The Covenant House Georgia is a nonprofit and privately funded homeless shelter for homeless and at-risk youth in metro Atlanta. There are two buildings/locations at the Covenant House Georgia. The first is the Crisis Shelter, where homeless youth reside. The second is a Community Service Center, which is in downtown Atlanta. Both the homeless youth from the shelter and other identified at-risk youth (who are not homeless) from the city have access to the Center. At the Center, they take GED preparotry classes, parenting classes, and other seminars. They also come for "life readiness preparation," which includes preparing them to be successful employees, help applying to colleges, help building a resume, mock interviews, and other career- and education- oriented help. Most of the kids who come to the Covenant House Georgia are African American. There are few Hispanic or Caucasian people. Most are also females. All of them experience severe poverty, and they all have stories that could easily move a person to tears. These kids are here because they are trying to rebuild their lives. The Covenant House does not force any kids to live at the shelter or return to the Community Service Center; the kids come by choice. They are trying to improve their lives. They are trying to secure jobs. They are trying to get an education. But they face a huge number of obstacles. I am trying to make it easier for them to accomplish this goal that they are so feverishly pursuing by creating this project and actively seeking funding for it.

I have been volunteering for the past month at the Covenant House Georgia in Atlanta, GA, and I will be here until early July. I originally just came to volunteer some of my time and help them accomplish some of their goals. The Covenant House Georgia is a homeless shelter for homeless and at-risk youth in metro Atlanta. I am volunteering my time at the Community Service Center, which is where the youth can come to seek help with employment, education, and life readiness. I have been helping youth apply to college, secure their GEDs, build resumes, and apply to jobs. I have also been holding mock interviews for many of the kids. However, one problem I have been facing with my volunteer work here is a lack of sustainable impact. When I leave, all my "services" will evaporate. The impact I would have made would have been short-term, and only the kids who happened to be in the shelter while I was here would have benefited from my time. In order to maximize the impact that my skills and education can have for this nonprofit homeless shelter, I have recognized a need that the youth have and am now seeking to pursue it in a final sustainability project before I leave. Many jobs that involve close work with people now require CPR certification. Even jobs that do not require certification require resumes, and having CPR certification on their resumes would make these kids far more likely to secure a job in today's highly competitive job market. In addition, CPR training is a great life skill to have, and I know it will confer responsibility on these kids that will help develop their characters and elevate their spirits.

The best way for me to go about creating a CPR certification program within the Covenant House Georgia that is also sustainable and will continue to help them after I leave is to myself become certified as an Instructor Trainer. I found a small business in the Atlanta area and an instructor who is willing to work with me one-on-one at times that fit my work schedule here. As an instructor trainer, I will be able to certify all the youth that are currently at the Covenant House in CPR. I will also be able to train all the staff members to become instructors in CPR themselves. Therefore, as new youth enter the Covenant House after I leave, the staff will be able to offer them certification even without my being here. The only obstacle to the completion of this project is the cost associated with my becoming an instructor trainer. It will cost me $595 to take the class and for the instructor books. Then, it will cost me an extra $500 for the mannequins and $300 for a defibrillator, both of which I would need in order to teach the kids and train the staff. I have been seeking donations and sponsorships for the past few days. Right now, I have secured approximately $700. I will probably invest about $200 out-of-pocket for this sustainable project. I am looking for $500 more to fund the rest of it. This is a one-time fundraising project. After this money is raised, the Covenant House will have the expertise and supplies to certify any youth who enters our doors.However, in metro Atlanta, it will cost about $80 for each student to become certified in CPR. My project is aimed at overcoming this obstacle by creating a more sustainable way for kids to continually become certified in CPR. After this money is raised, the Covenant House will have the expertise and supplies to certify any youth who enters our doors.

Once I complete the instructor certification for the staff, they will be offering CPR certification to individuals outside of the shelter community for a nominal fee, which would serve as a donation to the Covenant House Georgia. Others can help by continually checking this website and staying in touch with the Covenant House GA to see when and where they will offer these classes! If you were thinking of becoming certified anyway or are just realizing that it might be a good decision to get yourself certified, you can REALLY help us out by getting certified through the Covenant House GA. It will probably be cheaper for you, you would be able to write off your course fee as a tax-deductible donation to charity, and you'd be helping an awesome cause! If you're not in the Atlanta area, contact me (username=cmueller) to find out other ways you can get involved or other ways you can help us out by getting certified outside of Atlanta.