$241,500 Gift to LaAmistad

The Chestnut Family Foundation is proud to announce its $241,500 donation to LaAmistad. Recognizing Atlanta’s gap for accessible transportation, the gift will help the organization cover the cost of an additional bus to take LaAmistad’s children to its after-school programs. With 12 locations for after school programming, this donation will also support the provision of one-on-one academic tutoring for all Latino students, and ensure the continuation of its programs at Embry Hills United Methodist Church. CFF is proud to support LaAmistad and the work that they do for our Latino community in Atlanta.

LaAmistad is an out-of-school learning program designed to help Latino students achieve proficiency in the most crucial subjects in school to ensure they have the skills they need to achieve their high school diplomas. LaAmistad Afterschool is a holistic learning program: while students are improving their academic proficiency and completing their schoolwork, their parents participate in workshops which help them learn to navigate the public school system to access educational support for their children, develop financial literacy, and find resources in their community that make a transformative impact in their lives. Currently, LaAmistad Afterschool operates at 12 locations throughout Atlanta.

AFCEA Henry M. Chestnut Scholarship Awarded to Two High School Seniors

Jaden Lim and Olivia DeLucia from Grovetown High School are the 2022 recipients of the Henry M. Chestnut Scholarship awarded through the Augusta-Ft. Gordon AFCEA Educational Foundation. Each student will receive $2,000 to use towards their college degree.

We created the Henry M. Chestnut Scholarship in 2019 to honor Ben's beloved father, Henry M. Chestnut, whose military career helped inspire his love of technology and industrial design. It’s an annual scholarship for two students who have shown excellence in STEM subjects and who plan to seek a bachelor’s degree in a STEM-related field at a four-year institution or community college, so long as they intend to transfer and complete their bachelor’s degree. The Augusta-Ft. Gordon chapter’s scholarship committee selects the recipients every year.

Ben Chestnut was a recipient of an AFCEA scholarship in 1996, which proved to be transformational. We’re proud to give students this same opportunity and wish Jaden and Olivia the best of luck as they continue their studies!

Jaden Lim

Olivia DeLucia

$600,000 Gift to City of Refuge

The Chestnut Family Foundation has committed to donating $600,000 over the next three years to support City of Refuge’s Youth Development programming. They aim to create a pathway out of poverty for children of all ages on Atlanta’s Westside by providing access to resources that enable them to be healthy, develop self-confidence, and enjoy life. The programs include: a full-day preschool for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old who live in City of Refuge’s Eden Village and surrounding neighborhoods, an after-school and summer camp in Kid City from students ages 5-12, and CITY (Community Improvement Through Youth) Club to empower teens in the community to make healthy choices for school and career success.

City of Refuge was founded in 1997 to provide food and shelter for those in tremendous need in Atlanta’s Westside. Their renovated warehouse, the size of a city block, in the heart of zip code 30314 serves as a center “Where Good Works,” connecting some of Atlanta’s most vulnerable citizens to all the services they need to move from crisis to dignity and independence.

We're honored to invest in the future of these children and Atlanta’s Westside!

$200,000 Gift to CHRIS 180

The Chestnut Family Foundation has donated $200,000 to CHRIS 180 to fill in gaps in services for children in foster care. CHRIS 180 provides trauma-informed mental health counseling and essential support services for high acuity children and youth in their group foster homes, sibling foster homes, and youth in foster care in the community. Their counseling programs help children build resilience, facilitate recovery from trauma, anxiety, and depression, and promote healing and a positive sense of well-being and confidence that will foster the ability to thrive.

Serving the Atlanta community, CHRIS 180 has been at the forefront of behavioral health and child welfare service delivery since 1981. They provide critical behavioral health services that aid in recovery from past and present trauma, anxiety, depression, and suicidal feelings and that enable children to unlock their potential to achieve.

We're honored to continue our relationship with CHRIS 180 and to support these essential services they provide to the most vulnerable children in our foster care system.

2022 Henry M. Chestnut Scholarship Awarded to Students at Bay High School

Jeremiah Banks and Alondra Quinones

The Chestnut Family Foundation is proud to announce the recipients of the 2022 Henry M. Chestnut Scholarship in honor of Mr. Pears at Bay High School. This year’s recipients are Alondra Quinones and Jeremiah Banks. Alondra will attend Florida State University, and Jeremiah will attend Tallahassee Community College with the intention of transferring to FAMU. Each recipient will receive $2,000 to be used towards their college expenses.

In addition to the above recipients, Bay High School awarded eleven additional $500 scholarships using funds donated in memory of Ben’s beloved father, Henry M. Chestnut.

We wish these students the best of luck as they continue their education in college!

You can find more information on the 2020 scholarship recipients here and the 2021 scholarship recipients here.