high five party

ATL is in Good Hands - the 2025 High Five Party

On April 17—yes, actual National High Five Day—we threw up our hands (literally) and celebrated Atlanta’s all-star volunteers the only way we know how: with food, fun, and a whole lotta gratitude.

The High Five Party made its triumphant return, this time doubling as a fundraiser to fuel the fire our volunteers light in communities across the city. We packed out The Painted Pickle with ping-pong, pickleball, putt-putt, and pure joy. There were good eats (seriously, the waffle fries are insane), cold drinks, great music, and more than a few friendly competitions (shout out to our own Trey Stanley aka Mr. Discovery for the Highest High Five).

But the true highlight? Our awards program, where we hit pause on the games to shine the spotlight on some of Atlanta’s most inspiring changemakers. Let’s meet the winners:

Left to right: Jay Cranman, Monica Taylor, Jennifer Smith, Predita Lundy, David Jernigan

🎉 Corporate Champion Award: Jennifer Smith, OneDigital

Presented by the incredible Elizabeth Chrane, this award recognized Jennifer’s unwavering dedication to corporate volunteerism and creating a culture of service at OneDigital.

🎉 School Legacy Award: Monnica Taylor, Kindezi at Gideons

Presented by the amazing Angeleria Willis, Monnica was honored for going above and beyond to empower her students and bring meaningful volunteer partnerships into the classroom.

🎉 Nonprofit Legacy Award: Grady Health

With words of admiration from Hands On Atlanta Board Chair, Adrienne White, we celebrated Grady Health for its deep-rooted commitment to health equity and community partnership that spans decades.

🎉 Founder’s Award: David Jernigan, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta

Presented by none other than Michelle Nunn, this special award went to David for his visionary leadership and lifelong devotion to building brighter futures for Atlanta’s youth.

These honorees aren’t just names on plaques—they’re the heartbeat of this movement. The ones who rally teams, ignite change, and make it their mission to leave Atlanta better than they found it.

And speaking of impact… in just the first few months of 2025:

  • We’ve activated 60,000 volunteers

  • Our 52 AmeriCorps members clocked over 250,000 service hours

  • 30 Civic Leaders engaged 2,000+ neighbors

  • And our top volunteers contributed thousands of hours to local causes

So yeah, a party was very necessary.


The High Five Party means we can give high fives all year long at volunteer projects, events, meal distributions and more.

Give here to keep the good work going.


To everyone who came out to celebrate, to cheer, to play, to give—thank you. This night was for you. And to everyone who supports this mission year-round: you’re helping us build an Atlanta where service is second nature and high fives are a love language.

Until next time… high fives all around. 👋💥

Thank you to our Host Committee

  • Michelle Nunn & Ron Martin

  • Elise Eplan

  • Amber & Frank Hall

  • Allyson Eman

  • Jay & Brendalee Cranman

  • Tara and Rahul Naya

  • Barbara and Nick Costides

  • Beth Cabrera

  • Chloe Barzey

An extra special Thank You to our sponsors

 
 

Meet Gayle Kahn: An extraordinary volunteer and Founder's Award Recipient

We’re excited to spotlight one of our amazing volunteers, Gayle Kahn. In April, Gayle was awarded our Founders Award, and has volunteered with our longest running program - Discovery at Parklane Elementary School! Outside of volunteering, she was the regional training manager for Prudential Real Estate and Relocation. She’s emerged as a leader in everything she does, and is truly as she describes: kind, extroverted and active! Her passion for giving back to our community is amazing!

Looking Back at the Hands On Atlanta 30th Birthday

Over the years, we’ve learned a thing or two about our community. Y’all love volunteering and will go to great lengths to support our work, y’all care about making Atlanta better for all of our citizens, and y’all most definitely know how to party! Take a look back at the Hands On Atlanta 30th Birthday Party!

Looking Back: The 2018 High Five Party

Looking Back: The 2018 High Five Party

The week of April 15, 2018 will go down in the record books for our team here at Hands On Atlanta. We kicked off National Volunteer Week with a weekend of service projects for Good Deeds Day, and highlighted 5 outstanding volunteer leaders (1 per day) on The Citizen. Over the course of the week, we filled 450 volunteer opportunities through our calendar, and on Saturday, April 21, we partnered up with the Coke Scholars for a Global Youth Service Day project - mobilizing over 150 youth in service. To cap off this exciting (and exhausting) week of service, we partied with 300 civic and service leaders at our High Five Party!