Annual Gwinnett Great Days of Service Returns October 22-23

Considered to be one of the most impactful community-focused events in the county, Gwinnett Great Days of Service, powered by the Gwinnett Coalition, is being eagerly anticipated by Gwinnett nonprofits as high demand for health and human services support continues to drain resources. Public health concerns remain top priority, so this year’s event will follow the same format as last year. On October 22-23 drive-through collection site around Gwinnett County will accept items that benefit local nonprofit organizations. A limited number of on-site volunteer opportunities are being offered at some nonprofit locations to help receive, sort, and store the supplies collected.

This year 31 nonprofits signed up to be benefactors of Gwinnett Great Days of Service and its mission critical support for their organizations. To date 25 collectors have adopted 17 agencies nonprofits of the 31, leaving 14 non-profits still to be adopted. To “adopt” an agency, a company, church, neighborhood, civic or social club, university, etc. simply registers to host a collection drive and delivers those items to their adopted agency. Continuing the annual Great Days of Service tradition of reinforcing service learning and teaching the importance of caring for our community to our school-aged children, 50 GCPS schools across Gwinnett will join in hosting school-based food drives to help fill the shelves at our local food pantries. 20 agencies are requesting on-site volunteers to help with item intake.

Renée Byrd-Lewis, Gwinnett Coalition President and CEO, says, “It’s awe-inspiring how our community steps up every year and helps with capacity-building for our nonprofits. As the waves of COVID-19 continue, the needs in our community continue to exponentially grow. Many nonprofits are holding on by a thread at a time when our community needs them most. In 2020, Great Days of Service partners collected over 100,000 essential items and the list of needs this year is even longer. We know, however, that Gwinnett will rise to the challenge and do what it takes to help take care of its own.” Just some of the items being requested this year include diapers, cleaning supplies, bottled water, personal care items, shelf-stable food, clothes, linens, art supplies, toys, and more.

Since its inception 22 years ago, Gwinnett Great Days of Service has changed lives with its community-focused projects. This two-day event consistently mobilizes thousands of individuals. It mobilizes help via corporations, schools, civic organizations, and government entities through purposeful volunteer work. Gwinnett Great Days of Service continues to provide aid to those who struggle with issues like homelessness, hunger, and educational gaps. It also seeks to aid seniors, single parents, citizens with disabilities, and more. Gwinnett Great Days of Service is more than just a volunteer event. It is a way to bring diverse groups of people together to create positive and meaningful change in their community.

Byrd-Lewis says, “We are excited to carry on the tradition of Gwinnett’s Great Days of Service. We’ve modified our traditional service-project model to allow us to minimize the spread of COVID-19 while still meeting critical needs across our community. Hosting collection drives truly embodies the Coalition’s motto - Driving Collective Impact. Individuals who join the movement can raise their hands and be counted among those working to help our community thrive.”

There are two ways Gwinnettians can help power the 2021 Gwinnett Great Days of Service:

• Adopt a nonprofit and host a collection drive
• Register to volunteer onsite at a nonprofit

You can even get started today as Spectrum Autism Support Group needs to be adopted a little early to support a special project. Their delivery date is October 2nd. Check out all engagement options available at www.gwinnettgreatdaysofservice.org.