This month’s front cover features East Cobb resident Brenda Rhodes, President and founder of the nonprofit, Simple Needs GA. After many years of volunteering at MUST Ministries, Special Olympics, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, Hands on Atlanta, Wellstar Foundation and The Center for Family Resources, she witnessed some “gaps” that these worthy nonprofits were not able to fulfill. As Brenda shares, “there are so many agencies doing great work, but most focus on the basic needs of food, clothing, shelter and job training. Simple Needs GA was created to “fill in the cracks” by meeting other unmet, but important, needs. It is in these simple acts—bringing a tent to a person living in the woods, providing uniforms to elementary students, or providing birthday gifts to a homeless child—that we help connect people in need with the services that can improve their lives.”
In addition to running a non-profit, Brenda is also able to maintain a full-time job as a business analyst for Genesys. In her spare time, she sings in the choir at First United Methodist Church and is a board member of the Georgia Symphony Orchestra. Brenda has been recognized as a YWCA of Northwest Georgia’s 2012 Tribute to Women of Excellence. She is also a graduate of the 2016 class of Leadership Cobb and the winner of the 2016 W. Wyman Pilcher Jr. Memorial Grant for community service from the Leadership Cobb Alumni Association.
A resident of East Cobb for the past 20 years, she enjoys the easy access to “everything you need” and the generous spirit of her fellow East Cobbers.
For more information on Simple Needs GA, you can visit www. simpleneedsgablog.com. To find out specific requests for help, visit their Facebook page @simpleneedsga. Front cover photo taken by Michael Drewitz of Michael’s Photography.
