Tyler Perry Donates $110K to Covenant House Keeping Atlanta Teens off the Street

/PRNewswire/ -- Covenant House Georgia announced today that writer/director/producer Tyler Perry has donated $110,000 and a brand new 15-passenger van to the Atlanta-based homeless shelter. The funds will contribute to operating costs and the complete renovation of its Crisis Shelter for homeless adolescents in Atlanta.

"God bless Mr. Perry for this incredible gift to our kids," said Kevin Ryan, President of Covenant House. "The van will be used to rescue young people from the hopelessness of the street. His generous donation will provide immediate help to kids in crisis as well as the long-term support that will transform their lives."

"A donation of this caliber from Mr. Perry is the beginning of exponential growth for services at Covenant House Georgia," says Covenant House Georgia CEO Maxine Shoulders Brandon. "When we are able to reach more homeless youth on the streets and provide more services to the kids in our care, there will be fewer homeless that sleep under the bridge and on the streets. At Covenant House we give our youth the tools of self-sufficiency, not a handout."

Tyler Perry is no stranger to homelessness. The successful director, playwright, best-selling author and actor experienced periods of homelessness and hunger before finding success. He now focuses his philanthropic efforts to charities benefiting those who are homeless and hungry including Feeding America, the Atlanta Food Bank and Perry Place -- a 20-home community Tyler built for survivors of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

Covenant House Georgia (CHGA), opened in August 2000 in downtown Atlanta and is the newest addition to Covenant House -- the largest privately funded childcare agency in the United States providing shelter and services to homeless and runaway youth. CHGA has a Crisis Shelter, Rights of Passage Transitional Living program and Community Service Center offering GED classes, life-skills training, case management and job assistance.

Last year Covenant House Georgia served over 2,000 kids providing access to immediate shelter, food, clothing, counseling, educational and vocational services. Since coming to Atlanta, Covenant House Georgia has changed the lives of close to 10,000 youth.

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Payless and Fayette Holiday Helpers Grant Wishes of Angels

Helen Rickman of Fayette Holiday Helpers (far left) and Karen Spangler with the school system’s CARE program (far right) accepted the donation of 100 gift coupons at the Payless Shoe Source in Fayetteville from store employees (L-R) Deatrice Hubbard, training supervisor, Vincent Clayton, store manager and Alex Patton, district manager.

Thanks to Payless Shoe Source and Helen Rickman of Fayette Holiday Helpers, 100 students in need of shoes on the CARE (Children at Risk in Education) Angel Tree will have their requests granted.

The Shoes 4 Kids program was initiated this year by Payless in response to the economic crisis, its impact on the underprivileged, the significant need across America for children’s shoes and to support smaller, localized nonprofits with a tool to assist them in helping those in need during the holiday season.

Fayette Holiday Helpers received 100 of the 67,000 gift coupons that were distributed nationwide. Each gift coupon is worth $15. Fayette Holiday Helpers, which assists with the CARE Angel Tree project each year, decided to donate all of the gift coupons to help fulfill the wishes of Fayette County’s public school students.

“We are so grateful to Payless Shoes Source and Holiday Helpers for this donation. We had just over 100 requests for shoes this year so this gift is very meaningful to us,” says Karen Spangler, the school system’s CARE coordinator.

A total of 16 schools from all areas of the county will receive the coupons for their Angel Tree participants.

The CARE Angel Tree project is designed to help working families struggling to make ends meet provide basic needs for their children. The tree fulfills nontraditional needs such as clothing, after school program scholarships, eyeglasses and dental work. All adults in the household must be employed in order for students to qualify for the program.

More than 2,600 nonprofits nationwide applied to receive the Payless gift coupons. Holiday Helpers was among the 630 nonprofit agencies selected in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

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