1. 101 Jackson St. N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 3031 2
OFFICIAL MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media & Public Contact: Detria Russell, Executive Director
1-404-460-8321 | detria@mlksrcollaborative.org
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2016
12:00 P.M.
King Collaborative Taking Atlanta by Storm
Non-Profit Bestowed Several Major Community Initiatives and an Award
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – Boasting an impressive year-end closeout, the Martin Luther King Sr. Community
Resources Collaborative will cross the 2017 threshold with a prestigious Atlanta Public Schools commitment-to-
education award and a few local and national community service partnerships and grants under its belt. While
only in its second year of infancy as a non-profit, according to its executive director, Detria Russell, this agency
offers a non-traditional approach to offering wrap-around community programs and resources. Located in the
heart of the ever-growing gentrified, yet still, blighted Old Fourth Ward and King Historic District, the
Collaborative’s centralized location has positioned it to create a colossal impact in the lives of disenfranchised
and historically underserved residents in the Atlanta area.
AmeriCorps VISTA Program
September 12, 2016, the Martin Luther King Sr. Community Resources Collaborative, through its AmeriCorps
VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) grant application, was awarded a one-year opportunity for 3
AmeriCorps Vista Volunteers to assist with capacity building and expansion of agency services.
According to the Corporation for National and Community Service’s acting Georgia State Director Robin R.
Corindo, “AmeriCorps VISTAs are addressing some of the toughest challenges facing the nation today, like
ending veteran homelessness, addressing chronic unemployment, and ensuring children and families have access
to healthy food. They are also tackling new challenges like community resilience in the face of natural disasters
while using 21st
-century skills in science, technology, engineering and math to find new solutions for deep­seeded
problems. To date, more than 200,000 people have served as AmeriCorps VISTAs, and last year almost 7,800
VISTA members supported more than 1,100 projects around the country, assisting the 46 million Americans who
still live in poverty today.”
United Way of Greater Atlanta VITA Tax Preparation Grant
The Martin Luther King Sr. Community Resources Collaborative was approved for the second year as a Volunteer
Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Tax Site Coordinator. As a tax site coordinator, the Collaborative will manage
the operations of the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, St. Phillip Benizi Catholic Church, Beulah Baptist Church
VITA tax preparation sites, as well as, Midway Youth Sports Association. Last year, the Martin Luther King Sr.
Community Resources Collaborative’s team successfully prepared well over 1,396 federal tax returns and was
able to assist people with receiving more than $440,000 in federally earned income tax return dollars.

2. According to irs.gov, the VITA Program is a program of the Internal Revenue Service offering free tax help to
people who generally make $54,000 or less per year, persons with disabilities and limited English speaking
taxpayers who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns. IRS-certified volunteers provide free basic
income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals. The Atlanta, Georgia and surrounding
area VITA Program is administered by the United Way of Greater Atlanta via their partnership with the Internal
Revenue Service.
“United Way of Greater Atlanta is pleased to partner with The Martin Luther King Sr. Resources Collaborative
for the 2nd
year as a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site. The Collaborative provides a much-needed
service to the Old Fourth Ward community and the broader Atlanta area by helping hard-working families save
money on tax preparation fees and receive valuable tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit. We look
forward to another successful VITA tax season with them beginning in January 2017,” stated Olivia Alston,
Community Engagement Liaison and Income Manager for the United Way of Greater Atlanta.
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Fulton County Department of Youth and Aging Services Memorandum of Understanding
In partnership with Fulton County Department of Youth and Aging Services and John Hope—Charles Walter
Hill Elementary School, the Martin Luther King Sr. Community Resources Collaborative signed a memorandum
of understanding to provide services to increase third-grade reading scores in the target areas of technology,
academic mentoring and tutoring, as well as, parent/caregiver training support and engagement.
According to Felecia Church, Senior Public Affairs Officer in the Office of Communications for Fulton County
Government, “this agreement includes an expenditure of $43,100. The funds will target students with third grade
reading deficiencies and a high rate of mobility from community to community. Hope Hill Elementary—a Title I
Classified school—student mobility rate is 41.2% compared to the average rate of 17.5% for the State of
Georgia.”
“The resources provided via the partnership with the Fulton County Department of Aging and Youth Services
and the MLK Collaborative will be invaluable to our students. Providing all 3rd
graders with a laptop and parents
with training, will allow us to expose students to a plethora of opportunities beyond the school day,” said Hope
Hill Elementary school principal, Maureen Wheeler.
United States Small Business Administration Partners for the MLK Sr. Collaborative “H.E.R.O.” Business
Initiative
The Georgia District Office of the United States Small Business Administration, along with the Historic Ebenezer
Baptist Church and the Martin Luther King Sr. Community Resources Collaborative, signed a two-year Strategic
Alliance Memorandum and Co-sponsorship Agreement in support of The White House Reentry Initiative, a
transition program for incarcerated adults within state and federal prison systems. The Collaborative’s Helping
Everyone Reach Opportunities (H.E.R.O.) Business Program will provide training, resources and incentives to
traditional entrepreneurs, small businesses and entrepreneurs who are also ex-offenders, employing ex-offenders.
The main purpose of the H.E.R.O. Business Program is to provide job security for former offenders, by assisting
them with creating, gaining and maintaining livable-wage employment and decrease the recidivism rate in the
Atlanta, Georgia Community—whether through job attainment or job creation as entrepreneurs. The
Collaborative’s H.E.R.O initiative brings unique programs to the community and this business program follows
a very successful record restriction summit, which was the first step of the H.E.R.O series of events. The strategic
alliance memorandum of understanding was signed by all parties Wednesday, October 26, 2016.
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3. Atlanta Public Schools (APS) Grady Cluster School-Based Partner of the Year
Nominated by the administration at John Hope—Charles Walter Hill Elementary School, along with nine other
partner agencies from within nine Atlanta Public School clusters, the Martin Luther King Sr. Community
Resources Collaborative received a plaque from Atlanta Public Schools for “School-Based Partner of the Year”
for the Grady Cluster of APS schools. According to Kenita T. Williams, Partnerships Manager, from within the
Office of Partnerships and Development with APS, “…awardees were selected from a pool of nominees based
on the following criteria: nature of support provided, the goals and outcomes of the partnership and how the
partnership has contributed to student achievement.” The award was presented on Wednesday, October 26, 2016
at the Woodruff Performing Arts Center during APS’s Annual Employee Recognition Celebration.
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About the Collaborative – The Martin Luther King Sr. Community Resources Collaborative, also known as the
Collaborative, is a community-based agency that opened its doors in 2013 and is named after Martin Luther King
Sr., who was affectionately called “Daddy King,” from within the community. The Collaborative earned its non-
profit 501(c)3 status in 2015 and is comprised of Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, Casey Family Programs,
Operation Hope, Georgia Division of Family and Children Services and WorkSource Atlanta. In keeping with its
namesake’s tradition of community enrichment and empowerment, the Collaborative houses all of its agencies
under one roof and collectively offers vital wrap-around resources and social-service programs to residents in the
Old Fourth Ward, King Historic District and surrounding areas. The five key target service areas of the
Collaborative are: Children and Family Services, Educational Achievement, Workforce Readiness, Housing
Education Services and Family Economic Success.
“I am excited to report that our Collaborative had an amazing 2016 year in service to the community and I am
honored to lead this great organization! We are humbled and grateful for the support that we receive daily from
our partnering agencies, sponsors and the community as a whole. It is our commitment and goal to expand and
strengthen our current resources and services, while continuously providing and exceeding client expectations
and offering superior customer service,” stated the Collaborative’s Executive Director, Detria Russell.
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