Cobb Community Foundation is very excited to officially be partnering with Cobb non-profit, Simple Needs GA.
Simple Needs GA was founded in 2010 by this year’s East Cobb Citizen of the Year, Brenda Rhodes. As a longtime volunteer at MUST Ministries, Brenda witnessed numerous people arriving at a shelter with little to nothing. She determined that at the very least, she could provide them with toiletries. With donations from friends and neighbors, Brenda started packing toiletry bags (later to be known as Comfort Kits) in her garage a year and a half before she founded Simple Needs GA in 2010.
As Brenda learned of other needs, the number of programs grew. There was a need for everything from pots and pans to beds for those transitioning from shelters to permanent homes, and thus Simple Household Needs was born. She asked local school social workers what they needed for the kids. They said that many school children were wearing hand-me-down shoes that didn’t fit, so now Shoe Them Love provides gift cards for new shoes and also provides brand new shoes when donated.
Simple Needs GA fills the gaps by meeting the simple needs of children, people experiencing homelessness, and others in need, while inspiring our community to do the same. Seemingly simple acts like bringing a tent to people living in the woods, providing birthday gifts to a homeless child, or connecting people with the services that can improve their lives, make a mighty difference. Simple Needs GA is doing just that.
My Birthday Matters was created as the result of a Simple Needs GA Board Member’s recollection of growing up without celebrating her birthday the years her parents did not have any money. Now, school social workers and shelter staff provide wish lists from children who are living in a shelter with their family, living in a hotel or perhaps moving from home to home of extended family members. Simple Needs GA doesn’t provide generic items for gender and age. For the birthday boy or girl who may have never received a birthday gift in their entire life, Simple Needs GA arranges for them to receive exactly what they request.
Would you like to help? Consider volunteering with Simple Needs GA, helping with fundraising or delivering gifts. Consider filling a child’s birthday or Christmas wish list or providing simple necessities such as underwear, clothes or school supplies. You can help by purchasing and sorting supplies, taking inventory, stuffing duffel bags, wrapping gifts, moving furniture, and more. Work with your church or company or book club to organize a donation drive.
Would you like to contribute? That’s simple as well. Just click here.
