Rainbow Village is extraordinarily blessed with so many incredible people who work behind the scenes on our campus – fueling our mission to bring Help, Hope, Housing and Healing to families experiencing homelessness. One of those people is the amazing Lanie George, our Executive & Office Assistant Extraordinaire. Whether fielding calls for families in need or greeting visitors to our office, she often represents their first introduction to Rainbow Village… and she takes that role very seriously.
Uniquely Suited, Deeply Understanding
While many team members come to Rainbow Village because they have big hearts and a passion for helping families in need, Lanie’s career and personal history make her uniquely suited for the job. At one point in her life, she founded her own nonprofit – Redeeming Joy, created to aid survivors of human trafficking and substance abuse. Beyond her professional experience, as someone who aged out of the foster care system, Lanie has a deep understanding of the fear of being without a home.
Allowing Others to Play to their Own Strengths
When she first came to our organization in 2021, Lanie saw the position as a fabulous fit, a chance to use her creativity and an opportunity to be part of a cause near and dear to her own heart. To this day, she loves coming to work – where no two days are ever alike. In addition to answering phones and greeting guests, she focuses on everything from event prep and donor care to creating graphics and taking tasks off other team member’s plates so they can keep their own focus where their strengths lie.
“Homelessness has so many different faces,” said Lanie. “A family may become homeless due to a house fire, the death of a spouse, the loss of a job. We get a lot of calls, and sadly, there is a greater need than there are resources. I do my best to assure families in crisis that we’re working on their behalf.”
Lanie values the standard of excellence at Rainbow Village. Despite its growth over the years, residents always come first. She can see its model serving as an example for other organizations to follow and would love to see it replicated in other communities. She appreciates the fact that one of the things Rainbow Village does most beautifully is fostering a culture of collaboration. Other nonprofit organizations come to our offices weekly to come alongside and support one another.
What HOPE Means to Lanie
As Rainbow Village pursues our Give the Gift of HOPE initiative to bring 2022 to a close and position our organization for growth in 2023 to serve even more families than ever before, Lanie offers her own view of HOPE. “Hope is believing it can always get better – looking forward to what’s to come instead of being fearful. Hope gets you through the cruddy places, knowing that self-sufficiency is attainable through hard work. Of course, you need others with you on that journey to encourage you and hold you accountable. Rainbow Village provides that. Our people come alongside families experiencing homelessness and open their eyes to the possibilities – asking them to breathe differently and look at life through new eyes.”
As someone who must often employ the word “no” more often than she would like when asked by families if there is room in the Rainbow Village program, Lanie has one very big hope of her own. “I want to see more yesses.”
Give the Gift of HOPE
With the funds raised during Rainbow Village’s Give the Gift of HOPE yearend initiative, we will continue to serve families experiencing homelessness on our campus through the provision of transitional housing, transformational programming and success coaching. In keeping with Lanie’s hope, we also have big plans to expand our reach to other communities throughout Metro Atlanta in 2023. We invite you to donate TODAY to support this vision and bring a meaningful impact to families in need: https://bit.ly/RVGiftofHOPE. If you’re on the go, you can also text Giftofhope to 844-422-6444. For corporate contributions or large donations, we encourage you to call our Chief Philanthropy Officer, Randy Redner, directly on his Gift of HOPE Hotline at 404-273-1292. For more information about our organization and our mission to bring Help, Hope, Housing and Healing to families in need by visiting www.RainbowVillage.org.
Learn more about Lanie and opportunities to Give the Gift of HOPE to families in need: https://vimeo.com/764220555.
