Who do we help?
Our focus is families with children age birth to 18 living with them within Cobb County, GA. A family consists of anyone with a child living in their household, single or married parents, grandparents, relative or family friend with guardianship.
What do we assist with?
The categories that we can assist with include (but not limited to): rent, daycare, hotel bill, food, utilities, diapers/wipes, cleaning supplies and toiletries. We typically do not assist with storage fees, insurance, car repair, phone bills, moving fees, etc. unless that need is deemed to be the only obstacle standing in the way of financial independence.
What is our service area?
Our service area is Cobb County, GA. Unfortunately, we cannot help those who live outside of Cobb County.
Am I eligible for help?
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You have at least one child (birth to 18 years old) living with you and have legal guardianship.
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You live within the boundaries of Cobb County, GA.
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You have sufficient documentation of your circumstances to verify the need. This includes, but not limited to: proof of employment/job offer, bills and any other related documentation for all adults living in the house, documentation of your disability/unemployment status as well as SNAP and CAPS benefits.
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The existence of the need is reasonable based on your income and expenses. We do require you to have some sort of consistent income in order to apply for assistance.
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Fulfilling the need will alleviate a short-term obstacle which will allow you to sustain yourself going forward.
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You are making the fullest attempt to solve the problems which led to the need by working or actively seeking employment, seeking assistance from multiple agencies, and making your best attempt to live as economically as possible within your budget.
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Your need fits under the categories of rent, hotel bill, food, utilities, diapers/wipes, cleaning supplies and toiletries. We typically do not assist with storage fees, insurance, car repair, phone bills, moving fees, etc. unless that need is deemed to be the only obstacle standing in the way of your financial independence.
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Your family has not been assisted financially within the past 12 months by our organization.
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If living in a hotel, you do not have any pets. Cobb Moms Helping Cobb is unable to assist with hotel payments for families that have pets in their room unless they are a verified service animal. An exception may be considered by the admin team if there are unusual circumstances present.
Please note that while this shows our initial requirements for assistance, we are unable to guarantee your request for assistance will be approved so be sure to continue to look for other resources. If you meet the initial requirements above, the next step is to fill out an application for assistance.
How do I request assistance?
Send a message to Joy Cobb (and a friend request) in the Cobb Moms Helping Cobb Facebook group. Fill out the general request form and/or request form- supplies and we will get back to you as soon as we are able. Please understand we often have a wait list (typically we cannot fill immediate requests), but in order to fill your need more quickly, please go ahead and send us the documentation that supports your need for assistance. Please email your documentation to info@cobbmoms.org and include your name in the subject line.
What is the process for assistance?
After you complete the form, send ID and proof of employment/job offer, bills and any other related documentation for all adults living in the house to us. We may also request documentation of your disability/unemployment status as well as SNAP and CAPS benefits. You can block out your social security number if you prefer, we don’t need that. We will then follow up with questions about your situation and might ask for more information. As a final step for approval, we may request a short phone interview. We will let you know when/if that time comes.
We are not being nosy...we are just trying to fully assess the situation to see how we might be able to help! We often have a waitlist for requests, so please do not expect immediate assistance as we can not always accommodate last minute requests. All situations have unique circumstances and we consider the whole picture in our approval process.
We cannot guarantee approval to any family, however it is important that we can see that a family is sustainable and unless there are extenuating circumstances, will be able to support themselves going forward.
What documents do I need to submit?
This is a list of suggested documents that we might require, but more documentation may be requested as we work through the application process. Email info@cobbmoms.org.
1- ID for any adults in your household
2- income for everyone in your household (last 4 paystubs, child support, disability, etc)
3- verification of benefits approval/denial for your household showing names of all family members on application status page (Medicaid, CAPS, SNAP, Unemployment)
*You can find this information on https://gateway.ga.gov/
4- documentation of situation for all adults (what led to you falling behind, job loss, new job, eviction, unexpected repairs, etc- this is NOT just an explanation of events but actual documentation of the situation)
5- most recent balance of bill you are requesting assistance for (utility bills, daycare, hotel, etc) showing account name, address and account number
6-PDF copy of rental ledger showing all charges and payments (you can request this from your landlord- we cannot accept screenshots of your payment portal)
7- tax refund status showing the date and amount of most recent refund received (You can find this information: https://sa.www4.irs.gov/wmr/ )
*We require a W9 to be on file from your landlord before any rent payments can be made on your behalf. It is your responsibility to ensure that the W9 is received in advance of payment from your landlord. Payments may be delayed or denied without this requirement.
*If you are uncertain what we are looking for, please click here for sample images.
Will my information be kept private?
Cobb Moms Helping Cobb will never divulge your private information to any members of the group without permission. When we post about a family's need, we use general information to share a story about the family's situation but will never post identifiable information regarding your situation. With your permission, we will share your contact information with other families in the group in order for you to make arrangements for pickup, drop off, etc.
If deemed relevant, Cobb Moms Helping Cobb may reach out to local organizations to see if we can gather further details on a situation to help us in making an informed decision. We sometimes rely on other agencies for a more detailed background on a situation. By submitting an application you are agreeing to this privacy policy.
We do not share account information or contact information with third parties without permission.
How do we make payments?
All payments are paid directly to the business owed (rent/utility company/etc.) We do not ever give money directly to the person requesting assistance. If diapers, food, or gas is needed, we will provide that directly as well.
Do you know of any additional resources that could help with assistance?
Here are a few Cobb County resources to contact for assistance as well. Be sure to check out the top link which includes a 61 page resource guide from Cobb County Extension.
Cobb County Extension Resource Guide
Where do our requests come from?
We get requests from various sources: families find us on Facebook, school social worker referrals, local hotels and agencies we have built relationships with as well as referrals from other members of the group.
How can I help?
There are many ways you can help! Donations are always needed to assist our families. We not only seek financial donations, but cleaning supplies and toiletry items, diapers and wipes are always needed as well. You can also volunteer, help to raise awareness or provide resources to us for redistribution.
We also need volunteers from time to time to pickup/deliver donations in addition to other occasional opportunities.
Are my donations tax deductible?
Cobb Moms Helping Cobb, a nonprofit registered in the state of GA, is a tax-exempt 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization.
EIN 83-2874836
How do I donate?
Your donations are vital to our mission! We accept donations via:
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Zelle (cobbmomshelpingcobb@gmail.com)
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Contact an admin if you have any in-kind donations (cleaning supplies, toiletries).
How are monetary donations used?
Our operating costs are very low (insurance, accounting, filing fees, etc). We are all volunteers so no salaries to cover!
This leaves the majority of the funds donated for our approved family's need.
Important Facebook Group Rules:
Only contact a member (other than admin) if you have been asked to. If you send a message to a member or comment on a post asking for assistance, you will be immediately removed. All requests for assistance need to be submitted directly to Joy Cobb or email info@cobbmoms.org.
If you're with a school or agency, please message us where you're from & we'll do our best to help. We can typically fill agency referrals faster than direct requests.
If you're asking for a friend, they will need to contact us directly. We cannot assist anyone through a 3rd party.
We have weekly donation posts, typically every Friday through Sunday.
We do not allow stand alone donation/request posts unless approved by an admin of the group.
We understand you might prefer to sell your item, but please do not ask for money in this group. Also, do not offer to pay for any items or give money directly to anyone. All items are donation only. No reselling of any donated items.
No political posts/comments are permitted.
No business posts or seeking employment allowed.
You may be immediately removed from the group if any rules are broken.