Annual fundraiser featured food, fellowship and fun to continue Westside nonprofit’s mission to bring light, hope and transformation to community
Last week, local Atlanta nonprofit City of Refuge hosted The Gathering, an annual fundraising event that highlights the impact the nonprofit has made on Atlanta’s Westside over the last 26 years and invites supporters to donate towards the organization’s mission. This year at The Gathering, City of Refuge raised $1.3 million – $300,000 more than in 2022 – to fund day-to-day operations and launch new programs, initiatives and services for residents living on-campus and the surrounding community.
Held on Thursday, October 19 at The Foundry at Puritan Mill on Atlanta’s Westside, The Gathering invited attendees to take part in food, fellowship and a special performance from six-time GRAMMY winner Amy Grant. Amy is a recipient of the 2022 Kennedy Center Honors, has sold more than 30 million albums world-wide, including three multi-platinum, six platinum, and four gold. The Gathering celebrated the achievements and growth sustained by City of Refuge in the last year and announced what is to come in 2024 for the organization. Since the start of 2022, City of Refuge has helped more than 3,000 individuals escape poverty and create opportunities for self-sustainment.
“Each The Gathering event is even more special than the last one, because we’re able to reflect the thousands of individuals who have already come to City of Refuge to find life transformation, while creating opportunities for thousands of others to find pathways out of poverty,” said Bruce Deel, CEO and founder of City of Refuge. “We enjoyed fellowshipping with supporters new and old as we came together to bring lasting impact to individuals and families transitioning out of crisis.”
The theme for this year’s The Gathering was “Breaking Barriers, Building Momentum,” which aligns with City of Refuge’s latest capital improvement campaign that will bring a host of new facilities and programs to support the nonprofit’s mission to help those escaping crisis bypass barriers to transformation by improving the availability and accessibility of critical services such as housing, education, healthcare and job training.
Forthcoming initiatives that will be funded by the capital campaign include the development of a Transformation Center at the former American Legion site, the construction of new affordable housing communities and on-campus improvements such as the creation of a Welcome Center.
Sponsors of The Gathering included Revel Systems, US Bank, Elavon, Brock Built Homes, Genuine Parts Company, Royal Food Service, Gas South, Georgia Natural Gas, Peach State Health Plan and Regions Bank.
About City of Refuge
City of Refuge was founded in 1997 with the mission to transform the lives of individuals and communities in Atlanta and beyond. Today the organization resides in a warehouse that was graciously donated in the 30314 neighborhood, one of the poorest and most crime-ridden areas in the nation. Since inhabiting the warehouse, City of Refuge has served over 35,000. The organization has created several programs designed to impact housing, youth development, health & wellness, and vocation. The City of Refuge is a leader in social transformation and continuously works to empower and equip individuals with the tools to succeed.
