s coming out to be involved in the clean ups or becoming a part of the committees, they want to spread the sense of pride in the nieghborhoods to make a difference.
“We are always looking for more involvement and people to be a part of our group,” said Chapman, who is also a SDIA board member and co-chair on the Code Compliance Committee. “This is our home and it creates a sense of pride for us to make it a beautiful place to live for everyone.”
SDIA also touches key areas such as housing, economic development and education to those neighborhoods hoping to revive the areas and build upon its benefits.
In other news: The Brookhaven Rotary Club recently contributed $80,000 to The Shepherd Center's SHARE Military Initiative. The club held its Fourth Annual "Service Above Self" Golf Tournament on May 12 at the Cherokee Country Club. The Club has now contributed over $225,000 to SHARE, which provides rehabilitation care for members of the military who have sustained traumatic brain injuries while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.
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