Local folks take action to help their community

Me, me, me.

What’s in it for me?

Brooke Nebel has heard folks ask ad nauseam what the stimulus package will do for them. She’s sick of it.

What was it that John F. Kennedy said during his inauguration on Jan. 20, 1961?

“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

Nebel has found a similar inspiration with the election of President Barack Obama, whom she campaigned for in Gwinnett.

“He’s community-oriented as far as getting people together to do things,” the Norcross mom told me. “That’s how I got the idea for this fund-raiser. Right now, with what’s going on currently with the economy, we all need to work together, and all the political parties are doing is bickering. Neither side is doing anything for us as a community.”

Nebel hears stories every now and again from her daughter’s elementary school about families who have lost homes and jobs. A Gwinnett resident for nearly two decades, she’s always been civic-minded. And now is the time, she said, for everyday people to rise up. To think about someone.

“Even though we may have our own individual situations,” she said, “people need to be aware their neighbors are hurting. We won’t even have a community if families are taken out of their homes due to foreclosure, and they lose their jobs, and have nowhere else to go for shelter or food.”

Rainbow Village Inc. (http://www.rainbow village.org/index.html) is a transitional housing program for homeless families. Displaced families can stay in any of the nonprofit’s houses in Norcross or apartments in Duluth for two years. Parents attend twice-weekly classes on home management and budgeting. Their kids partake in after-school and summer activities. Self-sufficiency is the goal.

Needless to say, demand has soared. Calls for assistance have tripled, said the Rev. Nancy Yancey, the program’s executive director.

“We get up to 150 calls a month from folks looking for assistance,” she told me. “The reality has shifted. Folks who never ever thought they would be homeless are finding themselves in that situation. Our cause has never been more prevalent than now.”

The Norcross Cooperative Ministry (www
.norcrossco-op.org) opens to serve the public every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It’s not unusual for people to line up outside and wait for the co-op to unlock its doors. What’s different these days, though, is the number of new faces, said Shirley Cabe, who oversees the program.

“We’re seeing 20 to 30 new people every day,” Cabe said, noting that many share stories of layoffs or crippling cuts in their work hours.

On Sunday, a fund-raiser will be held to benefit Rainbow Village and the Norcross Cooperative Ministry at Chef Pete’s, a Norcross restaurant that specializes in New Orleans-style ‘cue. A portion of food sales will go to Rainbow Village; attendees are asked to bring nonperishable food for donations to the co-op.

“We hope for a good crowd,” Nebel said. “We want to bring attention to the area businesses and charities, and put a positive spin on a lot of negativity right now. I know people are asking what the stimulus plan is going to do for us but we need to look at what we can do to better ourselves locally, to keep our community going.

“We need to return to our roots.”

WANT TO GO?

What: A fundraiser to benefit the Norcross Cooperative Ministry and Rainbow Village. Goods and services donated by about 20 businesses will be offered in a silent auction; entertainment will be provided by area bands and musicians.

When: 2 to 7 p.m. Sunday

Where: Chef Pete’s Barbeque, 6325 Spalding Drive, Norcross

Details: 770-449-9571