TechBridge Honors Midtown Assistance Center

The Midtown Assistance Center (MAC) earned recognition on May 7, 2016 as one of three elite finalists for TechBridge’s 2016 Technology Innovation Award, given annually to a Georgia nonprofit by Accenture at the TechBridge Digital Ball.

Dorothy Chandler, Executive Director of the Midtown Assistance Center, and Mitch Parsons, Operations Manager, represented MAC at the 16th annual Digital Ball. MAC competed with 43 Atlanta nonprofits, each seeking help with an innovative vision to use technology to advance their mission. As a finalist, MAC will receive an award valued at over $2,500 including a TechBridge technology assessment and a $1,000 cash grant.

The Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency was named the winner of the 2016 Technology Innovation Award, with the Midtown Assistance Center (MAC) and Families of Children Under Stress, Inc. (FOCUS) as the two finalists.

In 2016, MAC celebrates its 30th anniversary of supporting the working poor in the Midtown community to help prevent homelessness and hunger for working families.

“To be spotlighted in a room of technology leaders is a game changer for the Midtown Assistance Center,” said Dorothy Chandler, MAC’s Executive Director. “We are an organization with limited technology resources whose focus is on providing essential services to people in need. As a result of the award, TechBridge will assess and prioritize our technology needs and the grant will help jumpstart our efforts to use technology in accomplishing our mission.”

MAC is a nonprofit, interfaith organization whose mission is to provide emergency assistance to low-income, working Atlantans. The goal is to help prevent homelessness and hunger during periods of crisis. MAC has the support of 11 congregations as well as the Midtown Alliance, many businesses, foundations, individuals, government entities and volunteers. The members of MAC’s Board and its 250 volunteers represent a cross section of the Atlanta community.

“Often MAC is the only safety net between hard-working men and women and homelessness,” said Ms. Chandler. “Since 1986, MAC has been an integral piece in over 100,000 emergency situations.”

MAC helps people from all walks of life. Clients are people who are employed, but facing temporary financial crises such as those brought on by illness, layoffs, and inconsistent or reduced work hours. Many of MAC’s clients work in the retail, hospitality, security and construction industries. Often this population lives at the edge of poverty. On a daily basis, they are able to meet their own needs, but when the unforeseen happens, they may not have the resources to recover.

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