Invitations will go out by regular mail next week for the Wine and Cheese Reception on Thursday, August 23rd.  Please respond quickly!  We need 100% Board attendance.

Barry Snyder and Sharon Damelio joined our staff this past Wednesday.  Email addresses: bsnyder@centraloac.org  sdamelio@centraloac.org

As happens this time of year, we are experiencing a cash flow problem.  Please help us by honoring Lee's request in his email which was sent today.

Wills Moore, Chair of the Development Committee, Lee Carroll, Board Chair, Barry Snyder, Sharon Demalio and I met this past Wednesday morning to form a strategy to meet the fundraising goals through the rest of this year.  Since there is no cushion in our budget, we must meet the goals to finish the year in the black.  Wills will be in touch with you regarding the actions that need to be taken by the members of the Board.

Governor Deal's decision to implement the Real ID in Georgia is costing the nonprofit community dearly.  Everyone, whether renewing or applying for a GA ID, must produce a birth certificate.  Our projections show that this will result in Central OAC incurring a 70% increase in the number of birth certificates provided in 2011.  The additional cost will be $8,000 more than budgeted for 2012.  Other organizations providing birth certificates for the homeless (there are only 2 other than Central OAC) have seen the number of requests double since Governor Deal's action.  More discussion will follow at the Central OAC Board Meeting on August 21st.

Mayor Reed's Innovation Delivery Team focusing on reducing the number of street homelessness in Atlanta have settled on three key parts of the new strategy:  Rapid Re-housing for new and episodically homeless individuals; Permanent Supportive Housing for chronically homeless individuals (with a focus on single men); Permanent Housing for Women with Children.  We have been invited to a "listening session" with the Mayor and his team.  The email I received reads, "Since those meetings (the strategy sessions we participated in) we have developed specific strategies and models around those initiatives using best practices in Atlanta and from other cities we've visited across the country.  We will host a Listening Session for you to vet those strategies and to share your concerns about how best to implement them."  I will attend and provide a briefing at the Board Meeting.

We executed a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) today with the University of Georgia.  The MOU, which is for three years, provides the terms under which we have been approved by UGA as a practicum site for graduate students in the Master of Social Work program (MSW).  Alicia Wilson, M.Div., who is attending UGA and who many of you may remember was our YAV/DOOR Intern in 2006-2007, will join us for a year-long practicum.  Because the agreement between Central OAC and UGA calls for the students to provide intensive case management, Alicia will work with guests in the Exodus Journey program.  Currently Rev. Tracey Blagec has 17 guests in the program and is unable to add more.  With Alicia joining us, we should more than double the number of guests in the program.  (Alicia was married to Rev. Jay Suender by our own Kimberly Parker.  Jay is a former Central OAC intern and our first Director of Public Policy Advocacy before being called to serve as youth pastor at the Snellville United Methodist Church.)

I have identified a new foundation which will provide free hearing aids for our guests.  The guest is first examined by a licensed Audiologist  who prescribes the hearing aids.  The order is then placed with the foundation which pays for the aids.  Hearing Aids typically cost in the $2,000 to $3,000 range. John Lokos will be the first guest to benefit from this new relationship! 

We are about to sign a MOU with Northwest Presbyterian Church.  The church was interested in starting a program for homeless veterans and the VA suggested they talk with us first.  After several meetings between Adam and Northwest Pres, they have agreed to give Central OAC $5,000  for our Vets Connect program.  We will participate in the announcement to their congregation during worship in the next few weeks.

As Caroline prepares to leave Atlanta, the Executive Committee has reviewed the bylaws which require that one seat on our Board of Directors be designated for the Associate Pastor of Central Presbyterian Church.  We discussed this with Gary Charles and reached a conclusion that the bylaws be amended to provide that the Pastor (Head of Staff) of Central shall appoint a member of the Pastoral Staff to serve at least one full term (three years) on our Board of Directors.  The Executive Committee will offer a motion at the Board meeting to make the necessary changes to the bylaws.  Gary has asked Anthony Damelio, the new resident pastor, to serve on our Board and you will meet him at the August meeting.