3-Degree Guarantee: Life Roads nonprofit supports Cobb County families in need

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Each month, Atlanta News First donates to an organization doing good in our community as part of our Three Degree Guarantee program.

The amount of money we donate depends on the accuracy of our First Alert Weather Team, and the donation is matched by our partners at Coolray.

This month, Atlanta News First is highlighting Life Roads, a local nonprofit spreading kindness without borders. The organization supports children and families facing food insecurity by providing for their essential needs.

Veronica Landers is the president of Life Road. On most days, you can find Landers collecting and packing essential items to give to those who need them most.

“You can’t just give things to children and families; you really have to meet their needs wherever they are,” Landers said. “Although we do provide things like clothing, food and bicycles, and things of that nature, we also try to meet them where their emotional needs may be.”

Life Roads consists of a small team dedicated to meeting the needs of families in Cobb County.

“We started to do some additional research in Cobb County. We found out that there were a number of children considered transient, almost homeless, because they were living in extended care homes,” Landers said. “We decided that we might as well serve the community in which we live.”

Life Roads takes on several tasks and programs, such as Backpack Blessings, which provides families with a backpack full of shelf-stable foods. Their most recent task, Threads of Kindness, targets vulnerable children and their families.

“Threads of Kindness is a program that really has a network of social workers that says to our organizations, we have children in need,” Landers said. “They give us an overview of the family, then they let us know what each child requires. We buy brand new clothes and shoes because we don’t ever want a child to feel like they are getting something secondhand.”

In year six for the organization, each box packed brings renewed hope to a child in need.

“Occasionally, the social workers will send us pictures of children that have received the boxes that we give. We really try to do it anonymously, so it doesn’t feel like charity,” Landers said. “The only thing we put on the boxes are little notes that say acts of kindness, so that when they get that box, it feels like Christmas.”

Landers added that the organization gives kids the skills they need to succeed in life through tutoring sessions and fun educational projects.

Click here to learn more about Life Roads.