CREATING CONNECTED COMMUNITIES

Our first and now signature program, Amy’s Holiday Party (AHP) has served the Atlanta community since 1995. Now in its 27th year, AHP is a winter celebration serving children and families from 40+ social service agencies around Atlanta, including homeless shelters, foster care networks, and refugee centers. Guests of AHP are able to select gifts and books to take home, create arts & crafts, participate in carnival games, take a photo with Santa, and much more.

In partnership with Title-1 schools and other organizations serving children experiencing hardship, Festivals are CCC’s largest programs and designed to be fun, loud, and exciting environments that promote community building. Of all of CCC’s programs, these programs are most likely to include the entire family, allowing parents and kids to enjoy activities together that they would not normally be able to experience.

Each activity is facilitated by a teen volunteer, creating a dynamic that creates opportunities for meaningful interactions between teens and participants. Teens engage kids in conversation or join them in some of the activities. Festivals typically include bounce houses, carnival games, photo booth, DJ and dance floor, as well as other arts and crafts, STEAM projects, and sports opportunities. Common to all of CCC’s programs, participants also receive meals, books, and Smile Bags containing personal care items.

CCC partners with Title-1 schools and organizations serving children experiencing hardship to provide community Celebrations. As CCC’s mid-size programs, Celebrations utilize a freestyle format allowing participants to explore each station at their own pace and provide a perfect mix of structured activities and unstructured play. Teen volunteers run each activity station, as well as interact freely with participants while they enjoy activities that could include scooter racing, giant Jenga, board games, LEGO-building, and more.

At a Celebration the volunteer-to-guest ratio is purposefully smaller, inviting a more laid-back and relaxed atmosphere where pick-up games like dodgeball or balloon-sword fighting may organically take place. This low-key dynamic creates an opportunity for teens and children to make real connections and discover similarities.

CCC’s GOAL programs are designed to utilize Games, engagement Opportunities, craft & sports Activities, and Learning support to provide more 1:1 experiences for our teen volunteers and the students at our partner organizations. GOAL Programs utilize the buddy model by pairing each participant with a teen volunteer for the duration of the program. This model gives our teens the chance to build one-on-one connections and interact with each child based on their own needs or interests.

GOAL programs provide an intimate atmosphere and an opportunity for real conversation as children enjoy the activities. From picture frame making to scooter racing, to board games and photo booth fun, each GOAL Program also includes learning support and academic-focused activities like homework help, tutoring, reading together, or practicing skills like counting.

CCC partners with other organizations serving children and families to help provide necessary volunteer support for their outreach programs. These Support Programs include programs of all shapes and sizes but are distinct because they are planned by our partner organizations instead of the CCC team. Programs that we’ve already supported include Saturday schools, academic tutoring, field days, and summer camps.