NEWS & OPINIONS
The Value of Sung and Unsung Heroes
As we celebrate, Black History Month, I’m reminded of the 1993 song written by Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff entitled “Hero”. The words to the chorus went like this: “And then a hero comes along With the strength to carry on And you cast your fears aside And you...
You Don’t Have To Be African American In Order To Appreciate Black History Month!
As I reflect on Black History Month, I remember when I first started working at the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO). Randy Hicks, GCO President and CEO, and I entered into a discussion about African American families. In reality, it should be called more of an...
Recognizing Black History Month Is About Recalling Where We Came From
Seeing Black History Month through the eyes of 114-year-old Gertrude Baines To celebrate Black History Month, let me take you back to November 2008. The morning of the election—an election that would make history with the victory of Barack Obama, first...
Let’s make Georgia the best state to be a foster child
We can’t create flourishing communities without flourishing families—and foster care and adoption are crucial parts of achieving that goal. An alarming 97 percent of kids who age out of the foster care system without a stable connection to a family end up in chronic...
Paid Family Leave Discussion – Establishing Healthy Lifelong Attachments
We know that healthy relationships and successful family formation are crucial to walking the steps of the Success Sequence. Strong families help individuals and children flourish. And we know that time with children, especially in their early years, is crucial to...
Three ways that Georgia lawmakers can immediately help the impoverished
Georgia lawmakers are back in town, kicking off the 40-day 2020 session on Monday. While the General Assembly is set to consider a range of issues—tax cuts, OK’ing the state’s budget, healthcare, and more—here are some immediate ways that lawmakers can help those in...
Joyce Mayberry Leads In New Role As Vice President of Family Formation
Joyce Mayberry will be moving into a new role as the Vice President of Family Formation. In this position, Joyce will continue to develop new ways to strengthen families in the communities we serve through our many partners. This move in position reinforces three...
Forming A Family – The importance of exploring paid family leave
Paid family leave is one way that we can further help in supporting strong family formation. This is another vital step in supporting the success sequence.
Creating healthy relationships, one man at a time
Strengthening the role men have in creating healthy relationships is what No Longer Bound is all about. We are proud to partner to support these efforts.
The Little Things: Keeping Perspective On Thanksgiving
Like many of you, this Thanksgiving our family will sit around a large table filled with decorations, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, that odd jello that your distant aunt insists on bringing, and those that we love. At some point, someone will clang a glass to...
A Vision For Poverty Transformation In Columbus Through Hiring Well Doing Good
Q&A: Norman Hardman on Hiring Well, Doing Good in Columbus Norman Hardman is a lifelong resident of Columbus, Georgia. After starting his career in the world of finance, he’s now taken his passion and skillset and applied them to one purpose: helping the...
Support GCO With Amazon Smiles This Holiday Season (and all year long)
Like you, we love family and giving during the holidays. Well, we have a new way you can support Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) and give during the season of giving: It’s called Amazon Smile, and it’s a chance to give back a small percentage of each purchase at...
MEDIA MENTIONS
Georgia’s unemployment rate continues to drop, set records
Georgia’s unemployment rate hit a record low last month, according to the Georgia Department of Labor. The unemployment rate dipped from 3.5 percent to 3.4 percent in October. It has not been that low for 20 years. The state also saw high job numbers amid a growing...
A Vision For Poverty Transformation In Columbus Through Hiring Well Doing Good
Q&A: Norman Hardman on Hiring Well, Doing Good in Columbus Norman Hardman is a lifelong resident of Columbus, Georgia. After starting his career in the world of finance, he’s now taken his passion and skillset and applied them to one purpose: helping the...
Support GCO With Amazon Smiles This Holiday Season (and all year long)
Like you, we love family and giving during the holidays. Well, we have a new way you can support Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) and give during the season of giving: It’s called Amazon Smile, and it’s a chance to give back a small percentage of each purchase at...
Q&A: Kristin Barker on Hiring Well, Doing Good in Columbus
Georgia Center for Opportunity’s Hiring Well, Doing Good (HWDG) initiative is quickly gaining ground in Columbus, Georgia. Here’s a brief Q&A from the front lines with HWDG Program Manager Kristin Barker. Q: What's the goal of HWDG in Columbus? Kristin: The...
From prisoner to influencer: Tony’s story
The day that Tony Kitchens was released from prison in 1985, he did an unusual thing: He got down on the ground and created a fake “snow angel” on the grass. “I was elated, but nervous. Free, but I didn’t know anything. The sun was very bright. Red was very red, green...
Medicaid Waiver An Opportunity To Help Income Inequality
Dr. Alexander Ruder of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta testified on this “benefits cliff” during recent state budget hearings. Speaking on workforce development, he noted that we are having difficulty moving entry-level employees up a career ladder because many...
Georgia considers restoring voting rights for ex-offenders
Georgia might be the next state to restore voting rights to past criminal offenders. The state’s Senate Study Committee on Revising Voting Rights for Nonviolent Felony Offenders held its first meeting Friday to discuss if it will take the step in criminal justice...
Georgia AG files legal brief protecting school choice
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr fears that if a Montana court’s restriction on school choice programs is not reversed, it will open the door for other state courts to enact similar laws. The Montana Supreme Court’s decision excludes religious schools from the...
