‘Take Up the Cause’ helps Augusta nonprofits coordinate

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Local organizations from homeless shelters to poverty resource groups met up to network with each other for the first time since the pandemic.

They say knowledge is power, especially when it comes to helping people in need find the right resource.

The effort “Take Up the Cause” hopes to help bring Augusta together.

Nomi Stanton, Executive Director with GAP Ministries said, “We want to be able to help people, but we also don’t want to send them on a wild goose chase and send them somewhere that is no longer open.”

GAP Ministries Augusta can seem like an end-all solution to lots of problems for families in need, from providing their food pantry, household cleaning products, help with IDs, certificates, and more.

Volunteer Judy Grieve says, “We realized that diapers are not one of the things covered by food stamps or help of any kind, you have to take it out of your basic salary. And we realized that we could help the families tremendously by providing diapers.”

Grieve has been volunteering with GAP Ministries for 12 years, but she’ll be the first to say they can’t solve everything, “People have come and said, ‘You have diapers? We need adult diapers.’ or ‘I don’t know, I just need a bus ticket.’ So I had a little blue book for a while that had every resource in the city that’s outdated now.”

This is why they’re bringing city leadership, the Veterans Administration for homeless resources, Christ Community Health, and more to the same table.

“Say someone goes to Salvation Army and is in need of food, so they don’t need housing but they’re going through food insecurity, then Golden Harvest would be the agency to go to,” said Executive Director Stanton.

Key coordination for a united Augusta.

“We are now more aware of our partners now,” says Grieve.

They’re now aiming to make this an annual gathering of resources so everyone is on the same page when it comes to providing help around Augusta-Richmond County.

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