Living in an international city that is an important part of the Civil Rights Movement, Julie Smith wants Atlanta to be at the forefront of improving race relations. She educates others on the history of civil rights in our country, and how each of us have the ability to make changes to protect human rights all over the world at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.

Julie relates her community or volunteer services to an Alice Walker quote, "Activism is my rent for living on the planet." To her, this means we are all activists. We all live in communities and are connected to each other. There are so many ways to give back and support our family, friends, and neighbors. The key is finding the best fit for you and sharing your passion and talents.

Sara Henderson’s volunteer experience is probably the most relatable one you may find. She began excited, all-in, driven, empathetic, and completely forgetting how terrifying it is to reach out and meet strangers. Reliving her first time volunteer experience with Hands On Atlanta’s TeamWorks! program reminds us all why trying something new, especially volunteering, can be so scary.

The joy, passion, and ease of connecting with the community is obvious as soon as you meet Renee Videlefsky. You can almost spell the alphabet with the number of organizations she surrounds herself with. She is a Unicorn of volunteers - impacting those she interacts with directly, snowballing a path to change. Unlike emerging tech Unicorns, though, she won’t IPO because she loves her communal connections.