Support Emory Village

Dear Friends of Emory Village,

This year, I assumed the leadership role of Chair for the Emory Village Alliance (EVA). Our goal is to facilitate a successful and vibrant Emory Village (EV) for both neighbors and merchants. When you visit EV you’ll see our partnership with the community, property owners and merchants is both growing and thriving. EVA is adding value to public spaces and the experience in the Village supporting the growth of both current and future business.

As Board members we hear one question far too often, it goes something like this. “Emory Village Alliance, what do you do for the Village”? While I don’t have a marketing background that question is revealing about our ability to effectively communicate the many projects and thousands of hours our volunteers have invested in fulfilling our mission. Some of our projects are tangible: you can sit in our most visible project, the corner park with a splashing fountain or be welcomed by the colorful banners that line North Decatur. Some of our projects intentionally bring neighbors and merchants together – Our upcoming Fall Festival (formerly Open Streets), Light up the Village (with holiday lights) or the popular Spring Concerts, a lead-in event for the Druid Hills Tour of Homes. Most recently, EVA hired a landscape company to keep the Village landscape attractive and add additional plant materials as the seasons change. Some projects are less visible, providing funding for Clean Up the Creek, working with our DeKalb County Commissioners to keep our Village zoning overlay revisions consistent with a changing real estate landscape, working with new merchants on design and permitting.

We are intentionally not a member-based organization and our ability to support EV relies solely on donations. Looking forward there is more opportunity to enhance and enrich the Village experience: for instance, raising additional capital to complete the partially funded creekbank experience next to Panera, upgrading the Oxford Rd streetscape (in front of Chipotle building) and promoting new development along South Oxford.