Rhodes Invention Design & Development, LLC to launch Helping Hands Charity on October 28

Rhodes Invention Design & Development, LLC, an in house development firm out of Athens, will launch their Helping Hands charity from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. on October 23 at the Athens-Clark County Library.  The company has partnered with Dollar Tree to provide food to 50 Athens families.  In addition, local nursing students will be on site to give free health screenings to everyone in attendance.   

“The whole purpose of Helping Hands is to show people that their community cares about them,” Joseph Rhodes, President of RIDD, said.  “Once you are able to give someone hope, you would be surprised at how much it changes their entire outlook on their given situation.”

 

Despite these hard economic times, according to a recent New York Times article, Dollar Tree stores have seen an increase in sales for the past three quarters.  With more than 4,000 stores across the United States, the corporation will donate food to the charity for a mere 30 cents per item.

“It’s amazing that such a large corporation took interest in a new organization in Athens, Georgia,” Rhodes said.  “They are one of the fastest growing corporations in North America right now, which says a lot about their belief system as a corporation and their business ethics.” 

In addition to providing food for families in Athens, Helping Hands is also hoping to give a home and education to six Athens citizens next year.  RIDD plans to purchase and renovate a large housing facility in Downtown Athens where these community members will live with their families while receiving a free education from a local technical school.  Although those given this opportunity will have to pass drug screenings during their stay, the charity hopes to change lives so that they can get off the street and enter the workforce with proper training.

“Getting people a job that pays minimum wage with no education is useless,” Jacklyn Kerch, Chief Operating Officer at RIDD, said.  “If we are able to put someone in a positive situation with people helping them along the way, they will not want to put that opportunity at risk with drug use and crime.”

Helping Hands and RIDD will continue to give back to the community on the next to last Sunday of every month and eventually hopes to spread its influence across the country.  For more information on Helping Hands, contact RIDD at (706) 534-0230, or feel free to send an e-mail to info@rhodesdevelopment.co.