CHRISTMAS 4 THE UNSHELTERED: HUG THE BLOCK 2020
Donation protected
OUR 2ND HUG THE BLOCK DAY (CHRISTMAS TIME - DECEMBER 23RD, 2020)
Christmas Update: Continuing to Hug The Block Together!
Thank you so much to everyone who made our Hug The Block charity event on Thanksgiving Eve such a wonderful and amazing success. We can't help but hug the block again on Wednesday, December 23rd!
We would love your continued support as we do our best to ensure our entire community gets through COVID-19 and this winter together. Our unsheltered neighbors undoubtedly have it harder than most, and there's no better way to show the spirit of Christmas than to share and spread our warmth and love in the O4W community!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
OUR 1ST HUG THE BLOCK DAY (THANKSGIVING EVE - NOVEMBER 25TH, 2020)
Misfit Love Mafia & Our Bar ATL wants to "HUG THE BLOCK 2020" this Thanksgiving Eve on Wednesday, November 25, 2020.
We started this fund for our local community of unsheltered neighbors here on Edgewood Ave and the Old Fourth Ward (O4W), many of whom we've come to know since we opened our doors in late February this year. Although COVID-19 has affected all of us heavily, our vulnerable and unhoused neighbors have been hit especially hard. Through our "HUG THE BLOCK 2020" initiative, we hope to provide Thanksgiving dine-in dinners, clinic and barber services, and hot showers to at least 80 of our fellow neighborhood residents.
Who We Are
Chef Dee and Denitra Isler Luecke started Misfit Love Mafia as their own official non-profit platform earlier this year, but community activism and humanitarian work have long been a part of their lives and values. They joined the Our Bar ATL family when Chef Dee became the culinary lead for our night kitchen menu. His dedication to his culinary craft is only surpassed by his love for his newlywed wife and son - and his big heart for his fellow human beings. He married Denitra on Dec 21, 2019 in a beautiful ceremony and naturally, the wedding after-party was at Our Bar ATL with all of our friends and family.
Our Bar ATL is a bar + kitchen that just opened in Old Fourth Ward in February 2020. As an active and concerned business resident of the neighborhood, we try to use our space and brand to engage deeply and locally with our community in order to be a positive force for change. Some of our recent activities in the community include our "Voter Registration Drives," "Let's Talk Solutions: Panel on Racial Justice," and "Pick Your Brain Panel: Atlanta Film Industry."
How We Started
The idea that "anything worth doing should be done together" has always been Our Bar ATL's core belief. It's what brought all of us together over the past decade, long before Our Bar ATL even existed in our dreams or on paper. We've been blessed - just flat out lucky. The people we needed to get this place off the ground took little more than a few phone calls for the word to spread and the help to arrive. So when COVID-19 struck just 3 weeks into our grand opening, that same spirit and friendship picked us right back up.
With so much to be thankful and grateful for, we want to pay all that passion and fellowship forward into our O4W community. Although we've organized and hosted a few neighborhood events, "HUG THE BLOCK 2020" is our biggest initiative yet and one we're incredibly excited about. No matter how rough this year has been for us as a new restaurant & bar, we know we can pull it off as long we combine our efforts. Just like how we've always done things, we want our entire community to enjoy the holidays and get through this winter together.
The Fund: Where It Began and Where It’s Going
The idea for our "HUG THE BLOCK 2020" is rooted in the over five thousand "Brown Bag Lunches" for our O4W neighborhood's unsheltered that Chef Dee and Denitra organized back in late-March 2020, practically right after the citywide shutdown of dine-in service due to COVID-19. In just a matter of days, Chef Dee and Denitra figured out who needs their help most, how they can best provide it, and then started doing exactly that. The O4W has long had a large community of unsheltered neighbors, and the pandemic has only exacerbated the issue. Although many of our fellow Atlanta locals and residents are struggling, there is an especially urgent need to assist our fellow neighbors and get them the support and resources they require to make it through this winter.
While "HUG THE BLOCK 2020" was initially going to just be a dine-in service to provide a full Thanksgiving meal, the scope of it quickly grew with every conversation we had with our staff, neighbors, and regulars. We're absolutely down for all of it.
We don't have enough funds to pull this off on our own but then again, that's never stopped us before. At a time when the need is more pressing than ever in the midst of the pandemic, we're gathering everyone together to make this happen on November 25th, 2020.
Thank you to our current roster of volunteers who've committed to hugging the block with us on November 25th!
- Kitchen: 2 Chefs x 2 Cashiers x 2 Food Preps
- Dining: 3 Food Runners x 3 Servers
- Bar: 3 Bartenders x 2 Barbacks
- Medic Tent: 3 Registered Nurses
- Barber Tent: 4 Barbers x 2 Beauticians
- Wardrobe & Gift Tent: 3 Wardrobe Stylists x 3 Gift Bag Assistants
- Entertainment: 2 DJs x 1 Host
- Security: 4 Security Personnel
- Marketing: 2 Graphic Designers & Artists
- Sanitation: 2 Sanitizers
- Production: 6 Production Assistants x 2 Event Planners
In addition to meeting our $18,076 funding goal, we're asking for donations of the following:
- 100 Blankets
- 100 Coats (All Sizes)
- 100 Pairs of Socks
*Please drop off any donations at Our Bar ATL between Sunday and Thursday, 2pm-6pm.
After Thanksgiving, any remaining funds and all of our energy will go towards a larger scale initiative around Christmas when it gets colder and harder. Our goal is to make HUG THE BLOCK a permanent neighborhood initiative and resource for the unsheltered community in Old Fourth Ward.
How To Stay In Touch
Thank you so much for your support and contribution to this O4W neighborhood movement. We'll keep you posted here on what happens in the coming weeks and months leading up to November 25th, 2020. HUG THE BLOCK 2020 is happening, rain or shine, so if you're interested in helping out in any way, please reach out to us on www.ourbaratl.com or @ourbaratl.
Media
We greatly welcome and appreciate any media coverage to spread awareness and raise funds leading up our HUG THE BLOCK 2020 event on November 25th, 2020. Please feel free to contact us via www.ourbaratl.com or @ourbaratl if you would like to request any additional information.
However, the event on the actual day will be a private affair. Please help us provide a quiet, private, and comforting Thanksgiving experience to our neighbors and patrons. No camera, film, or news crews will be allowed on premises during event hours.
#hugtheblock2020
#o4wthanksgivingeve
#oldfourthwardneighbors
#soemotionalwehugtheblock
Christmas Update: Continuing to Hug The Block Together!
Thank you so much to everyone who made our Hug The Block charity event on Thanksgiving Eve such a wonderful and amazing success. We can't help but hug the block again on Wednesday, December 23rd!
We would love your continued support as we do our best to ensure our entire community gets through COVID-19 and this winter together. Our unsheltered neighbors undoubtedly have it harder than most, and there's no better way to show the spirit of Christmas than to share and spread our warmth and love in the O4W community!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
OUR 1ST HUG THE BLOCK DAY (THANKSGIVING EVE - NOVEMBER 25TH, 2020)
Misfit Love Mafia & Our Bar ATL wants to "HUG THE BLOCK 2020" this Thanksgiving Eve on Wednesday, November 25, 2020.
We started this fund for our local community of unsheltered neighbors here on Edgewood Ave and the Old Fourth Ward (O4W), many of whom we've come to know since we opened our doors in late February this year. Although COVID-19 has affected all of us heavily, our vulnerable and unhoused neighbors have been hit especially hard. Through our "HUG THE BLOCK 2020" initiative, we hope to provide Thanksgiving dine-in dinners, clinic and barber services, and hot showers to at least 80 of our fellow neighborhood residents.
Who We Are
Chef Dee and Denitra Isler Luecke started Misfit Love Mafia as their own official non-profit platform earlier this year, but community activism and humanitarian work have long been a part of their lives and values. They joined the Our Bar ATL family when Chef Dee became the culinary lead for our night kitchen menu. His dedication to his culinary craft is only surpassed by his love for his newlywed wife and son - and his big heart for his fellow human beings. He married Denitra on Dec 21, 2019 in a beautiful ceremony and naturally, the wedding after-party was at Our Bar ATL with all of our friends and family.
Our Bar ATL is a bar + kitchen that just opened in Old Fourth Ward in February 2020. As an active and concerned business resident of the neighborhood, we try to use our space and brand to engage deeply and locally with our community in order to be a positive force for change. Some of our recent activities in the community include our "Voter Registration Drives," "Let's Talk Solutions: Panel on Racial Justice," and "Pick Your Brain Panel: Atlanta Film Industry."
How We Started
The idea that "anything worth doing should be done together" has always been Our Bar ATL's core belief. It's what brought all of us together over the past decade, long before Our Bar ATL even existed in our dreams or on paper. We've been blessed - just flat out lucky. The people we needed to get this place off the ground took little more than a few phone calls for the word to spread and the help to arrive. So when COVID-19 struck just 3 weeks into our grand opening, that same spirit and friendship picked us right back up.
With so much to be thankful and grateful for, we want to pay all that passion and fellowship forward into our O4W community. Although we've organized and hosted a few neighborhood events, "HUG THE BLOCK 2020" is our biggest initiative yet and one we're incredibly excited about. No matter how rough this year has been for us as a new restaurant & bar, we know we can pull it off as long we combine our efforts. Just like how we've always done things, we want our entire community to enjoy the holidays and get through this winter together.
The Fund: Where It Began and Where It’s Going
The idea for our "HUG THE BLOCK 2020" is rooted in the over five thousand "Brown Bag Lunches" for our O4W neighborhood's unsheltered that Chef Dee and Denitra organized back in late-March 2020, practically right after the citywide shutdown of dine-in service due to COVID-19. In just a matter of days, Chef Dee and Denitra figured out who needs their help most, how they can best provide it, and then started doing exactly that. The O4W has long had a large community of unsheltered neighbors, and the pandemic has only exacerbated the issue. Although many of our fellow Atlanta locals and residents are struggling, there is an especially urgent need to assist our fellow neighbors and get them the support and resources they require to make it through this winter.
While "HUG THE BLOCK 2020" was initially going to just be a dine-in service to provide a full Thanksgiving meal, the scope of it quickly grew with every conversation we had with our staff, neighbors, and regulars. We're absolutely down for all of it.
We don't have enough funds to pull this off on our own but then again, that's never stopped us before. At a time when the need is more pressing than ever in the midst of the pandemic, we're gathering everyone together to make this happen on November 25th, 2020.
Thank you to our current roster of volunteers who've committed to hugging the block with us on November 25th!
- Kitchen: 2 Chefs x 2 Cashiers x 2 Food Preps
- Dining: 3 Food Runners x 3 Servers
- Bar: 3 Bartenders x 2 Barbacks
- Medic Tent: 3 Registered Nurses
- Barber Tent: 4 Barbers x 2 Beauticians
- Wardrobe & Gift Tent: 3 Wardrobe Stylists x 3 Gift Bag Assistants
- Entertainment: 2 DJs x 1 Host
- Security: 4 Security Personnel
- Marketing: 2 Graphic Designers & Artists
- Sanitation: 2 Sanitizers
- Production: 6 Production Assistants x 2 Event Planners
In addition to meeting our $18,076 funding goal, we're asking for donations of the following:
- 100 Blankets
- 100 Coats (All Sizes)
- 100 Pairs of Socks
*Please drop off any donations at Our Bar ATL between Sunday and Thursday, 2pm-6pm.
After Thanksgiving, any remaining funds and all of our energy will go towards a larger scale initiative around Christmas when it gets colder and harder. Our goal is to make HUG THE BLOCK a permanent neighborhood initiative and resource for the unsheltered community in Old Fourth Ward.
How To Stay In Touch
Thank you so much for your support and contribution to this O4W neighborhood movement. We'll keep you posted here on what happens in the coming weeks and months leading up to November 25th, 2020. HUG THE BLOCK 2020 is happening, rain or shine, so if you're interested in helping out in any way, please reach out to us on www.ourbaratl.com or @ourbaratl.
Media
We greatly welcome and appreciate any media coverage to spread awareness and raise funds leading up our HUG THE BLOCK 2020 event on November 25th, 2020. Please feel free to contact us via www.ourbaratl.com or @ourbaratl if you would like to request any additional information.
However, the event on the actual day will be a private affair. Please help us provide a quiet, private, and comforting Thanksgiving experience to our neighbors and patrons. No camera, film, or news crews will be allowed on premises during event hours.
#hugtheblock2020
#o4wthanksgivingeve
#oldfourthwardneighbors
#soemotionalwehugtheblock
Fundraising team: Our Bar ATL x Misfit Love Mafia (2)
Our Bar ATL
Organizer
Atlanta, GA
Misfit Love Mafia
Team member
