ATLANTA — Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens is calling 2023 the Year of the Youth -- and the city is investing $1 million to prove it.
He announced the recipients of the first two cycles of the city's Youth Development Grant Awards, adding that the Urban League of Atlanta will facilitate the issuance. This is to support his initiative Year of the Youth, which aims to support children in the community and ensure they have the resources they need.
The grant funds come from the American Rescue Plan and will be distributed among 19 community-based organizations that provide programming and resources to Atlanta students from kindergarten through 12th grade. The list of organizations will be provided at the end of this story.
"Atlanta is a group project, and these community partners will help us ensure all of Atlanta's youth have the cradle-to-career support they deserve," the mayor said in a news release.
Dickens has maintained that as the city sees a string of youth violence it is important to keep the city's youngest residents involved in after-school programs, internships and nonprofits so they are less likely to be involved with or affected by gun violence.
"Just weeks into our Year of the Youth, we are making direct investments into the local non-profit organizations who know their communities personally," he said in a prepared statement.
The organizations applied for the funds during the initial application process which ended Jan. 9. According to a city news release, 161 organizations applied with grant requests adding up to more than $7 million. City leaders said this demonstrates a critical need for investments in community-based organizations.
Atlanta plans to accept new applicants in the near future and announce when the application portal reopens at this link. City leaders added that a third round of awards will be announced in the coming weeks.
List of organizations receiving a grant
- 3D Girls, Inc.
- AAMBC Inc.
- Agape Community Center, Inc.
- Atlanta Bicycle Coalition (DBA Propel ATL)
- Barack and Michelle Obama ES PTA
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta Inc.
- Drawchange
- Horizons Atlanta
- KidKong Association
- L.E.A.D. Inc
- Leap Year
- Moving in the Spirit
- Museum of Design Atlanta, Inc.
- Music Education Group, Inc.
- Noble Truth Project Inc. / Glacier’s Ice
- Raising Expectations
- Silence the Shame, Inc.
- Soccer in the Streets
- The Boyce L. Ansley School, Inc.
Organizations, businesses or volunteers interested in partnering with the city for Year of the Youth initiatives can register using this link. People can learn more about the city's goals at ATLYearoftheYouth.com.
