Nonprofits Explore Sharing Resources To Better Serve Community

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — Twenty stakeholders in Sandy Springs came together last week to celebrate the start of 2019 with a renewed focus. These like-minded individuals took part in the annual Sandy Springs Civic Round Table.

The round table, which is made up of leaders of Sandy Springs nonprofit organizations, was held Jan. 8 at Heritage Sandy Springs. This initiative began in 1987 and since 2013, has been sponsored by Leadership Sandy Springs, the city's well-known organization that educates residents and business leaders about various aspects of the city.

Leadership Sandy Springs Executive Director Jan Paul began the lunch by challenging nonprofits and their leaders to take part in an exercise to create stable houses using materials provided to them. When that was over and the paper structures were presented, participants learned they were not given the same resources, which was the point of the exercise.

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"All of our organizations have limited resources, and we care deeply about civic engagement and serving our community," Paul said. "Our purpose today is setting a direction for this year and finding ways SSCRT can collaborate, share resources and better serve our community of Sandy Springs."

Former corporate trainer and consultant Gail Cohn, SSCRT’s program coordinator, led a follow-up discussion and was pleased with the groups’ focus, as was Carolyn Axt, SSCRT’s chair.

“SSCRT identified the group’s value in being a forum for ideas, getting to know one another face
to face, and finding ways to leverage their strengths and resources – all a positive start to
increasing our relevance and direction for 2019," Cohn said.

Carolyn Axt, SSCRT's chair, said the discussion generated at the annual meeting was "just what we were looking for."

"We got good ideas for moving forward," she said.

Photo 1: From left, Carolyn Axt, Sandy Springs Civic Round Table chair; Jan Paul, executive director Leadership Sandy Springs; and Gail Cohn, SSCRT program coordinator facilitated the luncheon meeting kicking off a new year and new focus for the city's nonprofit consortium.

Photo 2: From left, Maritza Morelli, executive director, Los Ninos Primero; Gene Jordan, LSS-SSCRT liaison; Tom Mahaffey, president and CEO, Sandy Springs/Perimeter Chamber; and Linda Bain, president, Arts Sandy Springs, participate in the construction challenge during the Sandy Springs Civic Round Table kick off meeting for 2019.

Images via Leadership Sandy Springs