In 2020, we worked closely with our partners to help guide the families and students we serve through a pandemic, a contentious political election year, and renewed calls for social justice. Just as each morning’s rising sun offers the promise of new possibilities, the East Lake Foundation seeks ways to provide brightness – even in dark times.
Daniel Shoy, Jr.
President & CEO
East Lake Foundation
Serving the families of The Villages of East Lake and students of Drew Charter School, the East Lake Foundation helps the community build a bright future through
For more than twenty-five years, we have utilized our integrated holistic approach to community revitalization to build a stronger, healthier community in East Lake and ensure lasting, sustainable success.
As the Community Quarterback organization in East Lake, we work within a Defined Neighborhood to provide programs and resources to ensure equitable access to Cradle-to-College Education, Quality Mixed-Income Housing and Community Wellness programs that benefit all residents.
The successful transformation in East Lake became the blueprint for establishing Purpose Built Communities, which continues to build strong, economically diverse communities that thrive across the country.
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted many families in East Lake and our surrounding communities, many of whom continue to experience economic hardship as a result of this extraordinary health crisis.
In March of 2020, the East Lake Foundation developed the East Lake COVID-19 Relief Fund and temporarily shifted its focus to providing targeted critical support in areas of need to stabilize families, assist our partners, and help avert further crisis.
More than twenty-five years after the revitalization of East Lake began residents and students continue to benefit from the East Lake Foundation’s holistic work in the neighborhood. Here we highlight just a few of the many experiences from 2020.
Charles R. Drew Charter School serves more than 1,900 students in Pre-K through 12th grade with an innovative Project-Based Learning approach centered around a STEAM curriculum.
In 2020, Drew Charter School was named Georgia Charter School of the Year by the Georgia Charter Schools Association. Drew Senior, Junior and Elementary Academies each rank in the Top 10 in all of Atlanta Public Schools (APS). Drew consistently ranks in the top 10% in APS and top 20% in the State of Georgia.
Recognizing the importance of building a strong foundation for learning early in a child’s life, the East Lake Foundation and Drew Charter School work closely with our early learning partners (Cox Pre-K, East Lake Early Learning Academy and Sheltering Arms East Lake) to ensure a seamless transition as students matriculate through our cradle to college education pipeline.
As a result of the pandemic, East Lake’s early leaning partners pivoted to provide families virtual learning when possible, personal/early childhood hygiene items, childcare for front-line workers, among other resources.
RISE After School – R.I.S.E. (Recreation. Innovation. STEAMulation. Education) is a comprehensive after school program for Pre-K through 7th grade students, operating from 4:00PM to 6:00PM daily to provide students opportunities to participate in enrichment activities with their peers.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the RISE After School Program temporarily closed in March 2020 when Drew Charter School moved to virtual learning. The statistics highlighted reflect numbers from 2019-2020 school year (August 2019-March 2020).
In the fall of 2020, Columbia Residential opened The Villages of East Lake Gardenside, a new mixed-income apartment complex in the East Lake neighborhood. The state-of-the-art 108-unit complex features 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments, a garden, playground, community room and other amenities. Most apartments are offered at an affordable rate to families earning at or below 60% of area median income (AMI).
Families living at Gardenside receive priority in the Drew Charter School lottery and the other programs offered by the East Lake Foundation and its partners. This addition to The Villages of East Lake increases and diversifies the affordable rental housing available in East Lake and furthers the East Lake Foundation’s goal to broaden its impact in the neighborhood and at Drew Charter School.
The Resident and Community Support Program (RCSP) offers resources and support to residents of The Villages of East Lake mixed-income housing community, with an emphasis on economic stability, career development and community engagement.
RCSP teams with several community partners to enhance employment readiness through financial education workshops, including financial education, entrepreneurship, homeowner education and career coaching. Residents also receive access to job resources, financial tools, small business startup assistance and much more.
In March 2020, the RCSP team broadened its work to support families in need resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. RCSP coordinated and facilitated rent and utility assistance and distribution of digital devices and personal hygiene products to keep families safely in their homes. RCSP also worked closely with the East Lake Family YMCA and East Lake Golf Club to provide thousands of boxes of groceries for families in need.
First Tee Metro Atlanta is a year-round golf instruction and mentoring program uses the principles of golf, including discipline, hard work, sportsmanship and integrity to enhance academic achievement and life skills for youth participants (ages 5-17) across several program locations in Metro Atlanta, including the Charlie Yates Golf Course in East Lake.
Golf instruction also provides access to college scholarships, business connections and employment. The First Tee® of Metro Atlanta is one of many chapters nationally in the First Tee network.
Youth programming at golf course program locations temporarily resumed in July 2020 under strict COVID-19 safety protocols and was conducted at 3 golf course program locations rather than 8 in a typical year.
Start:ME East Lake is a 14-session program in partnership with The Roberto C. Goizueta Business & Society Institute at Emory University that offers the assistance promising micro-entrepreneurs need to develop viable and sustainable microbusinesses.
Since its inception, Start:ME East Lake has graduated six Cohorts with 93 ventures. In 2020, the program was offered virtually. 13% of the participants were residents of The Villages of East Lake and 25% of the participants were Drew Charter School parents.
East Lake Healthy Connections (ELHC), a program in partnership with the East Lake Family YMCA, ensures all eligible East Lake families have access to health insurance, effectively utilize primary and preventive health care services, properly manage chronic diseases, and establish contact with accessible medical homes.
In 2020, the East Lake Family YMCA was the Foundation’s primary partner for grocery distributions in the East Lake neighborhood.
The East Lake Foundation’s work would not be possible without the generous support of the individuals, businesses and partners that believe in our mission and understand the value of giving back to the community.
During this exceptionally challenging year, the Foundation is especially thankful for its supports who contributed to the East Lake COVID-19 Relief Fund.
We are indebted to the donor support that has contributed mightily to our success.
AEC Trust
Bank of America Charitable Foundation
CF Foundation
The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
Cousins Properties Foundation
Georgia Power Foundation, Inc.
Lillian and Greg Giornelli
The Golf Channel
Graphic Packaging International
Inspire Brands Foundation
Jack and Anne Glenn Charitable Foundation
James M. Cox Foundation
John H. & Wilhelmina D. Harland Charitable Foundation, Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Joel McElhannon
Mr. and Mrs. Charles McTier
ML Industries, Inc
Martin Neary
Nonami Foundation Inc.
NYC African American Business
PGA Tour
Purpose Built Communities through a grant from Harlem Children’s Zone and the Audacious Project
Regions Bank
Rotary Educational Foundation of Atlanta, Inc.
RSM US LLP
Tull Charitable Foundation, Inc.
United Way of Greater Atlanta/Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation
United Way of Greater Atlanta/Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation
Connolly Family Foundation
The Correll Family Foundation Inc.
MacGinnitie Family Fund
Georgia-Pacific Foundation Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond A. Giornelli
Global Payments Inc.
Golf for Goodness Sake
LiveVox
Onome Okuma
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Palmer
Porsche Cars North America, Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Alex Robertson
Sartain Lanier Family Foundation
Skelton Family Fund
Vulcan Materials Company Foundation
Waffle House, Inc.
Wells Fargo
Chris Womack
AAPCO Southeast, Inc.
Rosalind and John Brewer
Covenant Foundation
Eric Davis
Delta Community Credit Union
Cheryl and Jim Dupree
Sharon and Jim Edwards
Brad Freemole
Graciecam Foundation Inc.
Phillip Hatterick
James Hoyt
David and Jennifer Kahn Family Foundation, Inc.
Kinder Morgan Foundation
Scott Kreiner
Cynthia Kuhlman and Kip Sengestock
Jeffrey McKenna
Jeffrey Muir
Northern Trust
Patrick Family Foundation
Ray M. Robinson
David Roemer
William Teague
Truist
Paula and Brant Andrews
Althea Broughton
Jeannette Chu
Cameron and Bryan Debarry
Paul Freudigman
Georgia Power Company
Drew Giblin and Kristen Loehr
Jenny and Phil Jacobs
Mr. and Mrs. Rob Johnston
Liz and Mark Lazarus
Rhonda and Bert Ponder
Mark Rahiya
Gerald Render
Southern Company
Verint
Tyler Walsh
Marcia and Ronald Allen
Atlanta Falcons Stadium Company LLC
Julie and James Balloun
The Billi Marcus Foundation, Inc.
Lee and Bob Birdsong
Rita Breen
Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Brown
Pam and Rick Burton
James Case
Roberto Castro
Bentina Chisolm Terry
City of Atlanta
Allison Countryman
Cindra and Dennis Cronin
Audra Cunningham
Mr. and Mrs. Curley Dossman, Jr.
Everett Durham
Paula East-Janicki
Cindy and John C. Ethridge
Catherine and Paul Farrell
Allison and Scott Fillmore
The Fischer Family
For the Kid in All of Us
Mr. and Mrs. John Frazer
Marcel Gagnon
Tim Gray
Jane and Derek Hardesty
Joseph Lee Harris
Shannon Heath-Longino
Elizabeth Hervey
Gale Hill
Joi Jackson
Arthur, Tleatha and Aaron Johnson
Spencer Johnson
Linda Kuryloski
Virginia Lane
Leadership Sandy Springs
Cheryl Lomax
Marie and Stephen Macadam
Mary Ryan & Henry G. Kuhrt Foundation
Barbara and Alan McKnight
Jan and Frank Merritt
Porsche Cars North America, Inc.
Moontower
Carol and Tim Naughton
PERC Atlanta
Mr. and Mrs. David Ratcliffe
Joyce Reto
James Ribera
Chuck Robbins
William Sabol
Jay and Laura Sadd
Greta and Nate Seymour
Silver Cloud Fund
Elizabeth Smith
Dr. and Mrs. Miles Snowden
Elysa and Stan Sugarman
Nancy Surbaugh
Garry Swearingen
Thomas Thomasma
Dennette Thornton
Brendon Todd
Nikita Trivedi
United Way of Greater Atlanta
Universal Joint
Universal Joint Catering
Cary and Herron Weems
Dr. and Mrs. George Wirth
Christopher Witcher
Ruth Woodling
Catherine Woodling and Evan Strange
John Wright
Lois and Danny Yates, III
Madelyn R. Adams
Ronald R. Alston
American Endowment Foundation
Jeff R. Armstrong
Eric R. Ayers
Rick Bent and Renee Kastanakis
Jeannine Blanco
Jessie Bond
Angela Bostick
R. Boston Consulting Grou
Gary R. Brochin
Martha R. Brooks
Jon R. Brower
Mr. Ed Broyles
Maura and Mark Burden
Valorie Burton Burford
David R. Cofrin
Michael R. Dannewitz
Rachel Davis
Jay Farris
Bruce Gamache
Kari and Kirk R. Garratt
Ann R. Giornelli
Mike R. Graham
Karen and Peter R. H`Doubler
John B. Haberlen
Keith Hadelman
Michael Hagearty
Jamie R. Hamilton
Susan R. Harrell
Alison and John Hashimoto
Patty and Jim Hatcher
Nicholas and Kenan
Amy and Bill Hollett
Linton R. Hopkins
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Jennings, Jr.
Diane and Rick Jerue
John and Tracey Johnson
Elena R. Kaplan
Greg R. Kelly
Patrina R. King
Geoffrey R. King
Leila and Charles R. Konas
Sandra and Walter R. Kruger
Jeffrey R. Lawrence
Kimberly R. Layton
Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Lindseth, Jr.
John R. Lochridge
Wangui McKelvey
Melinda and Philip R. Melinda
Kendall and Preston R. Moister
Jessica R. Mullen
Kevin O’Keefe
Tywonia R. Orum
Mr. and Mrs. Albert Pelham
Cynthia R. Peterson
McKinsey and Company
Aruna and Peter Rao-McCann
Arthur Richardson
Sara Kate Roberts
Gail R. Ronan
Charlie R. Ross
Lawrence R. Schall
Jenny and Greg Schulz
Stuart R. Sherrill
Debra and Kevin R. Shigley
Daniel J. Shoy, Jr.
Mizuno USA
Sogamott Foundation
Patty Stafford and Dan Kniffen
State Farm
James and Janie R. Stratigos
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Swearingen
Ryan R. Swenson
Sarah Tostevin
Jonathan Tugman
Cody White
Janice R. Wittschiebe
Ketiwe Zipperer
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Chris Albright
AmazonSmiles
Beverly Anderson
Robert Auguste
Curtis Augustin
Camillus Avent
Juwan Ayers
Newell Baker
Michael Baliker
John Ballard
Michael Baron
Kyle Bennett
Malcolm Benson
Henry Bierenfeld
Laura Bollman
Erin and Pete Boorn
Ms. Robin D. Boyd
Tom Brillante/Decatur Eye Care
Kathleen Brownlee
Tiffayny Callaway-Ferrell
Peter M. Candler
Gary and Michele Carr
Theresa Cartwright
Deke Cateau
Vaughn Clagette
Adassa Clarke
Danna Clary
Thomas S. Clegg
Kenneth Cochran
Chad Cox
Tonya Creekmore
Michelle Daniel
Angela Denson
The Dobbs Family
Don Doran
Scott Drake
Martin Dugan
Barbara Dyer
Joseph Elden
Neal Elliott
Daryl Evans
Cooley Fales
Jelani Favors
Marilyn and Charles Fischer
Nicole Fischer Wesley
John Fleming
Evelyn Ford
Jeff Fox
Frameworks Institute
Shirley Franklin
Kevin Freaney
Divots Sportswear
FrontStream
Gary Galloway
Carrie Gann
Christian Geltz, D.O.
Jeff Globish
Ms. Bianca Golden
Emily Goodhart
Dr. and Mrs. Hill Griffin
Rutledge Gross
Marilyn Hack
John Hall
Scott Hansen
Bryan Harris
T. Alexander Harris
Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Harrison
Susan Harrod
Valerie Hartman
Robert Hearn Jr
Corbin Heath
Caleb Heath
Mrs. Nathan Vanmeter Hendricks, III
Paul Hourigan
Kelsey Howe
Pauline Howes
Hunter Hughes
Peggy Hutcheson
Maren Jackson
James Jarboe
Richard Johnson
Cleveland Jones
Stiles A. Kellett, Jr.
Steve Kelly
Henry Kerfoot
Richard Kessler
Kevin Kirchner and Angela Weiss
Richard Klein
Chris Koch
Patricia Kroc
Skip Layton
Yolanda Lee
Susan and Chris Leiner
Jeff Levy
Anthony Lisoski
Mr. and Mrs. Ted Lucien
Brandon Luten
Dave Mahloy
John Majors
Allison Mart
Luke Maslow and Justin Cullifer
Jennifer McCrary
Catherine and Mark McGahan
William McGowan
Colleen McMullen
Traci Messier
Mr. Terry Mitchell, Sr.
Brittany and John Molinaro
Hampton and Carter Morris
Elizabeth and Allen Moye
Robert Murphy
Susan Nowack
Emily O’Brien
Charlie Ogburn
Adam Parker
Carl and Kay Parker
Perry Patterson
Pershing
Charles Poulson
Pvt. Label Cigartainment
Anwar Raghman
Matt Recio
Denise Reese
Robert B. Remar and Victoria Greenhood
Mr. and Mrs. Haynes Roberts
Amy Roemer
Lauren Rosenzweig
Amelia Rudolph
Trevor Ruff
Kevin Sargis
Marybeth Schaller
Bennie N. Shaw
Jason Sims
Tim Singer
William D. Smith, Jr.
Stephen Spadini
Wesley Spiro
Brittany and Jonathan St. Clair
Mr. and Mrs. Edward St. Clair
Nancy Starr
Jon Sternfeld
Donald Swinford
Rontavius Telfair
Lanny S. Thomas
Sharon Thomas
Emily Ussery
Karen J. Vanderyt
Alexa Villard
Susan and Frank Virgin
Annette M. Wade and Mark W. Hall
Luke Walker
Anika Walker-Johnson
Christopher Walsh
Dexter Warrior
Sarah Washington
Dwayne Watkins
Calvin Watt
Jim Weathersby
John Wegner
Melanie and William Wesley
Robert West
Patrick West
Meisha B. White
Vance Wilder
Justin Williams
Banks and Lauren Woodrick
Muriel Woods
Leisa and Lyman Wray
Matt Wright
Sheila Wyatt
The guidance and commitment of our Board of Directors is crucial to our continued success.
CHRIS WOMACK
Chair, East Lake Foundation
President
Georgia Power
PHIL JACOBS
Vice Chair, East Lake Foundation
Partner
The Pendleton Consulting Group
JOHN R. FRAZER
Board Member, East Lake Foundation
Managing Director
Private Client Services, Investment Research & Advisory Group
CHERYL LOMAX
Board Member, East Lake Foundation
Chair
Purpose Built Schools Atlanta Board
LILLIAN GIORNELLI
Board Member, East Lake Foundation
Executive Director
CF Foundation
JOHN BREWER
Chairman and CEO
Vantage Private Capital
TOM COUSINS
Founder and Chairman Emeritus
Cousins Properties, Inc.
CURLEY M. DOSSMAN, JR.
President
Georgia Pacific Foundation and Vice President of Community Affairs, Georgia Pacific
JOHN R. FRAZER
Managing Director
Private Client Services, Investment Research & Advisory Group
LILLIAN COUSINS GIORNELLI
Executive Director
CF Foundation
MARILYN HACK
Founder and Owner
CPR Learning Concepts, LLC
PHIL JACOBS, Vice Chair
Partner
The Pendleton Consulting Group
ROBERT L. JOHNSTON
President and Founder
First Communities
MARK LAZARUS
Chairman
NBC Sports Cable Group, NBC Universal
CHERYL LOMAX
Chair of the Board
Purpose Built Schools Atlanta
ONOME OKUMA
Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer
Chick-fil-A
CHUCK PALMER
Managing Partner
Troutman Sanders, LLP
SARA PRINCE
Partner
McKinsey & Company
MARK RAHIYA
Chief Retail Sales Officer and Senior Vice President
USA Operations, Coca-Cola Company
GERALD RENDER
Managing Partner
Tillman and Managing Owner, Granny Nannies
JOYCE RETO
Atlanta Office Managing Partner
RSM
ALEX ROBERTSON
Managing Partner
Tiger Management, LLC
RAY M. ROBINSON
President Emeritus
East Lake Golf Club; Citizens Trust Bank
DANIEL SHOY, JR.
President and Chief Executive Officer
East Lake Foundation
CHRIS WOMACK, Chair of the Board
President
Georgia Power
MEISHA WHITE
Treasurer of the Board, Not a Board Member
CATHERINE WOODLING
Secretary of the Board, Not a Board Member
Here is an overview of our financials for FY2020.
*These unaudited numbers reflect the revenue and expenses of the East Lake Foundation and its charitable contributions to its partners in the East Lake Initiative.
Over the last twenty-five years, the Foundation has proven that working with residents and public and private partners, while providing the right combination of comprehensive programs and services, is transformative for the community.
In 2020, the Foundation experienced the power of partnership in a significant way. Together with our partners, the Foundation was able to provide critical assistance to our most vulnerable residents who were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The East Lake neighborhood’s motto is “In Atlanta the Sun rises first in East Lake.” While there will be difficult moments ahead, like the sun, the Foundation and its partners will continue to rise to meet the demands of recent events and that there will be brighter days ahead of us.
Visit our website to learn more.