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A New Guard of
Good Troublemakers
Center for Civic Innovation Fellows addresses inequality in metro Atlanta
Sill! HI
By ClareS. Richie
A six-month journey has begun for
the 2021 Center for Civic In
novation (CCI) Fellowship class
- 15 leaders and entrepreneurs
who work in education, health
care, justice, agriculture and more — to
address inequality in metro Atlanta.
“These Fellows are going to change
outcomes for people in this city,” said
Rohit Malhotra, executive director of CCI.
“When the entire world is falling apart
these are the people that show up.”
CCI, a self-described community of
“good troublemakers,” fights inequality
by building civic knowledge and action,
amplifying and investing in work led by
local leaders and conducting research for
better local public policy. Entering its sixth
year, the Fellowship provides each leader
with resources and support to help grow
their efforts and develop solutions with
measurable impacts. It culminates with a
showcase, scheduled for late June, where
Fellows share their vision with potential
investors, partners, customers, friends and
family. To date, CCI has raised more than
$2 million for more than 80 local civic
organizations.
“The beauty about our Fellows is we
don’t tell them what to do — they are the
14 February 2021 | HU
experts —were their GPS to guide them to
the destination they want to get to. And
we are very respectful of that. We are also
very conscious that their identities play a
huge role in what their journey has been
and will be,” Malhotra said.
Four Fellows embarking on the six-
month course shared what they seek to
gain from the experience.
“I’m hoping to translate my passion
into language that other people
understand,” said KaCey Venning,
FFelping Empower Youth (FFEY!) co
founder. “That people see smaller
grassroots organizations that are steadily
chipping away at things that keep folks
stuck and realize we all have our role.
That’s the goal; do this work, polish what
we do and during the showcase present
that to folks who want to support the work
or make connections”.
FFEY! is a youth leadership
development nonprofit focused on STEM,
literacy, mental health training for adults
serving youth and entrepreneurship
primarily on the Westside and Southside.
Based on their efforts with young Black
men who sell water at intersections, FFEY!
was asked to provide guidance to the
city of Atlanta’s youth entrepreneurship
program.
“I trust CCI, their knowledge,
relationships, network and process so
much so that I’ve applied three times,” said
Erica “Umi” Clahar, Umi Feeds founder
and executive director. “I think they can
help take me to the next level.”
Umi Feeds rescues food from grocery
stores, private events, farms and more to
distribute to seniors, the homeless and
anyone who is food insecure. Clahar
recently launched a GoFundMe campaign
to purchase a mobile food truck.
The SAVE Institute (Service,
Agriculture, Vocational Training and
Entrepreneurship) is looking to purchase
a larger urban farm and replicate their
program beyond South Atlanta. The
nonprofit works to save young people ages
14 to 24 from poverty, crime, incarceration
and lack of purpose. On their existing
farm, young people learn to grow food,
raise animals and make herbal healing
products. Vocational training also includes
construction, culinary arts and natural
healing.
“We plan to take our work to other
cities and countries but before we can even
think of that, we have to perfect our model
and expand our network to get more access
to support and funding,” said Atiba Jones,
SAVE Institute director.
After attending CCI events, Restore
More co-founder Claudine Miles was eager
FKCSHVl
Left: SAVE students
nq col-
lard greens on the farm. (Photo by Khalil
Muhsin)
Top: The Restore More Team, from left,
Naraffy Regis, Claudine Miles, and Kimber-
lie Milton. (Photo by Chanden Marzette)
Bottom: Erica "Umi” Clahar delivers
rescued produce (Photo by Jason John)
to participate in a Fellowship with so many
impressive alums like Tiffany LaTrice, who
founded TILA Studios to empower Black
women artists to create and showcase
their art and has changed the way local
and national exhibitions think about the
inclusion of black female artists.
“I wanted to put myself in proximity to
them — to learn from them and figure out
how we can support one another,” Miles
said.
Restore More is an educational
consulting firm that builds capacity among
educators, parents and organizations for
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