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Young Residents Make a Difference this Christmas

January 9, 2012 By mandi Leave a Comment

The Gift of Giving Back

Each year, Act Together Ministries takes on a great challenge – collecting enough donations to make sure that at-risk children in Forsyth County and surrounding areas have presents to open on Christmas morning.  This year, they were working to collect approximately 300 children and families.

And while they were working hard, two young Cumming Residents were also working hard. Natalie Kandul (10), daughter of Ned & Robyn Kandul, and Kaitlyn Lauria (9), daughter of Kristin & Shawn Lauria, both pictured below, organized their own toy drive this season to benefit Act Together Ministries.  Through their efforts, they collected over 50 toys during the month of December.

We live in an awesome community, where even the youngest of residents understand the importance of giving back!  On behalf of Cumming Local, thank you Natalie & Kaitlyn for caring about our community!

To get a better sense of what these gifts & others meant to the community, be sure to read the Christmas 2011 Thank You Notes that Act Together has received.

More about Act Together Ministries:

Act Together is a children’s charity in Forsyth County that serves foster children & children with low income families.

Act Together Ministries Online |  Act Together Ministries on Facebook

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Sponsor a Foster Child this Christmas Season

November 3, 2011 By mandi Leave a Comment

Parents are out of work, jobs are scarce, and a record level of homes are in foreclosure. Even Santa Clause has been forced to tighten his belt. Hundreds of elves have been laid off during the 2011 calendar year and Santa doesn’t have enough toys for all the children.

Can you help?

Santa is seeking elves and Christmas angels to sponsor foster children and children in need this Christmas season. Sponsors will be asked to provide $75 worth of gifts to brighten a child’s Christmas morning. Each child will receive 2 to 3 articles of clothing and 2 to 3 gifts. If you’re a bargain shopper, you don’t even have to spend $75! Others may be interested in sponsoring an entire family. Options are available for all budgets. Santa needs your help to make sure all the children on the nice list are remembered this Christmas.

Are you a family in need?

Act Together has a registration form & process that you can complete to be considered.  Please click here to find that information.

For more information or to sign up, go to http://actogetherministries.org/

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Act Together Ministries helping Forsyth County Family

October 31, 2011 By mandi Leave a Comment

From left, Act Together volunteers Dan McWhorter and Matt Cooper build a sidewalk for J.P. Medelovitz, a terminally ill child confined to a wheelchair. Not pictured: Brandon Cromer.

Act Together Ministries volunteers build sidewalk for Suwanee (Forsyth County) child in wheelchair

Three volunteers with North Fulton-based Act Together Ministries built a sidewalk 12 J.P. Mendelovitz, a terminally ill child confined to a wheelchair, near his home. J.P.’s mother Sonia Lear used to carry J.P. to their house since his wheelchair could not be pushed through the unpaved area. Dan McWhorter (Norcross), Matt Cooper (Sugar Hill), and Brandon Cromer (Duluth) spent all day Saturday, October 17, constructing the sidewalk.

Act Together is seeking Christmas sponsors for J.P. and hundreds of other children in need in the North Atlanta area. Sponsors will provide between four and six gifts to a child; partial sponsorships are also available. To sign up, go to www.actogetherministries.org or email Heather Clark at hclark@actogetherministries.org.

Act Together is a charity dedicated to improving the lives of children in distress, strengthening families, and inspiring the next generation to serve.

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Volunteer this Season

September 22, 2011 By mandi Leave a Comment

Volunteers Needed

Act Together Ministries is non-profit located in South Forsyth – that helps families throughout North Metro Atlanta.  We partnered with them during our Back To School Drive, and now there are many opportunities for you & your family to partner with them this coming season.

Here’s a few great ways to get involved:

Family Fun Festival -

The annual Family Fun Festival is scheduled for Saturday October 15th. Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell is the sponsor and host for this event again this year!
Want to help with crafts? Wash cars? Paint faces? There are many ways for volunteers of all ages to get involved. On site childcare will be available for younger children.
Link to Volunteer at Family Fun Festival

The Hotel Stay -

Have you ever arrived at a hotel after a long drive and realized that you forgot something? Perhaps your curling iron, shaving cream or favorite socks? You sigh in frustration but then remind yourself that it will only be for a few days.

Children’s Clothing Drive -

Act Together will be collecting gently used children and teen clothing until October 12th.

Drop off location: Crooked Creek Storage in Alpharetta
6300 Atlanta Highway
Alpharetta, GA
9-5PM Monday-Saturday
Ask for Nancy

Photo Courtesy of Act Together

Thanksgiving Service Opportunities -

Want to serve this Thanksgiving but don’t want to go all the way downtown? Act Together’s Community Thanksgiving is back after much demand.
Volunteers are needed to cook turkeys the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving. We need side items and desserts. We also need volunteers to serve the meal and play with the kids. Bring your whole family and let’s give thanks together.
Thanksgiving Day at Mt.Pisgah UMC in Alpharetta.


Get Connected with Act Together

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Local Children’s Charity Offers Incentives for Good Grades

September 12, 2011 By mandi Leave a Comment

children's charity in forsyth countyIncentives for Good Grades

Alpharetta-based children’s charity Act Together Ministries kicked off I CAN, a new initiative offering incentives to elementary school students for earning good grades. The program, which launched on July 31 at Act Together’s Tools for School event and is funded by Kroger and Roswell Rotary, already has 125 participants who will be rewarded with movie tickets, toys, and more for their scholastic success. Students can earn prizes for straight A’s, making the Honor Roll, Improvement, and Perfect Attendance.

How does it work?

Children can register for the program and redeem their prize by bringing their report cards to an Act Together event.

For more information, contact:

I CAN Registration Page
Heather Clark
Phone:  678-200-9125  | hclark@actogetherministries.org

More About Act Together

Act Together is a 501(c) 3 children’s charity located in South Forsyth.  Programs and services are offered to foster children, children in low income families, and other groups of distressed children throughout the North Metro Atlanta area.  Programs include educational incentives for school achievement, mentoring, sports and enrichment scholarships, Christmas and birthday sponsorships & more.

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For the First Time Kindergarten Parents … like myself!

August 8, 2011 By mandi Leave a Comment

It’s hard to believe that it’s already time for the school bell to ring!  This school year will bring many firsts for my family as we send our son off to Kindergarten for the very first time.  I’m not emotional in a bad way – I’m excited for him (and excited for me)!  But I know as I watch him walk on the school bus or through the classroom door, I’ll more than likely have to fight a tear or two.  How can it be time for this little guy to start school already?

The following is a Guest Post from Contributor, Heather Clark of Act Together Ministries.  Prior to beginning Act Together, she taught Kindergarten for five years.  I love the tips and advice she shares in this post – including some great book reads too.  I hope you enjoy the advice as much as I did.  And if you’ll be in the same boat come August 11th – I’ll be there with you!

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The school bell will ring soon and many parents will send a child to kindergarten. This is always an emotional time for parents. For some, it will be sending your first born and for others it will be sending the youngest of four. Kindergarten is an important milestone in your child’s life. Your child’s maturity will grow tremendously this year and you’ll get to see a small glimpse of how your hard work over the past 5 years has shaped your child. It wasn’t that long ago that you held your precious baby in your arms for the first time. Where did the time go? Now it’s time to send that little baby off to kindergarten. For most this will be the first full school day, the first  year to ride the school bus, the first year to have homework, and the first year when peer influences begin to play a role.

Before beginning Act Together, I worked as a school teacher. I taught kindergarten for 5 years, 1st grade for 1 year and 2nd grade for 1 year. The formative primary years of school are my passion. I love watching those little ones blossom and grow as God’s plan for their lives begins unfolding.

What Tips Do I Have For Kindergarten Parents?

To continue … Click here.


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Give. Build. Inspire

July 15, 2011 By mandi 1 Comment

The following is a Guest Post by Contributing Writer, Heather Clark.  Ms. Clark is the Director for Act Together Ministries in South Forsyth County.

Hello Forsyth Friends,

I’m excited to be joining Cumming Local as a contributing writer. My passion is to raise awareness and unite the community to meet the needs of children in distress. I work with Act Together Ministries located in South Forsyth (serving 5 metro Atlanta counties.) Act Together offers services and programs to foster children, military children, children in single parent homes, special needs children and children living in poverty. We offer essentials such as food, clothing and school supplies to growing children. We provide birthday and Christmas sponsorships as well as scholarships to sports and extracurricular activities. This fall we will kick off a new program called “I CA+N.” This program will offer rewards and incentives to encourage the children to succeed in school and make the most the of their education.

Our next big event is Tools 4 School scheduled for Sunday July 31st at 1PM at Christ the Shepherd Lutheran Church in Alpharetta. There are many opportunities to get your whole family involved in serving.

We also need your help collecting school supplies for all of these little ones! Watch for the back to school sales and pick up some extra school supplies for children in need. There are multiple drop off locations throughout Forsyth county: Lakeside Realty in Cumming, Crooked Creek Storage in Alpharetta, Rita’s Italian Ice in Alpharetta, Victoria’s Children’s Boutique in Cumming, and Grace Fellowship Church in Cumming.

We are also partnering with Cumming Local to collect school supplies at Menchie’s at the Cumming Marketplace from 12-3PM on Thursday, July 28th. Drop by and enjoy 20% off of a frozen yogurt. Other cool prizes will be given away!  (Register Here)

Spread the word and help us “act together” to meet the needs of children in distress. Hair stylists are needed to cut the children’s hair, doctors and dentists are needed to provide school screenings and sports physicals to the children. Volunteers are needed to serve food, play with the kids, run the distribution “store”, help at the sign in table and much more. Come serve children in need and grow as a family at the same time.

Give. Build. Inspire!

Stay connected with Heather:


Blog – http://blog.actogetherministries.org
Online – www.actogetherministries.org
Facebook – www.facebook.com/actogether
Twitter – www.twitter.com/actogether
Linkedin – www.linkedin.com/… Heather Clark

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Act Together Ministries Fundraising Event

April 26, 2011 By mandi Leave a Comment

Act Together Ministries will host a fundraising Spring Fling Event at Rita’s in Alpharetta (South Forsyth) on Saturday, April 30th from 2pm to 5pm. Twenty percent of all Rita sales will be donated to the non-profit.

In addition to the Italian Ice Treats, there will be games, a moonwalk and even car washes at the event.  An auction and raffle will also take place for items such as restaurant gift certificates, event tickets, camp scholarships & more.

More About Act Together Ministries:

Act Together Ministries is a Christ-centered organization determined to change the plight of children living in distress in the North Atlanta area. Providing for a child’s needs, enriching their lives, and showing Christ’s love during their time of distress will allow these children to lead productive lives. We seek to minimize the long term effects of their current situation.

Based in Alpharetta, the ministry is very active in Forsyth County Learn more about Act Together Ministries online or on their Facebook Page.

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