HOSPITALITY ALONG THE HIGHWAY

28 Apr HOSPITALITY ALONG THE HIGHWAY

Now more than ever, communities are coming together to show love and support for their fellow neighbors, residents, and essential workers. From one end of the Highway to the other, people are finding unique ways to support local businesses, deliver food and give to those in need. We’ve rounded up just a few of the many inspiring stories along the Highway.

BUCKHEAD

Buckhead leadership is elated by the outpouring of support and goodwill from within its community. So many are taking the initiative to help nurture those impacted by COVID-19. One of which is the Atlanta Women’s Fund, an emergency fund that the Atlanta Women’s Foundation created in order to assist women in need during this time.

Another example of the Buckhead hospitality comes from Piedmont Hospital, where staff members are connecting patients with their families who are unable to visit them due to COVID-19 through The Piedmont Care Gram. Through this program, families can email in videos and messages to the hospital, which will be delivered to individual patients.

Startup companies that call Buckhead’s Atlanta Tech Village have found several unique ways to help others during this crisis, like developing helpful tech resources like symptom tracking apps that help people determine if they have COVID-19 before going to a doctor’s office.

These are just a few of the many acts of kindness and service that can be found throughout Buckhead. Thank you to all of our businesses and neighbors for keeping our community ‘Buckhead Strong’, and we look forward to extending our usual ‘Hospitality’ to all visitors when they are able to return.

SANDY SPRINGS

When schools closed, the parents of Sandy Springs Charter Middle School came together to set up a pantry for food insecure families that count on school lunches. They reached out to the owners of Samad Mediterranean Grill and used the restaurant as a location for donations. They then added Under The Cork Tree as a second location so that families have access to a pantry on both sides of town.

For more information, as well as details on how to help, visit Solidarity Sandy Springs’ website.  

Pontoon Brewing, a Sandy Springs favorite, is also working to give back to the hospitality industry through the #AllTogetherBeer worldwide movement. Spearheaded by Other Half Brewing, an NYC-based brewery, the #AllTogetherBeer campaign was created to raise funds for food and beverage industry workers through the brewing and selling of specialty beers. Pontoon’s #AllTogetherBeer will be released in June, with 100% of proceeds from purchases going toward Bottleshare, a non-profit that raises money to support those in the brewing industry.

Want to lend a helping hand? Now you can! Pontoon is asking for customers to help create the can artwork by writing a short message on plain white paper in black ink, and sending a digital file of it to [email protected] (scanned PDFs are preferred but photos will work as well). Submissions will be included as space allows, but they will continue to use submitted messages in their#AllTogetherBeer campaign. Wherever you are, keep an eye out for #AllTogetherBeer to support your local community.

ROSWELL

With live gigs and shows being put on hold, the Southeast Elite Entertainment team wanted to help local Roswell musicians and restaurant employees affected by COVID-19. In an effort to do so, they organized Roswell “Live” 2020, an online benefit concert, which ran from April 25 to 26. This virtual concert, which also raised money for nearby Woodstock musicians and restaurant employees, pitted Roswell and Woodstock musicians against each other in a friendly battle of the bands. Donations for each of the cities were accepted via GoFundMe pages, which the Southeast Elite Entertainment team also donated an additional $500 per city. All of the funds raised during and following the event will go directly to supporting each city’s artists and restaurants.

Donations will be taken throughout the month of April. To donate, click here.

To learn more about Roswell “Live” 2020, click here.

ALPHARETTA

During these uncertain times, the city of Alpharetta is encouraging residents and neighbors in surrounding communities to consider donating to local businesses that are working to make a difference. Below are just a few of the organizations that are working to bring warm meals and support to those in need as well as those working to combat the COVID-19 crisis.

• Bagel Boys–Bagel Boys is delivering food to the North Fulton doctors, nurses, hospital workers, and other essential services providers as part of their Feed our Heroes initiative. The local bagel shop is accepting donations that go directly towards these meals and deliveries.
• Crave Pie Studio – As a part of Crave Pie Studio’s Pie It Forward initiative, residents and neighbors can donate money to “sponsor” a mini pie, which will be delivered to an essential worker on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis.
• Kale Me Crazy Alpharetta –Residents and neighbors can donate to Kale Me Crazy’s Feed the Front-Line program, which provides wraps and wellness shots to local healthcare workers.
• Maple Street Biscuits Company – Maple Street Biscuits Company’s #BiscuitsForHeroes campaign allows residents and neighbors to purchase biscuit boxes to be delivered to a hospital, medical facility or first response units. Those who participate will receive a gift card worth 10% of the purchase price.

CUMMING/FORSYTH

A new city initiative, Together4FoCo is aiming to bring people together during these challenging times by offering a resource for residents and local businesses to engage with and support one another. The movement’s website offers updates on the COVID-19 quarantine, tips on how to support others and webinars on everything from financial advice to crafting crisis social media campaigns. The site also lists many businesses across all sectors that residents can support, ranging from restaurants to retail, as well as lists of places in the county that are hiring and where to apply. It is a one stop shop for a multitude of helpful community resources during the COVID-19 crisis.

To continue their support of local businesses, the city and county have also launched Takeout Bingo, encouraging residents to order curbside or to go any of the many restaurants throughout Forsyth County in order to complete their bingo cards.

DAWSONVILLE

In light of the Annual Easter Egg Hunt being cancelled over the holiday, the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce and Destination Dawsonville partnered with local non-profit Kare for Kids and the Dawson County Emergency Services to launch the Dawson Community Egg Toss. More than 20,000 eggs and 3,400 Easter bags were divided and prepared for children and families throughout Dawson County. On Easter Sunday, the Local Fire Department and Emergency Service workers drove through neighborhoods and tossed the goodie bags to kids from fire engines, delivering smiles across the city and county.

DAHLONEGA

In Dahlonega, the community surrounding the University of North Georgia has launched an initiative to create 3D-printed masks for medical professionals caring for patients with COVID-19. With the help of skilled engineers, designers, medical professionals, and students, more than 100 masks are being produced every single day for healthcare workers not only at the Dahlonega campus, but also at UNG’s sister campus in nearby Gainesville.

Lumpkin County Family Connection also partnered Striker Marketing a local business, to sell a limited release of t-shirts and tumblers that read “FOR Lumpkin,” with the hope of bringing everyone together through the pandemic. Pre-order sales ended on April 12, with a portion of proceeds from each purchase going to support the Lumpkin Family Connection’s Emergency Assistance Fund. The Fund provides coverage of basic needs, such as power, water, propane gas and internet access to those in need as well as food from the local food bank or to purchase gift cards from area restaurants.