Community Partners: Georgia Works

Building community partners is just as important to us as building community projects. On any given day, you might find Evergreen employees competing in charitable golf tournaments, participating in local 5Ks, attending area colleges for speaking engagements, or volunteering in our community. One of our proudest partnerships, however, is our affiliation with Georgia Works. Georgia Works is a local organization that seeks to help chronically homeless men while breaking the cycles of homelessness, addiction, and recidivism. Since 2014, we’ve had an ongoing relationship with Georgia Works and are proud to have hired many men as a result of our time together.

As a Construction Manager, there is a great need for unskilled labor on our job sites. These employees are typically responsible for keeping our sites clean and orderly which is integral to safety. Instead of hiring traditional temporary labor, we often turn to the Georgia Works program.  Their enthusiastic participants are eager, reliable, and attentive, and sometimes, our relationship lasts beyond temporary job site employment. In fact, we recently celebrated an Evergreen employee who came from Georgia Works. Through employment at Evergreen, he became eligible for benefits – complete with a 401K – for the first time in his life. This huge accomplishment deserved to be celebrated!

Georgia Works helps the greater Atlanta Community address the all too real homelessness crisis. Through their program, they ensure that any man who is willing to stay sober and work is able to find a job, transportation, and permanent housing within a year. Other notable achievements, as seen on the Georgia Works website, include:

• 500+ men have graduated from the program.
• 80% of graduates remain in their original jobs and apartments post-Georgia Works.
• 90% of graduates are now in contact with their children and families.

Our relationship with Georgia Works runs deep. Bill McCorkle, our Vice President, serves on the board of directors for Georgia Works, and over the years, we have been able to provide mentoring as well as employment for several of the graduates the program. This year, we will be providing a second annual Thanksgiving dinner for participants. It is such a rewarding experience to share this special meal with the members of Georgia Works. We are thrilled to continue our partnership from here and see all of the great things that future graduates do!