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September
2015
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America/New_York

2009 Grants Awarded

December 2009

The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $99,715 in grants during their December meeting, including $95,815 to organizations and $3,900 to individuals.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

  • $15,000 to Dream House for Medically Fragile Children in Snellville to help fund the Family for Keeps Transition Care Home, a facility manned by a clinical care team providing respite care for up to six medically fragile children while their own biological, foster and adoptive families take a temporary break from the often exhausting challenges faced by caregivers.
  • $15,000 to Lawrenceville Cooperative Ministries for its Emergency Food Assistance Program, which provides clients with emergency food supplies, buying them time to deal with the difficult and frequently temporary circumstances they are facing and helping them get back on their feet.
  • $11,090 to Jackson Creative Community Resource Center in Commerce to convert a donated ambulance into a lift van that will be used to transport mobility-impaired clients to various community activities and jobs, helping integrate developmentally disabled adults into the community and providing them with life-skill training.
  • $10,000 to Hebron Community Health Center in Lawrenceville, a nonprofit organization providing medical and dental care to low-income Gwinnett residents with no health insurance, to help support the Head to Toe program which provides clients with dental exams, dental care and dentures, as well as foot care and treatment.
  • $10,000 to Interlocking Communities, a grassroots community service organization in Lawrenceville, to upgrade the educational software used to teach English as a second language classes that enables students to better able to communicate with their children’s teachers, sustain employment and become more productive citizens.
  • $10,000 to Rainbow Village, a Duluth nonprofit that helps families in domestic or economic crisis rebuild their lives, to provide after-school tutoring for children of resident and graduate families. The program provides homework assistance, increases performance and prepares the children for CRCT exams in a safe, nurturing environment.
  • $6,000 to the Veterans & Community Outreach, a Gainesville/Hall County community service group organized by local veterans, to purchase food for the group’s afterschool program that provides children from low-income families with academic, enrichment and recreational activities that improve school performance and discourage unhealthy behaviors.
  • $5,725 to Multiple Choices Center for Independent Living, an Athens agency serving individuals with disabilities, to help fund a micro enterprise program that provides training, technical assistance and financial management to help disabled individuals who are chronically unemployed develop new businesses and become self-sufficient.
  • $5,000 to the American Red Cross – Northeast Georgia Chapter to provide Family Emergency Disaster Relief to families in Hall and Lumpkin counties who lose their homes in a fire, including supplying temporary shelter, clothing and food vouchers, toiletries, medications, bedding and baby items.
  • $5,000 to the Athens Area Habitat for Humanity to support the construction cost of a Habitat home built through the Women Build program. Habitat homes are constructed by volunteers with donated materials and funds; homeowners must contribute “sweat equity” hours to the home as well as assume an interest-free mortgage.
  • $3,000 to Prevent Child Abuse Athens, a grassroots organization focused on ending neglect and abuse, to help fund the Healthy Families Program of regular home visits that teach parenting skills to at-risk parents of newborns and link families with a range of community support services.

Individual Grant Recipients:

  • $3,495 to purchase a CCTV computer screen for a visually impaired man.
  • $405 to purchase dentures for a disabled woman.

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November 2009

The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $82,945 in grants during their November meeting, including $78,255 to organizations and $4,690 to individuals.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

  • $10,000 to American Legion Post 215 in Homer to add space and make improvements to their community building, which serves all members of the community in an area with very limited meeting space.
  • $10,000 to the Ark of Jackson County, a community outreach effort by area churches that provides assistance to individuals who have experienced a loss of income due to circumstances beyond their control, to provide funds for emergency housing and prescription medicine expenses.
  • $10,000 to Barnabas Ministries, a Gwinnett County faith-based organization which works to reduce recidivism and help prisoners successfully return to their families and society, for rent on transitional housing and to purchase materials for employment and life skills training.
  • $8,200 to Gateway House, a Gainesville organization providing emergency shelter, transitional housing, legal advocacy and support services to victims of domestic violence, to help fund the Domestic Violence Outreach and Education Program for elementary and middle school students.
  • $7,500 to For Her Glory, a Gainesville agency that provides breast cancer patients with items that are not covered by insurance, such as wigs, bras, compression sleeves and gloves.
  • $7,500 to Good News Clinics, a non-profit organization that provides free medical and dental care to the underserved and uninsured residents of Gainesville and Hall County, to ensure clients of its Sam Poole Medical Clinic have necessary laboratory tests.
  • $6,055 to Athens Urban Ministries, a grassroots organization dedicated to assisting those who need a hand up, to provide homeless clients with case management services that will help them to overcome barriers to health care, services and employment.
  • $5,000 to Empowered Youth Programs, an Athens nonprofit that works to increase school attendance, reduce discipline referrals and improve exam and academic performance, to provide stipends for certified math and science teachers who tutor students during Saturday Academy and exam preparation.
  • $5,000 to Guest House, a Gainesville nonprofit that helps seniors with functional impairments maintain some independence and social contact while providing caregivers with a respite, to help provide a hot, balanced and nutritious lunch and snack to these frail, elderly clients.
  • $5,000 to Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse, a Gwinnett non-profit organization that helps individuals recovering from traumatic brain injury to regain employment and living skills, to provide rehabilitation program fees for seven brain injured adults in the counties served by Jackson EMC.
  • $4,000 to Diamond in the Rough, a Snellville faith-based youth development and leadership program for girls 10-18, to provide a mobile computer lab for the Clusters mentoring program.

Individual Grant Recipients:

  • $1,190 to help pay medical bills for a woman fighting cancer.
  • $3,500 to hook up city water for the single mother of disabled child whose well has gone dry.

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October 2009

The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $81,781 in grants during their October meeting, including $76,312 to organizations and $5,469 to individuals.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

  • $13,550 to Mended Hearts, Inc. in Commerce, a support group for individuals with heart disease, to assist with the purchase of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), portable electronic devices that diagnose and treat cardiac arrest by re-establishing an effective heart rhythm, to be placed in Commerce schools. American Red Cross statistics suggest that of the more than 200,000 annual sudden cardiac arrest deaths, about one-quarter could have been prevented if an AED had been available.
  • $12,000 to the Barrow County Family Connection, a grassroots collaborative that works on issues affecting families and children, to help fund the organization’s Youth Connection program, which provides youth with information and tools to make healthy choices and avoid risky situations; and to help fund the Performance Learning Center, which offers a unique, non-traditional learning environment for high school students who are not successful in a traditional high school setting.
  • $10,000 to Piedmont Regional Library System, which serves libraries in Banks, Barrow and Jackson counties, to purchase juvenile non-fiction books for the libraries and Bookmobile. Eighty percent of the system’s juvenile non-fiction collection is more than 9 years old, and 23 percent predates 1970.
  • $8,910 to Peace Place, a domestic violence shelter in Winder, to purchase furnaces for two renovated homes that serve as transitional housing for families leaving the shelter.
  • $7,500 to Eagle Ranch, a Chestnut Mountain home for boys and girls in crisis, to help purchase tables and chairs for the facility’s new Community Lodge, a gathering place for movies, dinners and special events as well as meeting and dining space for community groups.
  • $7,000 to The Ark: United Ministry Outreach Center in Athens to provide emergency rent assistance to lower income residents who have had their work hours cut back and for the Noah Fund that provides grants to senior citizens.
  • $5,000 to the Lumpkin County Family Connection to help fund Family Advocates who provide services and case management through local schools to families who are living in poverty, at risk of abusing or neglecting their children or experiencing other crisis situations that affect their children.
  • $5,000 to Camp Kudzu, a year-round camping program for children with diabetes and their families to teach diabetes management skills that will reduce their risk of diabetes-related complications, as well improve their attitude about living with the disease.
  • $3,000 to IDEALS Leadership, a Lawrenceville program that helps high school athletes develop into positive role models and influential leaders in their schools and on their teams.
  • $2,852 to Sandy Creek Nature Center in Athens to fund hot water solar panels for the center’s Environment, Natural Science and Technology (ENSAT) Center educational facility, which is planned as a LEED certified building that will house Agriculture, Woodland and Urban interactive learning centers.
  • $1,500 to Spirit of Joy Food Bank in Flowery Branch to purchase food supplies for its ministry, which in 2008 served more than 2,900 people, many referred by DFACS, Gainesville Ministry Cooperative, churches and other non-profit organizations.

Individual Grant Recipients:

  • $2,418 to purchase a wheelchair lift for a child with severe anoxic brain injury.
  • $3,051 to purchase heating/air conditioning units for the manufactured home of a senior citizen suffering from cancer.

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September 2009

The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $88,648 in grants during their September meeting, including $86,200 to organizations and $2,448 to individuals.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

  • $15,000 to the Northeast Georgia Medical Center to fund the First Steps Gainesville Program. Formerly offered through Prevent Child Abuse of Gainesville, the program provides families of newborns with supplies, emotional support, educational materials and contacts to community resources in their county.
  • $15,000 to Hi-Hope Service Center in Lawrenceville to help fund part-time nursing services for developmentally disabled residents in six Gwinnett County group homes, providing an increasing number of residents who require onsite nursing services such as daily medication and blood checks with that care.
  • $15,000 to YMCA Piedmont in Winder to enable 28 underprivileged children to attend the PrYme Tyme after school program. The program provides activities for children from kindergarten to 8th grade, including homework, sports, games, arts, crafts, songs, skits, daily devotions, and more in a safe environment while their parents are at work.
  • $10,000 to Creative Community Services to purchase educational supplies, individual tutoring and life skills resources for the STEP Program, which helps prepare youths to transition out of the state foster care system and into independent adulthood, preventing them from ending up in mental institutions, homeless shelters or jails as adults.
  • $7,500 to the Athens Regional Foundation to help provide digital Mobile Mammography Unit services to rural areas without mammography facilities, serving women with less access to medical services, the working poor and the medically indigent.
  • $5,200 to Medlink Georgia to help purchase carts, supply boxes, bins, brackets and cabinets that will be used to set up emergency “crash carts” in the non-profit primary care provider’s area facilities so emergency services can be offered to those who lack access to quality medical care because of finances, transportation or few physicians in the community.
  • $5,000 to Georgia Children’s Chorus, an organization that provides vocal and choral training to young people who wish to pursue that field, to help students from low-income families participate in the training program and concerts.
  • $5,000 to Music Time Learning Center for “Raising Musical Children” music education classes provided to Gwinnett County schools and daycare centers serving low-income families or children with developmental disabilities, helping improve learning skills, attitudes and readiness to learn.
  • $5,000 to Lilburn Cooperative Ministry to assist needy families with $250 assistance annually for rent or mortgage payments, helping them avoid foreclosure or eviction. The ministry’s 40 partner churches minister to the material and spiritual needs of those in crisis, including providing a food pantry and thrift store, as well as English as a second language classes and a single parent support group.
  • $2,500 to Twelve Baskets Food Ministry of Buford to purchase bulk food for its food pantry.
  • $1,000 to Duds & Spuds Food & Clothing Ministry in Braselton to purchase bulk food for its food pantry.

Individual Grant Recipients:

  • $1,503 to make handicap accessible bathroom modifications in the home of a disabled man.
  • $945 to purchase dentures for a disabled senior citizen.

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August 2009

The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $70,067 in grants during their August meeting, including $58,050 to organizations and $12,017 to individuals.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

  • $15,000 to the Gwinnett Sexual Assault Center to fund a follow-up forensic-medical care program that provides assessment, examination, laboratory tests and antibiotics to protect the physical well-being and recovery of sexual assault victims, as well as provide an opportunity to monitor further physical, emotional and psychological needs of sexual assault victims and their families.
  • $15,000 to Teen Pregnancy Prevention in Gainesville to help fund “Smart Girls,” a program offered in Hall County middle and high schools that offers guidance and support through weekly sessions to provide girls with the knowledge, skills, self-esteem and self-confidence they need to make healthy decisions about sexual activity and dating relationships.
  • $13,050 to Piedmont Rape Crisis Center in Winder, to fund a 24-hour crisis hotline that will provide adult sexual assault victims and concerned community members with access to comprehensive services that include crisis counseling, sexual assault exam accompaniment, personal advocacy, victim compensation information and assistance, criminal justice support and legal advocacy.
  • $10,000 to Our Neighbor, a grassroots non-profit organization dedicated to assisting young adults with special challenges, for the Resident Assistance Program that provides cost of living support for the residents of Randy’s House, an innovative, affordable and wheelchair accessible home that offers an opportunity for independent living.
  • $5,000 to the Northeast Atlanta Ballet Ensemble, in Lilburn, for its outreach program that provides school groups and home-schooled children with the opportunity, perhaps for the first time, to experience a full-scale classical ballet performance. Funds will be used to help cover the costs of four school-length performances of two ballets at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center.

Individual Grant Recipients:

  • $3,500 to make handicap modifications to the home of a man disabled in an automobile accident.
  • $3,250 to replace a septic tank for a breast cancer patient.
  • $2,959 to repair or replace handicap equipment in the home of a man disabled in a motorcycle accident.
  • $2,307 to purchase hand controls for the vehicle of a disabled man.

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July 2009

The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $119,317 in grants during their July meeting, including $112,317 to organizations and $7,000 to individuals.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

  • $15,000 to the Banks County Literacy Council to promote literacy in the county by enrolling 300 children in the Imagination Library, a non-profit program that promotes literacy by providing children with a book a month until age five, and holding four Family Literacy Nights with activities to make literacy a fun, family experience.
  • $15,000 to Meet the Need Ministry, a Gwinnett County non-profit organization that clothes, houses, feeds and transports men who find themselves homeless, hungry, addicted to drugs or alcohol, or just need a helping hand, to help cover rental expenses for six homes located in Gwinnett and Barrow counties that house the men as they work toward recovery and self-sufficiency.
  • $13,577 to Good Samaritan Health Center of Gwinnett in Lawrenceville, to help provide medical personnel and supplies for the Children’s Health Program, which medical, optometry, dental and counseling services to children of the county’s working poor who do not qualify for government assistance and are unable to afford health insurance.
  • $10,000 to Friends of the Gwinnett County Senior Services, a non-profit organization that works with the county’s agency on aging, to help provide home-delivered meals to senior citizens as well as meals served at Senior Centers, and to offer seniors emergency financial assistance for home repairs they cannot afford to make.
  • $5,000 to Center Point Mentor Program, a Gainesville non-profit which mentors at-risk young people in Gainesville City and Hall County schools, to expand the number of students served by offering a group mentoring program, and to tailor group intervention to meet the needs of children served by CASA. Encouragement, advice and academic help provided by the program enable students to complete their high school education and go on to succeed in life.
  • $10,000 to the Salvation Army of Athens to assist with family emergency assistance for rent, clothing vouchers and medical prescriptions, as well as breakfast, sack lunch and supper for transitional housing program participants and those served by the soup kitchen for breakfast and supper.
  • $10,000 to the Salvation Army of Gainesville to assist with family emergency assistance for rent, clothing vouchers and medical prescriptions, as well as breakfast, sack lunch and supper for transitional housing program participants and those served by the soup kitchen for breakfast and supper.
  • $10,000 to the Salvation Army of Lawrenceville for the Family Emergency Services program, which provides families with financial assistance to pay rent, purchase clothing or buy prescription medicine, and for the on-site food pantry.
  • $8,740 to Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic to help increase the number of recorded textbooks provided in Jackson EMC’s service area to the visually impaired, dyslexic or those with other physical disabilities who cannot read standard print. Funds will help expand the organization’s outreach efforts, volunteer base and textbook production.
  • $7,500 to L.A.M.P. Ministries, in Gainesville, to help provide high risk youths with a positive alternative to gangs and other delinquent behavior through its Community Youth Outreach program, offered in 3-month sessions that combine group counseling and community activities.
  • $7,500 to Junior Achievement of Georgia – Gainesville District to help cover program costs, such as workbooks and activities. Junior Achievement teaches school students the fundamentals of the private enterprise economic system and provides them with practical hands-0n experience in the economics of life, including finances, career opportunities and good consumer habits.

Individual Grant Recipients:

  • $3,500 to pay past due dental bills for the victim of a drunk driver.
  • $3,500 to replace the HVAC system in the home of a single mother and children who suffer from asthma.

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June 2009

The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $104,893 in grants during their June meeting, including $97,710 to organizations and $7,183 to individuals.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

  • $15,000 to Four Corners Primary Care Centers in Lawrenceville, which provides basic primary care to an underserved, uninsured population of Gwinnett County that previously funneled through local emergency rooms, to help keep the clinic open 40 hours per week during period marked by greater use of the facility and a critical gap in revenues.
  • $15,000 to the Summer Scholars Institute, a three-year academic enrichment program designed to help at-risk middle and high school students prepare for college and careers. Held at Gainesville State College, the summer program concentrates on the basic areas of reading, writing and mathematics, along with science for third-year students.
  • $15,000 to Step by Step Recovery, a community-based grassroots addiction recovery organization in Lawrenceville, to serve 50 new clients through the residential program, which provides a safe and structured environment for both men and women over 6 months to 2 years as they complete a 12 step program to deal with drug and alcohol addiction.
  • $14,710 to the Winder-Barrow Coalition for Adult & Continuing Education’s Statham Adult Education Program that will enable area residents to improve the quality of their lives by earning their GED; used to fund an instructor, curriculum books and tests to provide adult literacy classes in cooperation with Lanier Technical College.
  • $10,000 to the Healing Place of Athens to help provide homeless men with shelter, food, clothing and personal items, along with transportation to medical and mental health appointments and job searches, in order to support and encourage them in their pursuit of an independent and productive life of sobriety.
  • $10,000 to Norcross Cooperative Ministry’s Emergency Assistance Program, providing emergency rent funds to families who are experiencing temporary or long-term hardship, many of whom are referred by local churches, schools and agencies. The ministry provided rent assistance to 545 families in 2008, a significant increase from the 398 families served in 2007.
  • $7,500 to the YMCA of Athens for its Summer Day Camp project, which serves more than 425 young people by offering supervised sports and other activities, as well as teaching values and responsibility, that help kids feel good about their selves, enjoy life and avoid the dangers of drugs or gangs.
  • $5,500 to the CASA Hall/Dawson Program, Inc., which trains and supervises community volunteer advocates for abused and neglected children in Juvenile Court proceedings in Hall and Dawson counties, to furnish a visitation room for the children served, purchase a computer for education of CASA children, and purchase 50 volunteer training manuals.
  • $5,000 to the Girls Summer Leadership Project in Gainesville, an intensive six-week course for girls ages 13-17 that establishes mentoring relationships between the girls and women in the minority community, develops leadership and collaboration skills, and promotes the development of new leaders in the community.

Individual Grant Recipients:

  • $3,400 for a neuro-prosthetic to help a woman who has suffered several strokes walk more normally.
  • $3,200 to replace the HVAC system in a disabled woman’s manufactured home.
  • $584 to help a mother of three who is going to school catch up payments on her van after her husband was laid off.

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May 2009

The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $105,975 in grants during their May meeting, including $99,740 to organizations and $6,235 to individuals.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

  • $15,000 to Camp Koinonia in Cornelia to provide about 40 Banks County underprivileged 3rd through 6th grade students, referred by Family Connection and DFACS, with a five-day camping experience that provides positive learning experiences to establish strong character, leadership and teambuilding skills and build personal relationships.
  • $15,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Barrow County to purchase plumbing, electrical wiring, HVAC equipment and concrete work for the affiliate’s 11th Habitat house, which is being constructed for a single mother with two young sons. Habitat homes are constructed by volunteers with donated materials and funds, and homeowners must contribute “sweat equity” hours to the home as well as assume an interest-free mortgage.
  • $15,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Jackson County to purchase kitchen cabinets, plumbing, electrical wiring and HVAC equipment for the affiliate’s 8th Habitat house, which is being constructed for a single mother with a young son. Habitat homes are constructed by volunteers with donated materials and funds, and homeowners must contribute “sweat equity” hours to the home as well as assume an interest-free mortgage.
  • $14,940 to I Am, Inc. in Buford to purchase supplies for Gaining Insight & Real Life Skills (GIRLS) leadership development program for girls age 10-18, aimed at reducing the instance of high-risk behaviors, increasing self-esteem and focusing on life skills that promote success, such as self-assessment, managing money, etiquette, goal-setting, public speaking and choosing a career.
  • $12,000 to the Gwinnett Student Leadership Team to help support its student leadership program, serving high school juniors and seniors in 20 public schools. The two-year program provides students with practical leadership skills and trains them to return to their home high school to facilitate the core leadership principles with groups there, increasing the capacity to develop student leaders.
  • $10,000 to Hoop 4 Life, Inc., a Winder non-profit organization that helps young people embrace excellence in life skills, academic knowledge and physical fitness, for its mentoring programs – B.O.U.N.C.E. for boys ages 12-18 and M.V.P. for girls ages 5-18 – that provide the resources and skills needed to master difficulties as they transition into adulthood, ensuring good self-esteem and positive self-image.
  • $7,500 to Samaritan Stand Corporation, a non-profit organization in Chestnut Mountain that works to provide opportunities for children of disadvantaged homes to grow and mature in a safe environment, to help support its summer “Sandlot Sports Camp” program for children ages 6-16 offering activities such as baseball, basketball, hiking, soccer and swimming.
  • $7,500 to the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta’s Lawrenceville and Norcross clubs for supplies and incentives used in “Power Hour,” a comprehensive homework help and tutoring program attended by club members ages 6-18.
  • $3,300 to the Nuci Phillips Memorial Foundation in Athens, a non-profit organization which works to prevent suicide and promote community wellbeing, to enable young people from low income families participate in Camp Amped, a summer music day camp for Northeast Georgia youth ages 11-18 that focuses on positive mental health and music education

Individual Grant Recipients:

  • $3,315 to repair the leaking roof on the home of a senior citizen.
  • $2,920 to repair the leaking roof on the home of a senior citizen.

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April 2009

The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $83,900 in grants during their April meeting, including $70,700 to organizations and $13,200 to individuals.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

  • $15,000 to the American Heart Association – Northeast Georgia Chapter in Athens, to purchase and distribute in Hall and Jackson counties Start! Walking Kits to employers that encourage employee walking programs, and CPR Anytime for Family and Friends kits to community organizations that contain everything needed to learn basic CPR skills.
  • $15,000 to the Foster Children’s Foundation in Duluth for its Tomorrow Matters Mentoring Program, which teaches young people ages 14-21 in the foster care program crucial independent living skills, such as money management, positive choices and employment preparation to prepare them to become successful adults.
  • $15,000 to the Muscular Dystrophy Association to allow nineteen children and young adults with neuromuscular diseases from the counties served by Jackson EMC attend Camp Walk N’ Roll in Rutledge, where campers have no boundaries for their physical disabilities and can build confidence and independence, while their caregivers have a break from the demands of constant care.
  • $10,000 to Tiny Stitches, Inc. in Suwanee, which uses a network of more than 200 volunteers to make handmade tote bags filled with a 35-item layette that are donated through social workers and nurses at hospitals, health departments and other facilities in a nine county area to mothers who have little or nothing for their newborns.
  • $9,200 to United Way of Northeast Georgia’s Success by 6 Program to help print “Critical Years, Critical Needs” booklets in English and Spanish, a resource guide on early childhood developmental needs and good child care practices that is distributed to new parents through a partnership with St. Mary’s Hospital, Athens Regional Medical Center and Barrow County Medical Center.
  • $4,500 to Reins of Life, a Franklin County non-profit, for its Heads Up Hippotherapy Program, a physical therapy treatment that uses the horse’s movement as part of an integrated program to improve neuromuscular function in children, young people and adults with autism, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury and other conditions..
  • $2,000 to Friends of the Pendergrass Library for the acquisition of additional children’s and young adults’ reading materials that will stimulate young readers’ desire to learn and succeed.

Individual Grant Recipients:

  • $3,500 to help purchase a wheelchair lift for a woman paralyzed by a car accident.
  • $2,700 to repair the roof on the home of a senior citizen.
  • $3,500 to dig a new well for a disabled couple who have no water.
  • $3,200 to repair the septic tank of a disabled couple.

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March 2009

The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $106,230 in grants during their March meeting, including $99,630 to organizations and $6,600 to individuals.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

  • $15,000 to Louise Radloff Middle School in Duluth to help fund the Computers for Youth "Take It Home" program which provides disadvantaged sixth graders with free refurbished computers pre-loaded with a suite of educational and word processing software to improve home learning, involve parents and help students stay engaged in school.
  • $15,000 to Community Helping Place in Dahlonega for its Client Assistance Program that provides food, baby supplies, a summer food program for children, emergency assistance for rent and prescriptions, and a free medical clinic for the working poor who do not have health insurance and cannot afford medical care.
  • $15,000 to the Boys and Girls Club of Jackson County for its Power Hour comprehensive homework help and tutoring program, which provides members with the support, resources and guidance necessary to complete their homework, and to purchase Kidstrax membership tracking software that will enable the club to track and report membership information.
  • $15,000 to Project Safe, an Athens agency that serves families experiencing domestic violence in Clarke, Madison, Oglethorpe and Oconee counties, to help provide residents of the 16-bed emergency shelter with transportation, food and supplies, prescriptions, and assist them in moving out of households where domestic violence is occurring.
  • $13,288 to Family Promise of Gwinnett County to help purchase a 15-passenger van that will transport homeless families from their host congregations in the Norcross area to the day center for daily activities, such as child care and seeking employment or housing.
  • $11,342 to Creative Enterprises, a Lawrenceville agency serving the disabled, to purchase a utility vehicle that will help clients in the agency's horticulture program tend a retail greenhouse where bedding plants, perennials, shrubs and ornamental trees are sold, as well as summer and fall vegetable gardens that grow produce sold at the Lawrenceville Farmer's Market.
  • $10,000 to NOA's Ark (No One Alone), a Dahlonega emergency shelter and comprehensive support program for battered women and children, to help fund a Trauma Counseling Service that will reduce the risk of post-traumatic stress, depression and other psychological problems experienced by both adult and child domestic violence victims so that families can heal together.
  • $5,000 to St. Vincent de Paul Society - St. Luke's Conference in Dahlonega to help fund the Direct Aid program that offers financial assistance to those in need for medical or dental care, prescription medicine, counseling, rent or housing, food, legal fees, transportation, burials and education.

Individual Grant Recipients:

  • $3,100 to help purchase a specialized bath and toilet chair for a disabled woman and help move her into a handicapped-accessible apartment.
  • $3,500 for assistance with a down-payment on a vehicle to help a single mother get to and from work.

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February 2009

The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $53,777 in grants during their February meeting, including $46,000 to organizations and $7,777 to individuals.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

  • $15,000 to Annandale Village, a nonprofit community in Suwanee serving adults with developmental disabilities or traumatic brain injury, to replace heavy duty washers and dryers in residences. Villagers are taught life skills, including the proper way to wash, dry and put away their clothing and linens, so that they can be independent, self-confident and properly groomed.
  • $10,000 to the Athens Vision Clinic, a service of the Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, to help provide low-income area residents with surgical procedures that can restore sight. Surgeries, including treatment to correct diabetic retinopathy, cataracts and detached retinas, are performed in donated space, using Lighthouse medical equipment, volunteer doctors, staff, volunteers and funding for prescriptions.
  • $6,000 to the American Cancer Society for its Road to Recovery program which provides transportation to and from cancer-related medical treatments for cancer patients in Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Jackson, Madison and Oglethorpe counties, to reimburse the mileage of volunteer drivers.
  • $5,500 to the Boy Scouts of America Northeast Georgia Council to provide uniforms, handbooks and summer camp fees that will help underprivileged youth participate in scouting, teaching them to make ethical choices and promoting citizenship, leadership, mental and physical fitness.
  • $4,000 to the ProMusica Concert Series, a Gainesville nonprofit that provides North Georgia youth the opportunity to experience world-class music and artistry in a variety of settings and formats, to fund Young People's Concerts at local schools and the Community Outreach Partnership, which creates opportunities for at-risk youth to be educated and entertained by top-notch regional musicians.
  • $3,000 to the Northeast Georgia Youth Science and Technology Center, a nonprofit educational organization headquartered at Kennesaw State University that works to increase interest and enthusiasm in science, math and the technologies among underserved students, to offer Family Math and Science Nights at Banks County schools. These events provide hands-on, inquiry-based activities that help students and their families become more excited and informed about learning math and science.
  • $2,500 to the Jefferson First Baptist Food Pantry to help purchase food the pantry provides on a monthly basis to Jackson County families who have experienced hardship situations, such as the loss of a job, illness, reduction in work hours or layoff. The pantry is serving a rapidly increasing number of families, from 93 in March 2008 to 432 in November 2009.

Individual Grant Recipients:

  • $2,500 to help purchase a used car for a disabled woman who must have reliable transportation for kidney dialysis.
  • $3,500 to help purchase a van wheelchair ramp for the family of a child with cerebral palsy.
  • $1,777 to replace a hot water heater for a disabled senior citizen.

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January 2009

The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $68,486 in grants during their January meeting, including $59,602 to organizations and $8,884 to individuals.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

  • $15,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Hall County to purchase crawlspace, framing and drywall materials for two houses that will be built under the Habitat High Program, a cooperative effort with the Hall County School System that provides students interested in a construction/homebuilding career with four hours per school day of practical experience and builds affordable homes for area residents who are living in substandard conditions.
  • $15,000 to the Hall County Health Department to provide comprehensive, affordable prenatal care for low-income, uninsured women in Hall and Lumpkin counties to decrease the number of low birth weight babies and help ensure the health of babies and mothers. The department provided prenatal care to more than 1,000 low income women in 2007.
  • $10,000 to the Gainesville/Hall County Alliance for Literacy to purchase materials and provide instructors for basic literacy classes for adults 16 and older and GED preparation classes for students who have not completed high school. The Alliance estimates that more than 29 percent of Hall County residents are not high school graduates, and generally earn $7,000 less per year than residents who have a high school diploma.
  • $8,473 to Madison County Special Olympics to purchase equipment and pay fees so that disabled athletes may participate in local and Georgia Summer and Winter Games. The Special Olympics provides opportunities for disabled persons to participate in activities that allow them to become accepted, respected and productive citizens, while exposing the typical population to those who face such challenges so they can find common ground and form friendships.
  • $6,129 to the Piedmont CASA Program, a non-profit organization that uses community volunteers to provide a voice in Juvenile Court for the best interest of abused and neglected children in Banks, Barrow and Jackson counties, to recruit and train community volunteers. Since 2001, the organization has served nearly 300 children.
  • $5,000 to Bridge The Gap Ministries, a Snellville non-profit organization that provides a bridge for incarcerated individuals and those who are addicted to drugs and alcohol that will connect them with support services, to provide assistance with temporary housing, bus transportation, life skills study courses and practical publications.

Individual Grant Recipients:

  • $3,424 to purchase a wheelchair lift and help with medical bills for a disabled senior couple.
  • $3,200 to install a new furnace to heat the home of a disabled woman.
  • $1,429 to purchase a lift chair for a disabled senior citizen.
  • $830 to pay medical bills for the birth of a child for the family of a student working his way through school.

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