Making a Difference

More than 1,700 volunteers and many more donors come together for CAC each year to make a difference in their community. Through a public-private partnership nonprofit model, CAC serves as a safety net for those in our community that are most vulnerable to homelessness and hunger.

Members from across the community, from residents to civic organizations, from congregations to businesses, recognize the value of providing assistance to their neighbors facing financial crisis and poverty situations. CAC supporters make a difference in more than 5,600 lives a year. Since it’s founding in 1987, CAC has impacted more than 20,000 lives!

While Sandy Springs and Dunwoody are generally considered affluent areas, suburban poverty exists here. Individuals and families struggling to make ends meet may be service industry workers, and/or single parents or senior citizens living on fixed incomes.  The poverty rate in CAC’s service area of Sandy Springs and Dunwoody is 14 percent, the child poverty rate is 24 percent; as many as 40,000 of the 150,000 residents have family incomes of $45,000 or less.

Of CAC clients, 80 percent live on $20,000 or less a year.

Volunteers Make a Difference by working in all areas of the Center such as the food pantry, thrift boutique, and reception desk or by interviewing clients, teaching classes or helping with events.

Donors Make a Difference by supporting programs that provide basic needs and promote self-sufficiency.