Something amazing is happening here in Atlanta right now – specifically for children and our communities. If you have any interest whatsoever in the betterment of our children (and therefore the present and future state of our communities), I highly suggest you dig into this.

I am so thoroughly impressed with a new initiative United Way of Greater Atlanta has spearheaded in order to bring awareness to child wellness (and therefore the health of the entire community)  here in ATL. Their new Child Well-Being initiative is centered around the idea that thriving communities start with thriving children. The kickoff event yesterday morning was so well attended it was standing room only and even multiple overflow rooms to hold all the attendees. Why is it so serious?

Because nearly 500,000 children in the Greater Atlanta area live in areas of LOW child well-being.

What’s most intriguing and truly innovative is an easy-to-use tool that gives you a “heat map” of sorts and scores regarding child wellness based on zip code. So you can literally zoom into your area of Atlanta and see what is essentially the health of your neighborhood: 

• Is your community safe?
• Do you have access to medical care?
• How many kids can read proficiently by the 3rd grade?
• Do the teens graduate from HS and then go on to graduate from college?
• Are the adults there educated, employed and housed?

I think it’s a BRILLIANT way to bring extreme awareness right now to the immediate needs in the community – the areas that need the most attention right now and the areas that could use improvement over time. An easy link to check this tool out? #StartHere.

Andrea D. Smith
Senior Brand Director
The ADS Agency