I have volunteered with quite a few organizations in and around Atlanta and HERO for Children is by…read morefar the best. No other organization comes close! I started volunteering here last summer for one of their large events which was a huge Field Day. There were just as many volunteers as children and EVERYONE was having a great time. I cannot imagine the amount of planning that went into having this event go off without a hitch. Anyway, HERO for Children is an organization that seeks to improve the quality of life for children living with or affected by HIV/AIDS. They do this by teaching life skills development, providing emotional and mental support through mentoring relationships, and just making sure that the children have access to a wide range of life experiences. It's great! I have been mentoring with them for less than a year but, I can already tell that this is going to be a long term commitment. If you are looking for a way to get involved, I would highly recommend HERO for Children.

Awesome organization! I cannot wait to start working with them. The kids are fortunate to have this…read moreorganization helping them.

I recently arrived back from a 10-day trip to Kenya, Africa with 5 members of my church, including…read morethe middle school pastor that was also my mission team leader in my previous review of Haiti. Everything that my trip to Haiti was not, my trip to Africa was & I am so happy I decided to give 410 Bridge a 2nd chance! --- I certainly want to share all about the wondrous things I saw, people I met, and all the details from the PAGES of journal notes that I took every day. I want you to know how friendly the people of the nation of Kenya are & how the children are so dang adorable everywhere you go! I want to describe how every child I passed (particularly in more rural country regions) had a smile that would melt your heart & were eager to greet you with genuine warmth! They didn't just wave EVERY TIME, but (if you waved back) they would ask 'how are you' with an awesome little British accent to their twang. I was blown away with their manners. Some of these children wearing mismatched clothes without shoes on their feet would shake your hand, sometimes performing a curtsy. BLEW ME AWAY! In my journal I wrote: "I have experienced many hours of driving through this nation; From the airport and our first/last nights stay in Nairobi, to our main accommodations in Nanyuki (4 hours away), to our 1 hour drive one way to the Maasai tribal village of Segera each morning. Through my window I saw the way mankind was meant to interact with one another. It was like living in the most awesome subdivision ever. The joy on the faces of locals as they walked and talked with each other made it almost appeared that everyone was good friends. Not once have I seen a argument, a heated conversation, a child disrespecting their parent or a parent beating their child. What I have seen, is people who care about each other." I want to share with you all the wonderful stories I experienced through bible camp each day not only with the children, but courageous stories of adults too. Like Dorcas, a 19 year old female who was almost sold as a wife 3 times @ ages 10, 12 & 14. But in each case someone stood up for her and challenged the sale. In the Maasai culture, you bring shame to your family by fighting a sale and often become outcast by the community and your own family. Add to the story the man whom risked his life challenging the father and took Dorcas in as a daughter even though he was not financially ready. Or the story of the 12 year old boy I met who's parents were killed a year ago and he currently is living in a tiny hut shared by his 14 & 17 year old brother who care for him. Or the story of Jenny, a 19 year old girl with three children whom was sold into marriage @ age 12 and the overwhelming load of responsibilities that a Maasai women must burden; Such as walking several miles one way to retrieve water in 20 liter containers sometimes more than once a day. Being responsible for the children, the home and in many cases even building the home and doing all needed repairs. --- Yes, I want so badly to go into great detail of all that I saw, and maybe I will write an update to detail the stories I encountered. Each one alone would take up the 5,001 characters allowed by yelp in a single review. But what I want I truly want to do is congratulate and promote the work being done by 410 Bridge in this area of Kenya!!! The Maasai culture is a ancient one, in which old tradition is set and there is no movement. Many of these traditions go against basic modern human rights and the people are not receptive to "new things." At one point the Kenyan government had to force leaders of the tribe to send children to school to be educated. However, only elementary school is free in Kenya. To attend high school you must pay. 410 bridge has stepped in the gap of cultural tradition and is making a way for students to fulfill their education. Great progress is being made to get girls into school and improve their test scores. Young girls were missing an average of 1 month of school per year because they simply didn't have sanitary napkins when their monthly cycle arrived, until 410 Bridge began providing them. For others it was the lure of free food that keeps children coming to school. Still for others it was dormitories build on campus to keep many from walking over 10 miles to get educated. Then there is the matter of clean drinking water for the community. Water wells have been erected and tanks that store treated river water have been brought into the communities allowing for better hygiene, shorter walks and even irrigation for farming... a hugely necessary requirement to maintain self-sustaining agriculture. 410 also provides business education to promote entrepreneurship. Something as simple as gathering goat dung for sale as fertilizer has provided a basic income for many! 410 Bridge, this isn't just an upgraded review, it is an apology for not truly understanding all that you do and how truly amazing you are! 2016/135

'TIS THE SEASON...(VOLUNTEERING)…read more Commonly known as CRN, this non-profit provides services to homeless women and children. Today I had the pleasure of volunteering to sort and package donated food items for Thanksgiving dinners. A great number of people came out and business was handled in a timely and efficient manner. The warehouse was packed with large groups such as boy scouts, sororities, corporate groups and others. I chose to volunteer with my young neighbor so we were a team of two. There was a lot of great energy in the space and people were genuinely kind and helpful. Not only did I have a great time helping others, I just enjoyed being able to spend time with my neighbor and catch up with her busy middle school life. She on the other hand, was able to get some additional community hours for Beta Club so we knocked out several birds with one stone. CRN has a variety of volunteer needs through-out the year and is always looking for additional support and assistance. I know that they will be needing assistance with donating, collecting and delivering toys for Christmas. They will also need volunteers to wrap gifts so if you have a group of friends or willing family members who are looking to "give back" please contact CRN regarding specific opportunities. .

A great organization that helps the homeless single mothers and children for almost 25 years! I…read morehave volunteered with this organization for a few years and I am constantly amazed by the dedication from the CEOs,employees and volunteers who serve the Atlanta and surrounding areas. A great organization to get "plugged" into if just for a couple hours or as an ongoing "mentor" to one of these deserving children.

Some employees of North Fulton community charities especially the food pantry are ridiculous.I have…read more been ordering food online from the pantry and it was being delivered to my home by doordash because I am elderly and disabled.Why is it that I was recently informed that when items are missing because the pantry did not have any that points will not be returned to my account.Is this a new polisy?These were items not sent and some employees are trying to blame doordash when it is not so.Can someone please look into this matter foe me?

I used to shop here all the time. But after being treated terrible by their staff time and time…read moreagain, I've had enough. I've witnessed several people have problems with their full time staff. Prices are going up, staff is not friendly. Won't be back, not worth the headache.

I was looking for a place to donate feminine hygiene products. There didn't seem to be a lot of…read moreplaces available in the area that did that or they were closed on weekends. I happened to find and stop by the Drake house. It was outside of their hours but i was still able to drop off my items in bins that are clearly label 'Donations'. They have a small playground area as well. The set up of the entire place was nice and the cause they stand for is very admirable. Initially I wasn't sure if they were open or closed and I walked into a laundry area and there was a lady doing laundry so certain facilities are still open but the 'office' itself was closed for the day.

Excellent place for temporary housing for single moms…read more Wonderful staff. Decent apartments.

Great center. Helpful folks. Well kept. Many items accepted…read more Only 1 and 2 plastics. But 5,6 & 7 being actively recyclable is a fallacy. It's a function of the plastics lobby to make you think it's recyclable. 5 6 and 7 rarely have the capability of being recycled. We need to ban packaging that is not 1 or 2.

I have been coming to the recycling center for almost 10 years now. It's the only place I know of…read moreto recycle glass (green, clear, and brown) that accumulates from consumption of everyday items. The service is free of charge. It's easy to drive up, start sorting recyclables, and then drive off. I appreciate all the work people do here at the facility to stay organized and keep the property clean. It can get busy on Saturdays but the week is very efficient. This is great service to the community and awesome service for residents in Fulton County. Thank you for valuing our community and ensuring we all have a place to recycle.

Had a great time with my 6 and 9 year old kids last week during "dad camp". The Fulton library has…read morea free pass you can check out for up to 4 people which is great but it is otherwise affordable. I would budget at least 2 hours here or as many as 3 if your kids are going to interact with the butterflies and the turtles and do the scavenger hunt as mine did. The indoor exhibit is small but charming and there are a few native species around. The downstairs education center also does a scavenger hunt every month which is really cool. They've done an amazing job of "gamifying" nature/science learning with their points based rewards system and natural objects exchange. We learned a lot about butterflies and caterpillars on our quest. The points thing goes a long way to motivating little ones that may be more skeptical about "learning" experiences and museums. But if you have kids who are more active and will walk, the variety of local trails contained within the nature center is quite nice. I would recommend coming here for adults without kids too for this reason. I heard there were little fairy houses somewhere too here but. I didn't see them. We saw the beaver, a variety of different birds including hawks and owls, and tons of other local animals. It was cool to see how intentional the design was of the outdoor sections and the map they give you at the gift shop/ticket counter is helpful. I also like how they have lots of play areas built in outside for kids to explore in a less structured way. They also have some nice picnic spots. Staff were friendly and helpful. "Feeding" (with the little sugar sticks) the butterflies was fantastic. Even on a hot summer day, I'm super glad we came and if it wasn't so far from where I lived I would attend more regularly/become a member.

We love the CNC! We were members previously, but it has since lapsed. I love the butterfly…read moreencounter it's really quite lovely! It is impossible to visit during the summer months it is just wicked hot and no real place to escape once you start exploring. I'm looking forward to the cooler weather so we can visit again! There is a ton to see and plenty of space to get all the energy out. It really is a beautiful property and I love that it connects to the boardwalk with a walkway! The animals are cute! The beavers are a favorite in our house!

Everything! Love the bargains and the store was very clean! We definitely will return to this…read morelocation

Good prices and love that they do color days. I'm always finding some good quality brands here so…read morekeen digging and find your treasure!

We do this every year for community service. My fraternity and our sister organization come in and…read moredo diapers and clothes and Women's Health packs and all sorts of things. We take a few months throughout the year to stack up donations. And then we just ended up sorting things and putting things in places in the warehouse. It's a really good way for us to work together, to give back to the community. All of the proceeds go to places that are in need, within the community. Giving back a super important, and helping Mama's is consistently in the Forefront of that within Gwinnett county.

From the owner: Baby Supply Bank of Georgia. Support the over 300,000 women and children living in poverty in Metro…read moreAtlanta by texting "HELPMAMAS" to 44-321.

The Marietta store is well organized and the Furkids employees and volunteers are so helpful and…read morekind. The donations are terrific: clothing, lamps, seasonal decorations, tools, books, CD's, records, toys, furniture, one of a kind items, oil and water color paintings, prints, crystal and glassware, bedspreads, cookware, shoes, large selection of materials for crafters, knitting and sewing supplies , unusual picture frames, antiques, and pricing to fit everyone's budget. Since every organization requires positive leadership, Ms. Bryn the manager leads by example, respect for the customers, the employees and volunteers, and makes everyone comfortable. She brings a joy and young spirited freshness to the Marietta Furkids store. Come in and take an enjoyable stroll through the Marietta store. You never know what treasures await you.

We adopted Sully (formerly called Pez) from them on November 10th and had an amazing experience. I…read moreapplied in October before Sully was even available and heard back from them when it was time to meet him. I have a boxer with extreme anxiety when at vets or shelters and she barked nonstop while visiting Sully and they were so patient. They may have been annoyed (I was beyond exhausted with her barking) but they didn't show it. Sully has been an incredible addition and the whole process was extremely smooth. I would not hesitate to recommend them. I've seen complaints about it taking long to hear from them but people can always call and follow up. It helps to remember they are all volunteers caring for a high volume of adoptable pets and sick/ injured pets.