Atlanta Public Schools has launched an initiative to help the families of District employees affected by the federal shutdown.
APS estimates that 300-500 of its employees, fulltime and part-time, may have a spouse, partner or household member employed by one of the federal agencies that has been closed due to the partial government shutdown. Many of those individuals are on the verge of missing their second paycheck since the shutdown began December 22, 2018. APS has identified a number of ways that employees can help other employees impacted by the shutdown:
- Consider setting up Meal Train accounts for employees whose families are impacted by the shutdown.
- Make a tax-deductible donation to APS’ crowd funding campaign through Go Fund Me. The total amount collected will be distributed through Atlanta Partners for Education to eligible employees.
- Drop off food items to the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Families in need may visit the website where there is a list of Atlanta-area resources and support.
- Ask furloughed spouses to work as substitute teachers for the District, which would allow them to return to work as soon as the shutdown ends. Those interested may visit the APS substitute teaching website to learn more or contact APS Substitute Supervisor Angela Williams (Angela.Williams@atlanta.k12.ga.us).
- Take advantage of APS’ employee discount program on goods and services, Sparkfly. Visit the Sparkfly Perks site to learn more. (Note: Sparkfly Perks are for current APS employees only.)
- Utilize APS’ Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which provides crisis counseling and legal/financial consultation services free of charge to APS employees.
- Seek resources such as the Georgia Power Foundation, which recently announced a $50,000 donation to St. Vincent de Paul Georgia, a faith-based nonprofit, to help provide support to furloughed and unpaid federal workers and contractors in the state. Through the fund, impacted families can ask for assistance by submitting a request to gapowerassistancefund@svdpgeorgia.org.
“Many federal employees and contractors, some of them family members of APS employees, are facing the impacts of the federal government shutdown, and we want to do all we can to help,” said APS Superintendent Dr. Meria J. Carstarphen. “A vast majority of Americans simply can’t make it very long without receiving their regular paychecks. We want to do all we can to help bridge the gap for our employees who need that assistance.”