New Partnership with the Christ Connection SS Class Brings New Energy to GACM
Pictured here are David McGanity (in the truck) and Fitz Wickham, members of the Christ Connection Sunday School class of Peachtree Presbyterian Church. David and Fitz are making new side and back boards for our lone pickup truck, preparing the way for the new signs which the class had made for the truck (needed badly!). The Christ Connection class has felt led to focus energies on the GACM work and are presently in dialogue with some of the staff and co-op members about how best to partner with and serve this ministry. We are very grateful to them for the ways they have already served, but also for the approach they are taking, in that they want to develop relationships with our people; not just do projects FOR us, but participate WITH us. The leadership of the class, led by Charlie Heard, David and Lynne McGanity and Julie Mann, has been most sensitive to what it means to work with a nonprofit such as GACM and with our people. While we are figuring this out, however, they are also doing projects we sorely needed taken care of. This is an exciting development; we look forward to seeing how it unfolds.
Besides the video below, you can follow this link-- http://www.youtube.com/user/GACMdotORG?feature=mhee --to our channel (GACMdotORG) on YouTube.com and find other videos of our co-ops in action. We will soon have a brand new video thanks to Mr. Isaac Dietz of Tubopopcorn. If you have any problems with this link, just search GACM or food co-op on the YouTube site and you should find three of our videos plus some pieces from other folks about our work. Our newest video, Georgia Avenue Food Cooperative, 2012, is at that sight.
This video will give a sense of how different food co-ops are as opposed to food pantries: dignity, community and fellowship, food security... in the words of our members.
The Georgia Avenue Community Ministry has a rich history of reaching out to and responding to people in need in such a way as to create cooperation, build community and honor the gifts, abilities and talents that people bring with them into GACM. This Christian ministry will serve anyone in need regardless of religious affiliation or any other difference. Our desire is to work WITH people as opposed to "helping," so that relationships are formed, community grows and people gain what they need as well as helping others to have the same. The Georgia Avenue Community Ministry strives to be an asset building community development ministry.
OUR MISSION: To provide food for those in need in a way that affirms dignity and builds community
As of July, 2011, GACM has formed a collaborative relationship with FCS Urban Ministries. Focused Community Strategies (FCS) can be found at this link on the web:
http://fcsministries.org/
We continue to express our gratitude to the Atlanta Community Food Bank and its marvelous staff. ACFB has been most supportive of GACM and without them and the good work that they do, we could not carry out our own work. Thank you, Bill Bolling, Rob Johnson and all of you at the Atlanta Food Bank. http://acfb.org/
Georgia Avenue Community Ministry, Inc.
645 Grant St., Se
Atlanta, GA 30312
404-688-0871
chadhale@gacm.org