NEWS & OPINIONS
A renewed reason to celebrate this Fourth of July
This year we celebrated our country and one of its biggest values...family. For many the Fourth of July is more than just a celebration of our country’s birth—it is an opportunity to gather with family. An opportunity to connect and celebrate together. It feels like...
GCO Testifies Before U.S. House On Benefits Cliffs
Examining the SNAP Benefit Cliff On July 12, 2021, Eric Randolph, GCO’s Director of Research, testified before the U.S. House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations about how welfare programs often hurt the very people they are...
Promote Purchasing Power—Not the Minimum Wage
How to help working families the most During a focus group session on working class families we recently conducted at the Georgia Center for Opportunity, Jazmine* made an observation more perceptive than most experts. Our focus group consisted of working-class...
Gov’t. check can’t beat work’s dignity | AJC
Jobs provide dignity and purpose to people’s lives and contribute to community flourishing in ways that can’t be measured by monthly employment reports.
Help From Where You Least Expect It
“I don’t know what I’m going to do if I don’t find a better job; I might have to go back [to prison].” Two months out of prison, Ray (name changed for anonymity) was explaining to me that he had reached the end of his rope. He had been struggling to find work that...
Origins of the Georgia Center for Opportunity: Why we choose to focus on work
You’ve probably heard that if you give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day—but if you teach him to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime. And while the Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) mission to alleviate poverty by removing barriers to human flourishing is grounded in...
BETTER WORK adds direct-to-business job applications
Working to more quickly connect our communities to work. In efforts to better address the needs of the unemployed in our communities, we have taken an evolving learning approach to how we support those in need. Not only are we looking to learn from those in need, but...
Connecting the Presence of an Honored Father
Kenneth Braswell of Father’s Incorporated was recently honored on OWN’s Spotlight Celebrating Black Fatherhood. It brought back a positive memory of the dad event (The Dad Factor: Presence) hosted by the Georgia Center for Opportunity, where fathers and father’s to be...
Putting Georgia’s employment numbers in perspective
Is there any reason not to cheer? Georgia’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.1 percent in May. Here are three reasons why this looks good for Georgia. First, the unemployment rate is declining, giving optimism that the economy is bouncing back from the pandemic....
Still celebrating my father!
A celebration of fathers. Since Father’s Day is upon us, I am sure many of you are thinking about the presence or lack thereof your father in your life. Hopefully some of you are thinking about the father that you are or want to become. No matter where you land, take...
5 Ways to Impress an Employer (Soup to Nuts)
5 Ways to Impress an Employer (Soup to Nuts) Let’s pretend you’re getting ready for an interview. You’re probably wondering what you should wear and whether you should prepare to shake hands or fist bump in the post-COVID world. You may even be practicing eye contact...
Origins of the Georgia Center for Opportunity: Why we choose to focus on healthy families
As an organization whose mission is to alleviate poverty in communities across Georgia, we are sometimes asked why we choose to focus on healthy families. After all, some of the most contentious flash points in our culture today center on the divergent views Americans...
MEDIA MENTIONS
Kemp signs school-choice expansion bills in Georgia | WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Gov. Brian Kemp signed a trio of bills Thursday to expand education options in Georgia. Senate Bill 47 expands the state's Special Needs Scholarship program to students with 504 Plans. The program offers scholarships for students with individualized education plans to...
Kemp signs school-choice expansion bills in Georgia | CENTER SQUARE
Gov. Brian Kemp signed a trio of bills Thursday to expand education options in Georgia. Senate Bill 47 expands the state's Special Needs Scholarship program to students with 504 Plans. The program offers scholarships for students with individualized education plans to...
Foster children, homeless students to get free tuition in Georgia | JOHNSON CITY PRESS
Foster children and students who are identified as homeless will be able to attend Georgia public universities and technical colleges for free, starting July 1. Senate Bill 107 was part of a legislation package signed Monday by Gov. Brian Kemp aimed at improving the...
Georgia nonprofit joins coalition pushing to use federal aid to expand broadband access | CENTER SQUARE
A Georgia nonprofit is among a group of organizations calling on state lawmakers to prioritize improving internet access with federal relief money. The Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) joined a coalition of 13 other organizations across the country urging state...
Poll: Support for school choice increases after COVID shutdowns | KULR8
After states shut down schools and forced families into virtual learning, parents and families found new ways to provide K-12 education to their children. While doing so, support for school choice options soared, a new poll from Real Clear Opinion Research found....
Resilience and Equity | SAPORTA REPORT
The challenges of the last year have impacted all of us. From social injustices to racial inequality and COVID, our communities are suffering. We have also seen great acts of heroism with our front-line workers who have continued to serve our communities. A common...
Georgia Center for Opportunity to host drive-thru job fair in Gwinnett County Thursday | GWINNETT DAILY POST
The Georgia Center for Opportunity will host the Better Work Gwinnett Job Fair Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Infinite Energy Center parking deck in unincorporated Duluth. During this drive-through job fair, job seekers will have an opportunity to meet...
Big Drive-Through Job Fair In Gwinnett This Thurs April 1st | CBS Atlanta
The Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) is proud to announce a collaborative effort known as the Better Work Gwinnett Job Fair occurring April 1, 2021, from 10am to 2pm at the Infinite Energy Center Parking Deck. During this drive-through job fair, job seekers will...
