ACD Donates Equipment To The Peachtree-Pine

Shelter Receives Equipment Before Thanksgiving

The Peachtree-Pine Shelter is a 95,000 sq. ft. facility located in downtown Atlanta.  Established in 1996, the Peachtree-Pine is a shelter operated by the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, and houses anywhere from 500 – 1,000 individuals everyday.  Funded entirely on private donations, the shelter has fallen on hard times over the past few years.  Until recently, the building’s facilities had begun deteriorating and many of Atlanta’s destitute were being left without the assistance they needed.

In late September of 2014, a coalition of anonymous private donors raised a wealth of capital for the Peachtree-Pine.  The shelter had an overdue water bill in the realm of $600,000 and was facing being shut off; an event that could have catastrophic consequences for the facility.  Thanks to some significant donations, not only was the facility allowed to stay open, but the stage was set for a number of new projects and renovations. 

Patrick La Bouff Begins Working With The Peachtree-Pine Shelter

Patrick J. La Bouff is a successful entrepreneur that has opened numerous restaurants around the Atlanta area, including popular Midtown spot The Lawrence, as well as founding popular supper club Dinner Party Atlanta.  After the shelter caught up on its financial obligations, the Task Force tapped La Bouff to take on a role as Project Manager for a number of renovations to the Peachtree-Pine.  After giving La Bouff “carte-blanche” to make the best of donations, the Task Force was poised to make some big changes at the shelter.

Patrick has a number of large projects in development at the Peachtree-Pine.  Among his current endeavors are: a sustainable rooftop vegetable garden, opening a coffee shop / art gallery to raise funds for the shelter, and updating the shelter’s kitchen.

Updating The Peachtree-Pine’s Kitchen

One of the first problems Patrick had to face as Project Manager was the shelter’s kitchen.  Despite having a kitchen donated over a decade ago, the shelter’s kitchen facilities were unused and slipped into disrepair.  In dire need of equipment to feed citizens during the ever busy holiday season, Patrick reached out to ACityDiscount. 

Patrick began working with ACityDiscount Marketing Manager Kathleen Villa and Sales Lead Rudy Herring, and spoke directly to the urgency of the situation.  With a little under two weeks until Thanksgiving, the shelter needed to be able to cook food for patrons as soon as possible.  Within a week, the ACityDiscount team had donated over $3,000 worth of commercial kitchen equipment and delivered it to the site.  Patrick and the team at the Peachtree-Pine used this equipment to immediately begin preparing meals, even before installing it the kitchen.

A Time For Being Thankful

A day after dropping off the shelter’s equipment, the ACityDiscount team received a wonderfully worded thank you e-mail from Patrick, calling us “rock stars”.  For ACity, the request came at the most appropriate time of the year.  The team was elated to take part in such a wonderful project so close to the Thanksgiving holiday; a time when we all take time to appreciate what we are lucky to have, and the beginning of the holiday giving season.

ACityDiscount has plans to continue working with Patrick and the Peachtree-Pine shelter, however the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless are still very far away from reaching their fundraising goals.  This holiday season, ACityDiscount is encouraging vendors and customers to take some time to donate or volunteer with this very honorable cause.

To learn more about donating to the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless click here or visit their Facebook page.

To check out more photos from the project, click here.

**Project Updates - January 21st, 2015**

Since first donating cooking equipment to the Peachtree-Pine Shelter, ACityDiscount has continued to work with Patrick and the Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless to provide adequate assistance to Atlanta's homeless community. ACityDiscount has been, and will continue, to work with our vendors to source and donate equipment to this wonderful project.

Around Christmas, Dustin Gill and the Premier Equipment Group dropped off a Vulcan deep fryer to be donated, and just after the New Year, Phil Haynes and the folks of Superior Hoods donated off a 15 ft. commercial hood. We at ACityDiscount are incredibly thankful that vendors like the Premier Group and Superior Hoods have taken an interest in this noble cause, and hope to be working with many more wonderful folks on this project moving forward.

To see pictures of our recent equipment dropoffs to the shelter and to keep up to date with future donations, check out the ACityDiscount Facebook Page.