What is SAND?

South Atlantans for Neighborhood Development (SAND) is an umbrella organization that was formed in 1979 to serve the residents and businesses of the South East Atlanta neighborhoods situated between Grant Park and East Atlanta.  This includes:

The all-volunteer, 501(c)3 non-profit corporation brings together residents from the seven neighborhoods for the purpose of improving the quality of life within our community, to promote discussions of issues affecting our neighborhoods, and to promote a sense of community pride and belonging. Our mailing address is: 

P.O. Box 17664, Atlanta, GA 30316.

Our meetings are on the 2nd Thursday of the month at 7:30pm. We are meeting virtually via Zoom. You can find the login information on our Events page.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, our meetings were held at the Ormewood Park Church Fellowship Hall.
1071 Delaware Ave SE,
Atlanta, GA 30316

Contact Us

Mission

SAND is an umbrella organization that was formed in 1979 to serve the residents and businesses of South East Atlanta neighborhoods, including Benteen Park, Boulevard Heights, Custer-McDonough-Guice, Glenwood Park, Ormewood Park, North Ormewood Park, and Woodland Hills.

The all-volunteer, 501(c)3 non-profit corporation brings together residents from the seven neighborhoods for the purpose of improving the quality of life within our community, to promote discussions of issues affecting our neighborhoods, and to promote a sense of community pride and belonging.

History

SAND was born in 1973. Why South Atlantans for Neighborhood Development? The organizational structure followed the pattern of the revivalists in the Little Five Points neighborhoods. They had formed B.O.N.D., the Bass Organization for Neighborhood Development to coordinate the work of Candler Park, Inman Park, Little Five, and Ponce Highlands. The only place where you will still find B.O.N.D. in the name is that of the Credit Union.

So what did SAND do? Not much at the start. There were only four of us in the first meeting. We did get a boost from the work of prior leaders who had formed the 30th House District Town Hall meeting led by State Representative John Savage. At first we were a “stationary” organization which means we wrote letters to city officials complaining about the lack of quality municipal services on the south side of I-20. We held a Community Flea Market and Carnival in the parking lot of the Ormewood Presbyterian Church (now the Community Church) with booths and children’s games.  We concocted a Kudzu Soup for another festival, and created a float in one of the July 4th parades downtown. One year SAND permitted a parade down Moreland Avenue which attracted candidates running for Governor, culminating in a festival in the parking lot of Moreland Shopping Center. Yes, we closed down Moreland and created a huge Saturday afternoon traffic jam. (Try doing that today!)