Empty Stocking Fund helping Athens residents struggling with transportation issues
After a month of being open for referrals, the Empty Stocking Fund at the Athens Area Community Foundation has granted $66,531.46 through local nonprofits and churches to help individuals in need in the community.
The Empty Stocking Fund has continued to be an important source for holiday assistance to the Athens area through referred assistance to families who are at risk of eviction. Referrals can cover rent, utilities, medical bills, and car payments for families at risk of eviction.
This year, Empty Stocking Fund has received a record number of referrals from local agencies for families at risk of eviction. Across the Athens area, the rise in cost-of-living expenses has increased the burden of affordability for many families. Reports from the Athens Wellbeing Project reflect this reality, with 1 in 10 households in the county having taken out at least one high-interest loan in the last 90 days. The most common reason? Car repairs.
Data from the Athens Wellbeing Project indicates that 16% of households do not have reliable access to a mode of transportation for commuting to work or school. While some of these households have no access to a vehicle, many households who do have a car are still unable to afford repairs or car payments and may turn to high interest loans to cover this expense.
Referrals to the fund related to transportation needs include:
A pregnant mother who lost her job and her car in the same month;
A single parent who was involved in a car accident that totaled the household’s car;
A family whose primary provider is unable to pay their car payments after being in the hospital for six weeks;
A school employee without a vehicle who has been struggling to find a reliable ride due to no longer living on an active bus route; and,
A single father facing eviction after losing his job for not having reliable transportation.
Local nonprofits continue to connect individuals in need to assistance through the Empty Stocking Fund to help alleviate some of the cost burden, but many families in the county are still feeling the effects of financial need following the holiday season.
You can still make a donation to the fund in the New Year! Anyone interested in contributing to the fund may do so online at https://athensareacf.org/empty-stocking-fund/ or via a check sent to the Athens Area Community Foundation at PO Box 1543, Athens, GA 30603.
Thank you to all of the donors who have contributed to the Empty Stocking Fund so far in the 2023 Campaign.
More: The Empty Stocking Fund already has helped more than 200 Athens area families this year
Platinum Level
Grace Adams
Anonymous
JoBeth Allen
Fred and Eileen Hale
Mr. and Mrs. James De Haseth
Jeffrey and Rebecca Engel
Doris Firth
Joe and Lisa Frierson
Ginger Duensing
David and Evelyn Knauft
Barbara and Frank Rice Memorial Fund at the Athens Area Community Foundation
Holt-Kassay Fund at the Athens Area Community Foundation
Richard and Ginny Lynch
Richard H. Warner
Lee Nelson Weeks Charity Fund at the Athens Area Community Foundation
Carol E. Jones
John and Elizabeth Barton
Kent E. Silver, in memory of Ardie and Wilma Silver
Glass Pyles Charitable Fund
Sam and Mary Elliott
The Smith-Tomporowski Family Fund at the Athens Area Community Foundation
Roberta K. Hudson
Jane Payne
Tammy and Bill Kemper
McKesson
Alice and Noah N. Langdale, Jr. Foundation
Janet Booker
Vanessa Cannon
Anonymous, in memory of William Hopper
Gold Level
Anonymous
The Al and Kathy Conn Parker Fund at the Athens Area Community Foundation
G. Allard
David and Jean Giannasi
Mary and Larry O’Toole
Wendy Zomlefer
Jeffrey and Rebecca Engel
Bert and Joanna Hill
Mark and Trina von Waldner
Glada Horvat, in honor of the UGA Athletics Compliance Staff
Geneele C. Crenshaw
Michael and Selina Catto
L.B. Ritter
Dominic Fuccile
Nutter and Associates, Inc.
The McQuiston-Stueck Foundation Fund at the Athens Area Community Foundation
Milledge Avenue Baptist Church
Atlas Spine and Balance
Anthony and Charlys Crisafulli
John and Mona Heinze
St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church
Silver Level
Beverly Logan
Elisa Zarate
Susan Brown
Philip and Linda Koehler
Dennis and Marian Beresford
Rakesh and Sunita Singh
Jan and Mark Wheeler
Anonymous
Ian Russell Hardin
KathyLynne Sanderson
Laurie Hart
Gayle Rogers
Alan Parrish
Jane Marston
Jannette Ockenfels
Rhonda Sorrow
Ed and Sue Wilde
Ladies Auxiliary VFW Mitchell-Fields, Post 2872, Inc.
Dave and Devereux Burch
Jo Ellen Oliver
Mr. and Mrs. William Norred
Ruth Harman, in honor of John Holdridge
Inge Z. Whittle
Margaret Stahl
The Lawrence Family Fund
Deirdre Kane
Tom and Nancy Thomas
FSB
Stephen Olejnik
James and Laura Dowd
Ms. Jan Fosbender
Margarette Fowler
Don and Beverly Abbott
Kent and Rebecca Silver, for Julie McCoy
J. McCoy, to honor him, Pa Rum Babum
Michael and Monika Kapousouz
Donna and Don Davis
Ted and Sandy Deiter
Jessica A. Ostick
Kathleen G. Rohs
Carter and Heidi Naylor
Eleanor Walker
Judge Patricia Barron
Jessica A. Ostick
Kathleen G. Rohs
Carter and Heidi Naylor
Eleanor Walker
Vickie and Jerry Tolbert, given on behalf of the pharmacists and technicians at the Epps Bridge Road Walmart pharmacy department
Pamela J. Snelling
Steve and Diane Horton
Evelyn Boynton
FBK
Sonny and Beth Thurmond
Dennis and Pam Blake
Anonymous, in honor of The Usual Suspects
University of Georgia Golf Course Staff/SBF
Mark Cobb, for Jimmy and Shari Cobb and Family
The Novey Family Fund at the Athens Area Community Foundation
Jim and Shari Cobb and Family
Jerry and Ginny Rogers
Suzette Lay-Heard
Bobby and Linda Snipes
Sylvia Wilson, in memory of Chad Ellett and in honor of Beth Daniel
Mary P. Boswell
Sandra Hunt
Anonymous, in honor of Glada Horvat
Joy and Rick VanHassel
Cristy Sinksen
Sandra Keller
Sara T. Baker
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Poole, in memory of Valmore Pryor Carter
Emily B. Honigberg
W.S. & R.L.S.
Katie Bemisderfer
Huff Grove Baptist Church
James Deeley
Beverly Sams
Paula and Matt Alexander
Julia Holt
Isabelle and Sam Seward
The C. McCullen Family
Thomas Simpson
Mary Atwater
Ann Shumpert
Red Level
Mr. Luten Nunnally
Nicholas Kundin
Patricia Shover
Ms. Roberta J. Carver
Vera Simpson
Catherine Slaughter
Susan Carter, in memory of Chuck Carter
Susan Carter, in memory of Billy and Joyce Chatoney
Ms. Claire Benson
Jennifer Frey
Elizabeth Francisco
Jordan DeWitt
Caitlyn Eley
Anonymous, in memory of John Bleyle
Mr. K. Dan Howington
Randall Edenfield
Rich Niemeier
Team Hunt-Starrs
Anonymous
Jonathan Krell
Sara Williamson
Connie Bruce
Mt. Zion Chapter No.207
Jerry Chesness
Ellen Ritchey and Roger Vogel
Shirley Sanders
Nina Lamson
Cynthia Prosser
Charlotte and Larry Lewis
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Empty Stocking Fund helping Athens families with transportation issues
