Kirkwood Neighbors’ Organization devotes $125,000 to repairing area homes

Kirkwood Neighbors’ Organization devotes $125,000 to repairing area homes

By Patrick Saunders, contributor

Atlanta, GA — The Kirkwood Neighbors’ Organization spent a record $125,000 to repair homes in the area this year.

The initiative is led by Kirkwood Cares, a KNO committee founded in 2018 to provide critical housing repair support to Kirkwood residents. The committee has grown quickly since its founding, raising $16,000 its first year, $30,000 its second year and over $83,000 this year, according to committee co-chair Justin Schaeffer.

“It’s been really encouraging the amount of money that’s been able to come in,” he said during KNO’s monthly meeting on Thursday.

The money was spent to replace several roofs in the area, but the largest project this year was repairing a home on Sisson Avenue that was damaged when a tree fell on it. Atlanta City Councilmember Natalyn Archibong connected KNO with the home’s owner and made a donation to the project, according to Schaeffer. Airbnb also donated to the project after finding out KNO put the owner up in an Airbnb residence while repairs were being done.

“We’re still spending money and bringing in money,” Schaeffer said.

“We’re talking about potentially displaced legacy residents here that we are actively keeping in our community,” KNO President Katie Kissel added.

About 500 donations were made to Kirkwood Cares this year, according to Schaeffer. There are about 50 donors giving between $5 and $200 per month.

“If everybody in the neighborhood gave $10 a month, we’d be rich beyond our wildest dreams,” Schaeffer said.

 

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Published at Fri, 11 Dec 2020 17:31:17 +0000