ACS to accept the award at the Atlanta Women’s Foundation ‘Numbers Too Big To Ignore’ event on Oct. 28.

ATLANTA, October 14, 2010 – The Atlanta Children’s Shelter (ACS) is honored to receive the 2010 Sue Wieland Embracing Possibilities Award. This $10,000 grant is presented annually to one of The Atlanta Women’s Foundation grantee partners and one woman or girl with whom the organization has worked to bring about positive change in her life. This year’s individual recipient is Ms. Padmasri Manumari.

The Atlanta Children’s Shelter was moved to nominate Ms. Padma Manumari because her story demonstrates how a single, unemployed mother living through tragedy, can overcome her fears and emotional barriers and create a stable loving home for her family. With a history of domestic violence, Ms. Manumari and her son Sai came to Atlanta Children’s Shelter broken and battered but not beat. The Atlanta Children’s Shelter provided a safe, loving, nurturing space for Sai and a supportive, educational environment for Ms. Manumari. As each engaged and participated in the process to gain independence, the conditions of their lives changed dramatically. Ms. Manumari went from unemployed to self-employed and from homeless to homeowner as a result of the care and direction she received at ACS and as a result of Ms. Manumari taking the opportunity to do the work and reach for her potential.

“When Ms. Manumari first came to Atlanta Children’s Shelter as a referral from Partnership Against Domestic Violence, she was unemployed, poor, fleeing domestic violence, and coming from a culture where women did not make the decisions that guided their own lives,” said Atlanta Children’s Shelter Board Chair Susan O’Farrell. “We are thrilled to see Ms. Manumari’s transformation into the accomplished and independent woman she is today.”

ACS Executive Director Sandy Keating and Board Chair Susan O’Farrell will be in attendance to accept the award at the Atlanta Women’s Foundation ‘ Numbers Too Big To Ignore’ Fundraising Luncheon on October 28, 2010. “This $10,000 grant will be put to use to help ACS continue its efforts to help homeless families achieve long-term, stable self sufficiency, and we’re so grateful to AWF and Sue Wieland for this honor,” says Keating.

About the Atlanta Women’s Foundation
The Atlanta Women’s Foundation (www.atlantawomen.org) is dedicated to breaking the generational cycle of poverty for women and girls. Their mission is to be a catalyst for change in the lives of women and girls.

About the Atlanta Children’s Shelter
Founded in 1986, the Atlanta Children's Shelter (www.atlantachildrensshelter.org) provides free, quality day care, emotional support, an educational curriculum for homeless children, and focused social services for their families. Dedicated to helping families overcome the issues that contribute to homelessness, including domestic violence and job loss, the Atlanta Children's Shelter focuses on the long term self- sufficiency of the family.