Atlanta’s home building community supports the 22nd Annual Essentials Drive

Atlanta – June 7, 2023 - HomeAid Atlanta’s 22nd Annual Essentials Drive wrapped up just in time for Mother’s Day, delivering essential baby items to families in need. Throughout the month of April, members of Atlanta’s home building industry and the general community donated diapers, baby wipes, and funds to help families experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness. HomeAid recognizes how challenging it can be for families and individuals to provide for their most basic needs during times of crisis and transition. Babies can go through 8-12 diapers a day, and the average monthly cost of diapers for one child is $80. Many families experiencing homelessness or economic hardship must improvise to make diapers last longer, changing diapers less often, or even attempting to clean and reuse disposable diapers.

Along with countless individuals who donated baby items, these local organizations collected donations of diapers and baby wipes internally and/or served as Essentials Drive Drop-Off locations throughout April:

**Ameris Bank**
**Ashton Woods**
**Bank of America**
**BankSouth Mortgage**
**Buckingham Properties**
**Cherokee County Vets**
**Children's Healthcare of Atlanta - Scottish Rite TICU**
**CORE Property Capital (pictured here)**
**D.R. Horton West**
**Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association**
**Juneau Construction Company**
**Lennar**
**Northview Church**
**Pinnacle Financial Partners**
**Project Linus Bartow & Cherokee Chapter**
**Rockhaven Homes**
**SouthState Bank**
**Taylor Morrison**

On May 10, these organizations delivered their collected donations to Longo Custom Builders’ warehouse in Smyrna. The following day, more than 30 volunteers sorted, counted, and packed approximately 200,000 items at the warehouse. On May 12, donations were delivered just in time for Mother’s Day, thanks to UPS, BankSouth Mortgage, and O'Kelley & Sorohan, Attorneys at Law. This year’s Essentials Drive donations supplied baby items for these 27 local nonprofits providing housing and services for families in need:

**4Sarah, Inc**
**Atlanta Children's Shelter**
**Atlanta Mission**
**CEEK To Fulfill**
**City of Refuge**
**Crossroads Community Ministries**
**Forsyth County Family Haven**
**Gateway House**
**Helping Mamas**
**Family Promise of Hall County**
**Family Promise of North Fulton/DeKalb**
**Motherhood Beyond Bars**
**MUST Ministries**
**New American Pathways**
**Nicholas House**
**North Fulton Community Charities**
**Our House**
**Phoenix Pass**
**Rainbow Village**
**Serenade Heights**
**Sheltering Grace Ministry**
**Solomon's Temple Foundation, Inc. (shown here)**
**The Drake House**
**The Salvation Army Metro Atlanta**
**The Salvation Army Red Shield Services**
**Wellroot Family Services**
**Women's Resource Center to End Domestic Violence**

Auvronette Guilbeaux, Phoenix Pass Executive Director, remarked, “The Essentials Drive provides baby products that would otherwise be a hardship between paydays for our moms. One mom said that she felt like a burden had been lifted because she did not have to choose between diapers and other baby products for her daughters. Another mom felt like it was truly a Mother’s Day gift because without having to buy diapers, she had a little more money in her account to save.”

HomeAid Atlanta is a nonprofit organization founded in 2001, with a mission to help people experiencing or at risk of homelessness build new lives through construction, community engagement, and education. HomeAid builds, renovates, and maintains facilities for nonprofits serving people experiencing homelessness. HomeAid has completed over 180 construction projects at locations for victims of domestic violence, teen mothers, veterans and more, utilizing connections with building industry professionals and community organizations. HomeAid also provides essential items like diapers, wipes, and hygiene products to those affected by homelessness. HomeAid is the designated charity of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association. Learn more at www.homeaidatlanta.org.