Today the nonprofit organization Amplify My Community announced a $50,000 gift to Decatur Cooperative Ministry (DCM) to support the organization’s efforts to prevent and alleviate homelessness and poverty in Decatur and DeKalb County. The unrestricted gift was made possible by funds generated at the Amplify Decatur Music Festival, held October 1 and 2, and is the largest in Amplify’s history.
The festival was presented by Lenz and produced in partnership with Eddie’s Attic.
Amplify Decatur featured performances by Indigo Girls, John Paul White, Shawn Mullins, Rodney Crowell, Blind Boys of Alabama, The Cactus Blossoms Duo, Michelle Malone, and others.
Decatur Cooperative Ministry offers several housing and prevention programs all along the continuum of homelessness service. Its primary programs include:
- Hagar’s House: An emergency night shelter and assessment center, providing up to 90 days of night shelter for families with children;
- Family House: A transitional housing program, providing housing and supportive services to move families from homelessness to self-reliance in six months;
- Family Success: A program offering permanent supportive housing to chronically homeless families (those with extensive histories of homelessness who have at least one member with a diagnosed disability). Their families receive long-term support and services, ensuring lasting housing stability.
- Project Take Charge: A homelessness prevention program providing emergency assistance (in the form of rent/mortgage and utility assistance) to at-risk families, seniors, and veterans in danger of eviction, foreclosure, or disconnection of utility services.
Event sponsors include Lenz, Eddie’s Attic, Decatur Package Store, Leafmore Group, Iris and Bruce Feinberg, Oakhurst Realty Partners, Natalie Gregory & Co., Savannah Distributing Co., Three Taverns, and Creature Comforts Brewing Co. As well as, Cox Media Group, Viral Solutions, Georgia Urology, WABE, Hall Booth Smith, Plumb Works, Topo Chico, Verisail Partners, Visit Decatur, Brick Store Pub, Decatur CD, Travis Grubb/Keller Knapp, and Trove Home.
To-date, Amplify has donated more than $450,000 in unrestricted gifts to locally oriented anti-homelessness and poverty-focused organizations — including more than $285,000 in Decatur.
“Amplify has proven to be one of the best homegrown music festivals around– with an incredibly talented and musically-diverse line-up, high-quality production, and the best local food and craft beer offerings,” said Drew Robinson, president of the Amplify My Community board of directors. “Our focus on the festival has enabled us to responsibly grow and continue to improve so that we can celebrate our heroes at Decatur Cooperative Ministry with a stout financial gift year after year. We are humbled by their work and grateful for our wonderful partnership.”
The 2022 Amplify Decatur Music Festival will be held Friday, April 22 and Saturday, April 23. Performers will be announced later this year.
For more information on upcoming events and to donate to Amplify My Community, please visit AmplifyMyCommunity.org.
Amplify My Community was founded in 2010 and is based in Decatur, Georgia. Its mission is to leverage the universal love of music to fight poverty at the local level. To date, Amplify has produced more than 70 concerts and raised and donated more than $450,000 in unrestricted gifts to locally oriented anti-homelessness and poverty-focused organizations — including more than $285,000 in Decatur. Amplify has held concert series in Atlanta, Athens, Decatur, Suwanee, and Duluth, Georgia; Asheville and Charlotte, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; and Charlottesville, Virginia.
Decatur Cooperative Ministry’s mission is to help families facing homelessness settle into safe, stable homes and build healthy lives filled with peace, hope, and opportunity. Founded in 1969, Decatur Cooperative Ministry (DCM) offers transitional housing, shelter, homelessness prevention, rapid re-housing, and permanent supportive housing programs. DMC’s programs span the entire spectrum of currently recognized homelessness interventions. To accomplish this, DCM partners with 35 congregations from 14 denominations as well as private foundations, universities and schools, government agencies, community groups, and local businesses.
