Student resource center re-named in honor of popular Atlanta restaurateur Derrick Hayes

ATLANTA - A resource center for students in metro Atlanta is getting a new name after a generous donation from one of the city’s most well known restaurateurs. 

What was once known as the Hub inside Carver Steam High School has been re-named the Hayes Hub in honor of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks CEO Derrick Hayes.

"Derrick has poured so much love and so much energy and goodness into us that we wanted to rededicate our space and call it the Hayes Hub," COR co-founder Jennifer Bartl told FOX 5.

Bartl says the Hub was created to serve as a resource to students and a safe space to get away from violence in the community after six Carver high students were murdered over the years.

 "You need clothes, we’ve got that, you need shoes, we’ve got that, snacks, hygiene, anything that might be a barrier, for you to get here we try to remove for you," she explained.

"It being here for us is a blessing," student Precious Davis said of the resource center.  

Earlier this week, Hayes donated $20,000 to the non-profit that focuses on offering programming to trauma-impacted students who are marginalized by poverty and race-based educational inequities. The dedication Saturday was a big moment for the popular restaurant owner. 

"I’m lost for words because I come from nothing…I come from the ghetto’s of West Philly and I know (what) a lot of these kids go through each and every day," Hayes said. 

Students like De’Rickey Waller say meeting Hayes and hearing him share his story was inspiring. 

"It inspires me to keep going every day because sometimes it’s hard but knowing that he comes from the same thing we come from it just getting the opportunity to keep going," Waller told Fox 5.

With help from groups like COR and generous donors like Hayes he says he has big plans as he looks forward to graduating. 

For more information about COR and the resources they offer to students you can click here. 

Meeting Hayes and hearing him share his story was inspiring, said one student. "It's hard to get out of poverty," the student said. "No wonder he's successful. He came from the same thing we got from, just gave. Going from groups like Corps and generous donors like Hayes, I have big plans as I look forward to graduating."