Atlanta, GA

Learn more about Atlanta at a One Day Gathering. Click on a team member's name to read their blog.

English Ave. Team

Back L to R: Ruth Ubaldo, Andrea Pang, Ra Mendoza (Alum Leader), Tiffany Wong
Front L to R: Ben Miller, Brian Litvin, Jason Boche

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Married Team

L to R: Shannon and Grant Jenks, Josh and Debbie Westover

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Polar Rock Team

L to R: Chelsea Stanton, Hilary Smith (Alum Leader), Melissa Clarkson, Jenelle McClean, Jessica Krick, Camrin Padgett

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Mission Year in Atlanta

During the Civil Rights movement, Atlanta was called "The city too busy to hate." This reputation developed because, for the most part, Atlanta avoided any large scale violence that occurred in other parts of the South. The city is the birth home and final resting place for Martin Luther King, Jr. and, in many ways, the history of the Civil Rights movement is still alive in Atlanta. If you visit one of our Mission Year neighborhoods, it would not be out of the question to have a senior say to you, " I remember when Marty (MLK) brought Coretta to church for the first time." The history here is still alive! Because Atlanta is the largest city in the Southeast (over 5 million), it serves as a hub of activity. You can find almost anything you want in Atlanta from professional and college sports to music, arts, ethnic foods, public transit, and incredible parks.

Atlanta is also a city of great contrast, home to the very wealthy (several Fortune 500 companies are headquartered here) and to the extreme poor. As the City of Atlanta has been experiencing a "rebirth" over the last years, many of the neighborhoods where Mission Year served when we first started here in 2000 have now transitioned to neighborhoods with a considerable amount of wealth. As we neighborhoods with whom to partner, we are now more flexible and even consider the first ring of suburbs where the poor have been pushed. Oftentimes, the contrasts of wealth and poverty are very close to one another (one neighborhood where we serve, English Avenue, is less than a mile from the Coca-Cola headquarters). Recently, we have focused our efforts on three neighborhoods: English Ave, South Atlanta, and East Point. We have chosen these neighborhoods because we have found either churches or organizations to partner with that are uniquely positioned to impact their communities. Mission Year highly values partnership and coming alongside others that have been serving their community for many years.