Stories from Our Outreach Trips
Each trip we take is a chapter in a larger story — one written by the children, volunteers, and communities we serve.
When History Became Personal: The Civil & Human Rights Museum Visit
Eighty children from our program walked through the doors of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights on a crisp September morning. For many of them, it was their first museum visit. What followed was three hours of discovery, emotion, and connection that none of us — children or adults — will forget.
Standing at the lunch counter exhibit, a 10-year-old named Marcus turned to his volunteer guide and said, "They did all that so I could go to school?" That single sentence captured everything we believe about the power of education and history working together.
The trip was funded by a $12,000 grant from the Georgia Humanities Council and organized by a team of 12 volunteers. Post-trip surveys showed that 94% of participating students reported feeling "more excited about learning" after the visit.
A Night of Firsts: The 2024 Scholarship Ceremony
On a December evening at the Georgia World Congress Center, 42 young people walked across a stage to receive scholarship certificates — and in many cases, the first formal recognition of their academic achievement they had ever experienced. Three of the recipients were first-generation college students. One, a 17-year-old named Aaliyah, delivered a speech that left the room in tears.
"My mother worked two jobs to keep the lights on," Aaliyah said. "She never got to finish school. This scholarship isn't just for me — it's for her." The $128,000 in scholarships awarded that evening represented the generosity of 340 individual donors and four corporate sponsors.
The ceremony also marked the launch of our Alumni Network — a structured mentorship program connecting past scholarship recipients with current students to build a pipeline of community leaders.
Growing More Than Vegetables: The Westside Community Garden Project
Over a single weekend in November, 60 students from three Westside Atlanta schools — accompanied by 20 volunteers and two urban farming educators — transformed an empty lot beside a school into a thriving raised-bed garden. By Sunday afternoon, the beds were planted with collard greens, tomatoes, herbs, and sunflowers.
The project, funded through a partnership with a local urban agriculture nonprofit, was designed to teach students about biology, nutrition, sustainability, and community ownership. But what emerged was something deeper: a sense of pride and belonging in a neighborhood that has long felt overlooked.
"These kids didn't just plant seeds in the ground," said volunteer coordinator Terrence Hall. "They planted seeds in themselves." The garden now supplies fresh produce to the school cafeteria twice a week, and students rotate responsibility for its care as part of a science curriculum integration.
Where It All Began: The First Supply Drive
It started with a folding table, 80 backpacks, and a borrowed parking lot. In August 2022, Matt Bronfman and a group of seven friends organized the first 18th and Spring supply drive with $6,000 raised from personal networks and a single Facebook post. They expected 50 families. Over 120 showed up.
The line stretched around the block. Parents arrived before sunrise. Children clutched their new backpacks like treasures. By noon, every supply was gone — and the team was already planning the next event. "That day taught me that the need was far greater than I had imagined," Matt recalls. "And that the community's desire to help was just as great."
That first drive became the foundation of everything 18th and Spring has built since — a reminder that the most powerful movements begin not with grand strategy, but with a simple act of showing up for your neighbors.
