Good Day Atlanta viewer information: April 29,2021

Woodstock restaurant raises money for homeless veterans   

The sign out front reads "Public Welcome."  But inside Woodstock’s Semper Fi Bar and Grille, it’s clear who the real VIPs are: veterans.

Honoring service members is personal for owners Ralph and Carrie Roeger, both of whom served in the United States Marine Corps. And for the fourth year in a row, the veterans recently organized a special fundraiser for the Cherokee County Homeless Veterans Program, resulting in a $6,000 donation to the nonprofit.

"We do a fundraising event for them every year, usually it's in March, called ‘Mission 5.00.’  And it's where people can donate $5, and then they get a $5 gift card that they can use … during the month of April," says Ralph Roeger.

According to United States Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates, more than 700 veterans experienced homelessness in Georgia last year. And in Cherokee County, the all-volunteer Homeless Veterans Program aims to help as many as possible.

"It costs us about $400 a week to house and feed a homeless vet," says program director Jim Lindenmayer. "You hear, ‘Everybody's two weeks away from being homeless.’ We see that all the time."

So, that big $6,000 check will make a big difference — and, Roeger says, is proof of the overwhelming generosity of his customers.

"A lot of people, they're not even interested in getting the card, they just want to donate the money. Or some of them will purchase the cards and tell us to keep them behind the bar and tell us to use them for other veterans when they come in to eat."

For more information on the Cherokee County Homeless Veterans Program and the services it offers, click here.

Atlanta Falcons preparing for draft day gathering at Atlantic Station:

NFL draft day is finally here and the Atlanta Falcons are gearing up. As of now, the Falcons have the fourth pick in the draft. Fans have their choice of who they would like to see join the dirty birds, but ultimately it's not up to them. Shannon Joyner, head of marketing for the Falcons, talks about their draft gathering tonight at Atlantic Station at  7 p.m. You can watch the NFL draft tonight at 8 p.m. on ESPN

Atlanta Film Festival 

The 2021 Atlanta Film Festival & Creative Conference (ATLFF) kicked off Thursday, April 22. It's complete with 11 days of drive-in screenings, social distanced in-person screenings, digital screenings, and virtual events. 

The Atlanta Film Festival is one of the largest and longest-running festivals in the country, welcoming an audience of over 28,000 to discover hundreds of new independent, international, animated, documentary, and short films, selected from 8000+ submissions from all over the world. 

The festival will wrap up this Sunday, May 2. Click here for more information.

Jake and Jazz Smollett preview new season of "Living By Design":

Jake and Jazz Smollett continue to create revitalizing home makeovers and celebrate the renovation completion with tasty bites. "Living By Design with Jake and Jazz" returns Saturday, May 1, at 9 p.m. on CLEO TV. Season 2 will follow the vivacious Smollett siblings as they recreate family recipes while transforming homes into desirable living spaces. For more information on the show click here.

Cam Newton debuts new BET show "Sip & Smoke":

NFL star and Georgia native Cam Newton will host guests at Fellaship, his cigar shop in Atlanta, for in-depth, honest, and open conversations. The eight-episode series kicked off on Wednesday, April 1 on BET.com and BET's Youtube page. You can catch new episodes on Wednesdays. Click here to see the latest episodes.

Chadwick Boyd discusses Vildalia Onions:

It’s a moment of pride and celebration for Georgia – the new crop of the state’s beloved Vidalia onions have been picked and shipped and are arriving in grocery stores across the country right now.  Food & lifestyle expert Chadwick Boyd tells Good Day more about the especially sweet onions and shares some brand new recipes to enjoy them at home. Follow Chadwick on Instagram @ChadwickBoyd and visit his website here.

Pet of the day from PAWS Atlanta For more information on PAWS Atlanta or how you can adopt today's pet of the day click here.