Month: August 2022

Welcoming Week brings together neighbors of all backgrounds to build strong connections and affirm the importance of a welcoming and inclusive community. As a proud member of the Welcoming Network, we’re hosting our first-ever Welcoming Week Festival with arts and crafts, community resources, games, food trucks, and more!
Join us to kick off Welcoming Week Saturday, September 10 from 10:00am to 2:00pm at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center plaza, located at 75 Langley Drive in Lawrenceville. 
Register to attend the festival at GCGA.us/WelcomingWeek
Follow us on social media to stay up-to-date on events happening around the county during Welcoming Week. 

Before the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners give their final approval on next year’s budget, residents will weigh in on county government priorities.  
Gwinnett County department directors and elected officials – from the Sheriff’s Office to the Clerk of Courts – will present their 2023 business plans to a Citizens Review Team beginning Monday, August 29. Following the series of presentations, Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson and the group will analyze the needs of departments and agencies that provide services to Gwinnett residents and businesses. From there, the team will recommend funding priorities from the viewpoint of a resident.
As our County grows, so do the service needs of our various stakeholders,” Hendrickson said. “This budgeting process, which engages a diverse panel of residents, ensures greater transparency and accountability in setting our funding priorities to meet those growing needs.
Veteran team members Hilda Abbott, David Cuffie, Michelle Kang and Asif Jessani will again lend their expertise. Abbott is the founder of RudHil Companies, co-chair of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Hispanic Business Center and member of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and Cuffie is CEO of Total Vision Consulting LLC and director of church ministries for Berean Christian Church Gwinnett. Kang is with the Korean American Public Action Committee of Atlanta, and Jessani is a principal marketing and technology consultant with CCS. Cuffie and Jessani both graduated from Gwinnett 101 Citizens Academy and have stayed active as advocates and volunteers for the County. New to the review team this year is Buzz Brockway, vice president of public policy at the Georgia Center for Opportunity and former member of the Georgia House of Representatives where he served on the appropriations, education, insurance, and governmental affairs committees.
Recordings and on-demand video of the budget presentations can be found here. The business plans will also be available on the County’s government access channel TVgwinnett.
The Chairwoman’s proposed 2023 budget will be available to the public and news media when presented to board members in November. A public hearing will be held December 5, 2022. By county ordinance, the Board of Commissioners must adopt the annual budget during its first meeting in January.
 

Local nonprofits that serve critical needs in the community are invited to apply for grant funds through the United Way’s Grant Portal by Friday, September 9.
Gwinnett County and United Way of Greater Atlanta will allocate $4.25 million in Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery funds to nonprofit service providers. These funds — provided to Gwinnett County by the U.S. Department of the Treasury through the American Rescue Plan Act — will be used to address needs identified or worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact.
Critical needs like housing stability, food security, childcare, early education/literacy, transportation, and mental health are likely to be supported by this round of grant funding.
“Amid a turbulent economy, Gwinnett is proud to partner with United Way of Greater Atlanta to get grant dollars to the dedicated nonprofits that need them,” said Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson. “United Way’s long-standing relationships in Gwinnett’s nonprofit community will ensure funding goes further and makes a positive impact for Gwinnett residents in need.”
 

For the fifth year, Gwinnett Animal Welfare and Enforcement is joining shelters and rescues across the nation to find homes for shelter pets during its Clear the Shelters adoption drive.
Animal Welfare will host a Clear the Shelter celebration on Saturday, August 27 from 11:00am until 4:00pm with free pet adoptions, music, pet vendors, face painting, and more.
Clear the Shelters is an annual campaign sponsored by NBC Universal that‘s placed more than  half a million pets in loving homes since 2015.
“Like shelters all across the country, our hope is to find happy forever homes for the many great pets in our care,” said Animal Welfare and Enforcement Manager Alan Davis. “We would love to literally clear our shelter.”
During August, all adoptions are free and adoptable animals are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped. Most pets can go home the same day as adoption.
Those interested in adoption can find available pets @GwinnettAnimalShelter on Facebook or visit GwinnettAnimalWelfare.com and complete the application before coming to the shelter for a meet and greet.
The Bill Atkinson Animal Welfare Center is located at 884 Winder Highway in Lawrenceville.