2010 Grants Awarded
December 2010
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $76,486 in grants during their December meeting, including $67,310 to organizations and $9,176 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 to the Lawrenceville Cooperative Ministry 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.
- $14,810 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.
- $10,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Barrow County to help purchase materials for the A Brush of Kindness Program which repairs and rehabilitates the owner occupied homes of low income and elderly residents using some donated materials and volunteer labor.
- $7,500 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 help fund emergency housing and prescription medicine assistance.
- $7,500 to Eagle Ranch, a Chestnut Mountain home for boys and girls in crisis, to provide twelve months of counseling services to help children and their families make the transition after the child graduates from the program and returns home.
- $5,000 to the Banks County Literacy Council to help purchase age-appropriate books for pre-Kindergarten children through the Imagination Library program to improve the reading efficiency of children entering the county’s education system.
- $5,000 to the Lilburn Cooperative Ministry to provide needy families with $250 assistance for rent or mortgage payments annually, helping them avoid foreclosure or eviction.
- $2,500 to the Twelve Baskets Food Ministry in Buford to purchase bulk food for its food pantry.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $3,500 to replace a broken heating and air unit for a senior citizen.
- $3,500 to catch up mortgage payments for a single mother who had open heart surgery.
- $2,176 to replace a furnace and hot water heater for a disabled woman.
November 2010
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $72,538 in grants during their November meeting, including $66,438 to organizations and $6,100 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 to Creative Enterprises, a Lawrenceville agency serving the disabled, to help purchase a mini-van that will enable the agency to meet new federal and state regulations requiring each client to be accompanied by a staff member on all community outings, rather than having a group of clients accompanied by one staff member.
- $13,738 to Set Free of Gainesville, a faith-based ministry that assists those who are needy, hurting, homeless, addicted, hungry and struggling, to help purchase a used passenger van that will provide transportation to medical care, drug and alcohol counseling, mental health and medical appointments, as well as pick up food donations.
- $10,000 to Family Ties, a Gainesville organization that educates the community on recognizing and preventing child abuse and neglect, to provide materials, facilitators and childcare workers for free 9-12 week parenting classes offered in both English and Spanish.
- $7,500 to Athens Urban Ministries, a grassroots organization dedicated to assisting those who need a hand up, to help provide instruction and case management sessions, maintenance and supervision for a newly-funded computer lab.
- $7,000 to the Athens Pregnancy Center to help provide free ultrasound screenings for women dealing with the consequences and circumstances of unintended pregnancies.
- $5,000 to Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia to help offer the “It’s Your World: Change It!” program to girls in the underserved areas of Hall, Jackson and Barrow counties, giving them the opportunity to serve their communities, explore the outdoors and build the skills needed to support themselves.
- $5,000 to the IDEALS Leadership School, a Lawrenceville program that helps high school athletes develop into positive role models and influential leaders in their schools and on their teams.
- $3,200 to the Friends of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens to produce calendars used as learning tools by Garden Earth Naturalist Clubs, after-school science clubs that encourage youth ages 8-10 to study and explore natural habitats.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $3,500 to help purchase a used car that will enable a disabled senior citizen to get to dialysis and medical appointments.
- $2,000 to repair the roof of a senior citizen’s home.
- $600 to help purchase a lift chair for a disabled woman.
October 2010
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $82,450 in grants during their October meeting, including $75,500 to organizations and $6,950 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 to the Jail Inmate GED Diploma Program offered through the Gwinnett Tech Foundation, which offers inmates without a high school degree the opportunity to earn a GED diploma while in jail awaiting release, trial or transfer to prison.
- $12,600 to the Gwinnett Coalition for Health & Human Services to make upgrades in technology infrastructure to speed client response time and effectively track client information, and to develop a new website for the Gwinnett Helpline.
- $10,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Hall County for the Read to Succeed Program that will help at-risk club members increase their reading skills, with a goal of improving reading skills by one or two grade levels by the end of the school year.
- $9,000 to the Boys & 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.
- $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 the Junior Achievement of Georgia – Gainesville District to help cover the costs, such as workbooks and activities of a program that teaches school students the fundamentals of the private enterprise economic system and provides them with practical hands-0n experience in the economics of life.
- $5,000 to Camp Twin Lakes, a not-for-profit organization which offers year-round recreational, therapeutic and educational programs for children facing serious illness and other challenges, to help children in Jackson EMC’s 10-county service area attend its state-of-the-art, fully accessible campsites.
- $3,400 to the Gwinnett County Public Library to help fund its 2010 Fall Into the Arts program, a series of outreach programs that provide multicultural arts and humanities programs at accessible venues throughout the county over a four-month period.
- $2,500 to the Spirit of Joy Food Bank in Flowery Branch to purchase food supplies for its ministry.
- $2,000 to the Duds & Spuds Food and Clothing Pantry in Braselton to purchase bulk food for its food pantry.
- $1,000 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 to improve neuromuscular function.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $3,500 to purchase a wheel chair lift for a disabled man.
- $3,450 to replace an HVAC unit for a senior citizen.
September 2010
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $92,830 in grants during their September meeting, including $85,720 to organizations and $7,110 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $14,920 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 provide skills that will help them become successful adults.
- $14,800 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 the Community Helping Place in Dahlonega for its Food Pantry and Summer Food Program, which provide food for families monthly as well as breakfast, lunch and a snack for at-risk children when school is out, and its Medical Clinic, which provides the uninsured working poor with primary and acute care, laboratory services, medication assistance and referrals.
- $10,000 to the Hall County Health Department to provide women in Hall and Lumpkin counties who are low income, do not qualify for Medicaid benefits and who are unable to pay for Prenatal Care Clinic services with high-quality care, including physical exam, ultrasound, non-stress test, medications and lab work that will decrease the number of low birth weight babies and help ensure the health of babies and mothers.
- $10,000 to the YMCA – Georgia Mountains in Gainesville to help more than 30 underprivileged children attend its Kids Time Afterschool Program, which provides children from kindergarten to 8th grade, with a safe environment where they have homework assistance, enrichment activities, relationship building, sports, games and arts and crafts on site at Hall County and Gainesville City elementary schools.
- $10,000 to the YMCA – Brad Akins in Winder to enable seven underprivileged children to attend the PrYme Tyme after school program for a year. Children from kindergarten to 8th grade participate in activities including homework, sports, games, arts, crafts, songs, skits, daily devotions and more in a safe environment while their parents are at work.
- $5,500 to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to present the One Way 2 Play – Drug Free Program, which confronts the problem of drug use among students by instilling values, encouraging goal setting and establishing accountability through positive peer pressure in middle and high schools in nine counties served by Jackson EMC.
- $5,000 to the Athens Nurses Clinics to help present a Diabetes Education Program for the homeless and uninsured that would require clinic patients to take a three-part class within a six-month time frame, and supply each patient with an information packet, a glucometer, test strips and lancets so they can monitor their blood glucose levels a minimum of every other day.
- $3,000 to the Madison County Youth Leadership Program, which uses instructional materials from the University of Georgia’s Fannin Institute to teach Madison County High School students how groups work and how to cooperate in a group, as well as skills that will allow them to be effective leaders, for a ropes course at Camp Mikell Blue Ridge Outdoor Center and graduation banquet.
- $2,500 to the Northeast Georgia Ballet Ensemble to allow 1,400 students from Title 1 schools to attend an outreach performance of “The Nutcracker” at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center in November, along with a pre-performance lecture and interactive experience.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $3,541 to purchase a wheel chair lift and replace a bathing tub system for a young woman with cerebral palsy.
- $3,210 to replace an HVAC unit for a senior citizen.
August 2010
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $88,641 in grants during their August meeting, including $82,000 to organizations and $6,641 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 to Annandale at Suwanee, a nonprofit community serving adults with developmental disabilities or traumatic brain injury, to provide necessary equipment, supplies and funds to implement arts/academics, vocational and recreation programs offered through the Patricia M. Brown Center for Programs.
- $15,000 to the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia in Athens for its monthly Mobile Pantry Program, which distributes large quantities of food before its expiration date through partner agencies in nine local counties, eliminating the need for the agencies to store the food and allowing the Food Bank to distribute thousands of pounds of food to those in need at a fraction of the cost.
- $15,000 to the Salvation Army of Lawrenceville for the Family Emergency Services program, which prevents homelessness and stabilizes families by providing financial assistance to pay rent, purchase clothing or buy prescription medicine, and for the on-site food pantry.
- $10,000 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.
- $10,000 to the Salvation Army of Athens to assist with the increasing costs of providing lodging to the homeless at its Emergency Shelter, and meals served to both shelter residents and those who are served each night at the community meal.
- $10,000 to the Salvation Army of Gainesville for the Social Services Program which prevents homeless by providing emergency financial assistance for rent and clothing vouchers to individuals and families who have experienced a lack of income or other crisis.
- $5,000 to the American Heart Association – Northeast Georgia Chapter to purchase CPR Anytime for Family and Friends kits that contain everything needed to learn basic CPR skills. Kits will be distributed to community organizations in Gwinnett County.
- $2,000 to the Brenau Nursing Department Community Outreach to purchase a Distracted and Impaired Driving kit for use in Gainesville City Schools to demonstrate to teens the effects of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $410 to help purchase a hearing aid for a senior citizen.
- $3,291 to replace an HVAC unit for a disabled senior citizen.
July 2010
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $94,488 in grants during their July meeting, including $85,300 to organizations and $9,188 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 to the GRN Community Service Board, a Gwinnett provider of mental health, mental retardation and substance abuse services, to provide basic necessities such as cleaning services, personal items and $4 medications for clients with behavioral or substance abuse problems who have no other resources.
- $15,000 to the Gwinnett Children’s Shelter in Lawrenceville, to help support its PACTS program of weekly parenting classes that seeks to decrease family violence by helping parents develop and improve their parenting skills and helping teens better understand parenting issues and family dynamics.
- $10,000 to Meet the Need Ministry, Inc., 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.
- $9,700 to Citizens for a Better Auburn, a non-profit, grassroots organization formed to better the lives of present and future residents, to expand an adult literacy program, in partnership with Lanier Technical College, that will enable greater numbers of area residents to improve the quality of their lives by earning their GED.
- $7,500 to Good Samaritan Ministries in Buford to help fund the residential inmate recovery program, which provides inmates three months of self-study, classes and work therapy, followed by nine months of employment either inside or outside the ministry, to help them become productive members of society by working on drug and alcohol issues, and building discipline and self-esteem.
- $7,500 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.
- $6,500 to Come Alive Ministries of Barrow County, a non-profit community outreach funded by donations from businesses, churches and individuals, to help expand and update Pregnancy Care Center programs and provide supplies such as diapers, wipes, cribs and car seats to women facing unplanned pregnancies.
- $5,000 to Elachee Nature Science Center in Gainesville to help offer schools in Banks, Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson and Lumpkin counties environmental science/nature field trips that provide students with educational experiences which cannot be duplicated in the classroom.
- $5,000 to Four Corners Primary Care Center in Lawrenceville, which provides basic primary care to an underserved, uninsured population of Gwinnett County, to help offer community-based chronic disease education sessions in nursing homes, senior centers and through emergency assistance providers.
- $2,600 to the Sexual Assault Center of Northeast Georgia in Athens to fund a 24-hour crisis hotline service, as well as hotline volunteer training, that provides immediate support to victims of sexual assault or abuse.
- $1,500 to Safehouse Ministries, a domestic violence and homeless shelter in Elberton, to make interior and exterior repairs to two 14-year-old cabins that each provide two families with shelter.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $3,308 to replace an HVAC unit for a disabled senior citizen.
- $2,445 to make septic tank repairs for a single mother.
- $2,582 to help pay medical bills for a cancer patient.
June 2010
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $88,152 in grants during their June meeting, including $75,900 to organizations and $12,252 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $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.
- $10,000 to the YMCA 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.
- $10,000 to Signs & Wonders, Inc. in Lawrenceville, a nonprofit organization that offers assistance to the homeless and needy on a non-discriminating basis, to help operate the Quinn House group homes for the homeless and to help replace a van used to deliver meals to area homeless.
- $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.
- $7,500 to Step by Step Recovery, a Lawrenceville community-based grassroots addiction recovery organization, to serve 25 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.
- $7,000 to the Infant Car Seat Safety Program, a service of the Gwinnett Hospital System, to purchase more than 100 approved, rear-facing car safety seats for infants born in system facilities whose parents cannot afford to purchase them.
- $5,000 to the Girls Leadership Summer Program 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.
- $5,000 to Childkind, a metro-Atlanta organization that provides support to parents of medically fragile or developmentally delayed children, to provide transition support services to families in Gwinnett, Hall and Clarke counties whose medically or developmentally disabled children are being discharged from the hospital.
- $4,000 to the Madison County Health Department for its Cabbage Patch Program, which provides education, resources and support to pregnant adolescents and women who run a high risk of delivering preterm or low birth weight infants.
- $2,400 to the Lumpkin County Literacy Coalition to help purchase age-appropriate books for pre-Kindergarten children through the Imagination Library program to improve the reading efficiency of children entering the county’s education system.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $3,063 to purchase a wheelchair lift for a disabled senior citizen.
- $3,000 to replace an HVAC unit for a disabled man.
- $2,750 to help a senior citizen make repairs to a bathroom.
- $2,689 to purchase an electric scooter lift for a disabled woman.
May 2010
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $113,998 in grants during their May meeting, including $107,235 to organizations and $6,763 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 to the Vision and Hearing Care Program, a service of the Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, to help provide surgical procedures to restore sight, eye exams, prescription eyewear and digital hearing aids for low-income residents in the 10 counties Jackson EMC serves, using Lighthouse medical equipment, volunteer doctors, staff and volunteers.
- $15,000 to the Madison County Senior Center, to help fund the Home Delivered Meals program, which allows frail and older citizens to maintain independence and dignity, while receiving nutritious meals, nutrition screening, education and counseling services, and opportunities for social contact. The center currently serves 50 home delivered meals daily, five days a week, and has a waiting list of 32 people.
- $12,000 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 renew licenses for Kidstrax membership tracking software that will enable the club to track and report membership information.
- $12,000 to the Children’s Center for Hope & Healing in Gainesville to provide 30 children who have been sexually abused with therapy to reduce trauma symptoms such as nightmares, bed wetting, anxiousness, depression, anger, fatigue and self-hatred.
- $10,435 to the Gainesville Care Center to purchase DVDs and incentive baby items for its My Baby Counts program, which provides pregnant women, mothers of babies and toddlers and the fathers with crucial parenting skills to break the cycle of inadequate parenting, neglect and abuse.
- $10,400 to Camp Koinonia in Homer to provide about 50 Banks County underprivileged 3rd through 6th grade students who are 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.
- $8,100 to Next Stop, a Lawrenceville grassroots organization that provides vital social interaction, recreational and life skill learning opportunities to young adults with mild to moderate disabilities, for a part-time planning assistant who creates activities for participants and handles some administrative duties.
- $7,000 to Samaritan Stand, a non-profit organization in Flowery Branch that provides opportunities for children ages 6-16 from disadvantaged homes to grow and mature in a safe environment, to help support its summer “Sandlot Sports Camp” program which offers activities such as baseball, hiking, soccer, fishing and swimming.
- $5,000 to AIDS Athens, a non-profit organization which seeks to enhance the quality of life for those living with HIV/AIDS and prevent the spread of the disease, to provide insured but financially needy patients with co-pay assistance for prescribed medicine.
- $5,000 to NOA’s Ark, 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 posttraumatic stress and other psychological problems.
- $4,800 to the Nuci Phillips Memorial Foundation in Athens, a non-profit organization working 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 focusing on positive mental health and music education.
- $2,500 to the Jefferson First Baptist Food Pantry to help purchase additional healthy snacks, juice and milk boxes the pantry provides during the summer to families of children who receive reduced or free lunches during the school year in order to maintain a good diet for them.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $3,500 to help purchase a handicap accessible van with hand controls for the victim of a spinal cord injury.
- $3,263 to replace an HVAC unit for a senior citizen.
April 2010
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $70,200 in grants during their April meeting, including $68,500 to organizations and $1,700 to an individual.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 to Project ADAM, a Winder non-profit organization providing education, treatment and prevention services to those affected by drug and alcohol addictions, to purchase replacement bedding and appliances for its residential facility.
- $15,000 to The Tree House, a children’s advocacy center providing services in Barrow, Jackson and Banks counties, to help fund a Parent Home Educator who would provide free parenting and child abuse prevention skills training to families identified as having potential risk factors.
- $10,000 to Spectrum Autism Support Group, a parent-run non-profit group in Suwanee that provides support, education and resources for the entire spectrum of autism disorders, to enable disadvantaged autistic individuals ages four to 22 to attend the organization’s weeklong summer camp program where daily activities are used to teach social skills lessons.
- $10,000 to Extra Special People in Watkinsville to provide an opportunity for special needs or seriously ill children from low income or financially distressed families to attend a weeklong camp where they can explore nature, discover their own abilities, master new skills and make new friends.
- $5,000 to Exodus Outreach, a Buford non-profit organization serving people in all walks of life who are hurting and in need of support, for a summer program that offers at-risk students in Kindergarten through eighth grade with a summer learning and development curriculum that provides supervision and readies the students to succeed in school in the fall.
- $5,000 to the Young Women’s Christian Organization in Athens, to help girls from the Hispanic community attend its Girls Club, which provides a structured recreational and educational summer program for young girls ages 5-14 from low-moderate income families, and help defray bus transportation expenses.
- $3,000 to Project Kids Eat, an outreach program of the Campus Church of Christ in Norcross that provides the children of homeless families living in local extended stay facilities with meals during periods when meals are not provided by the school system.
- $3,000 to the Stable Foundation, a non-profit Athens agency dedicated to eradicating homelessness, to provide three months of rent subsidies for a family that needs a bridge between living in a shelter and entering long-term housing.
- $2,500 to the Muscular Dystrophy Association to help children and young adults with neuromuscular diseases from the counties served by Jackson EMC attend Camp Walk N’ Roll, a week-long summer program with no boundaries for physical disabilities where campers can build confidence and independence while their caregivers have a break from the demands of constant care.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $1,626 to purchase a front-loading washing and dryer for a disabled woman.
March 2010
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $83,307 in grants during their March meeting, including $78,000 to organizations and $5,307 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 to Health Access Initiatives, a Gainesville non-profit that provides medical care to uninsured, indigent Hall County adults through a network of 190 volunteer medical specialists, to help fund a position that processes referrals, conducts screening interviews and enrolls clients, as well as coordinating physician appointments, arranging diagnostic tests and following up with clients.
- $14,000 to Nspire Outreach in Lawrenceville, an outreach effort that provides homeless men and women in Gwinnett County with skills and tools that will help them leave the streets and become independent; to provide continuing education through GED courses, online courses, career training, or courses at local colleges or technical schools.
- $10,000 to Computers for Youth to help fund the “Take It Home” program at Louise Radloff Middle School in Duluth where about 420 sixth graders, 85 percent of whom are disadvantaged, will receive 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.
- $10,000 to 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 35 percent less per week than graduates.
- $8,000 to Rape Response Inc., a Gainesville community-based non-profit that provides comprehensive services to adolescent and adult victims of sexual violence in Hall and Lumpkin Counties, to help fund aftercare and Emergency Room clothing and comfort items for victims, as well as recruitment and training for volunteer advocates.
- $5,000 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.
- $5,000 to the Madison County Rotary Foundation to help purchase age-appropriate books for pre-Kindergarten children under the organization’s Literacy Program, which is designed to improve the reading efficiency of elementary school children in the county.
- $5,000 to the Gwinnett Community Clinic, a Snellville volunteer-based not-for-profit clinic that serves the working poor of the area, to help fund a part-time nurse practitioner position that has helped the clinic increase the number of patients seen by 50 percent, ensure the continuity of care and increase efficiency in communication and recordkeeping.
- $3,000 to the Northeast Georgia Youth Science & Technology Center, a nonprofit educational organization working to increase underserved students’ interest in science, math and the technologies, to offer Family Math and Science Nights at Banks County schools. The night’s hands-on activities help students and their families become more excited and informed about learning math and science.
- $3,000 to the Gwinnett Enrichment Center in Norcross, which provides developmentally disabled adults and youth with a variety of facility and community-based activities that help them achieve independence, personal development and community inclusion; to purchase training materials.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $2,800 to repair the covered porch access on the home of a disabled man.
- $2,507 to pay past due dental bill and make repairs to the truck of a disabled senior citizen so he can get to doctors appointments.
February 2010
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $85,863 in grants during their February meeting, including $72,973 to organizations and $12,890 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Hall County to help fund the construction of the group’s next house, an energy efficient 3-bedroom, 2-bath home which will be built in Flowery Branch on land donated by a South Hall County family.
- $14,000 to the Jackson County Family Connection to help fund the coordinator’s position for the Lindsey’s Legacy mentoring program, which recruits and trains adult mentors to work with students kindergarten through 12th grade in all three school systems within the county, helping to ensure those young people become healthy, educated and employable.
- $11,000 to the Barrow County Special Olympics to purchase equipment for nearly 300 special needs athletes and athletes-in-training from 16 county schools so they can compete in basketball, bowling, soccer, softball, alpine skiing, and track and field events.
- $6,000 to The Potter’s House, a residential recovery program of the Atlanta Union Mission, located on a 570-acre working farm in Jefferson; to help feed, house, counsel and provide educational programs such as adult literacy to men recovering from substance abuse.
- $5,000 to the Southern Ballet Theatre of Georgia in Lawrenceville to provide tickets to its production of Cinderella to 500 underprivileged Gwinnett County children who might otherwise never experience ballet.
- $5,000 to the Clarke County Mentor Program, a broad-based, grassroots effort to provide individual support for public school students in 1st through 12th grades, promoting academic and personal success; to recruit, train and support new mentors.
- $5,000 to the Cobb Health Care Center, a Madison County long-term and home care provider, to purchase pedal wheelchairs and tilt recliners not covered by Medicaid. Pedal wheelchairs allow patients without hand and arm function to move about, while tilt recliners allow patients confined to beds to safely move from bed to chair.
- $4,074 to Mercy Health Care Center, an Athens non-profit organization that provides volunteer-based medical, dental and pharmaceutical care to the area’s uninsured residents; to purchase a cavitron, a dental tool that uses high frequency sound waves to clean teeth, and supplies for the center’s Healthy Hygiene Dental Program.
- $2,899 to Pilot Club of Madison County to provide child safety seats, class materials and registration fees for a four-day local training program of the National Standardized Child Passenger Safety Seat Technician Certification Course that will be attended by the county’s law enforcement, EMS personnel and First Responders.
- $2,500 to the Hall County Foster Parent Association, a grassroots organization formed for the safety, health and welfare of the county’s foster children and parents; to help equip its new Poplar Springs service center that will provide tutoring, art classes, independent living skills and job search training, a clothes closet and foster parent training.
- $2,500 to the Madison County Mentor Program, a non-profit, community-based volunteer program which helps students improve academic performance, behaviors and attitudes; to recruit and train mentors, and help fund mentor/mentee activity boxes and events to unite mentors, parents and teachers.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $3,500 to repair the roof on a senior citizen’s home.
- $3,500 to replace the HVAC unit in the home of a cancer patient.
- $3,500 to help purchase a handicapped accessible van for a man born with spina bifida.
- $2,280 for dental work for a divorced mother of five.
January 2010
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $82,162 in grants during their January meeting, including $72,522 to organizations and $9,640 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 to Boys and Girls Club of Winder-Barrow to help fund after school programs and activities for school-age youth, providing young people from disadvantaged circumstances with constructive activities as well as educational support, healthy habits and a positive self-image.
- $15,000 to the Fragile Kids Foundation to help fund the purchase and installation of electronic wheelchair van lifts for special needs children in the counties that Jackson EMC serves who need critical equipment not covered by insurance.
- $10,000 to the Athens Justice Project, non-profit organization that works to break the cycle of crime and poverty, to help fund a workforce rehabilitation project that will provide job training and employment enhancement, counseling and crime prevention services for those who have committed crimes.
- $10,000 to Rehabilitation Industries of Northeast Georgia (RING) in Gainesville for the League of Our Own Program, which provides independent living and pre-vocational training beyond school-based transition programs for individuals with mild to moderate disabilities.
- $10,022 to Piedmont CASA, 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 2004, the organization has served 285 children.
- $7,500 to the Athens Community Council on Aging for its Project Northeast Georgia Healthy Grandparents, a program that provides social, legal and health support to grandparents who are primary caregivers for their grandchildren. Grandparents and their grandchildren can participate in support groups, receive health evaluations and follow-ups, and obtain legal help with custody issues.
- $3,000 to Harmony House Child Advocacy Center, a non-profit organization serving Madison, Franklin and Oglethorpe counties that coordinates child abuse investigation and intervention services, to help fund a counselor/therapist and supplies for group, individual and special needs therapy sessions.
- $2,000 to the South Hall Community Food Pantry, , a community outreach effort by five Oakwood churches that help Hall County residents who have fallen on hard times, to purchase supplies for the emergency food program that provides at least three days worth of food for individuals and families.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $3,500 to repair the foundation of a widow’s home.
- $3,500 to replace the furnace in a senior citizen’s manufactured home.
- $2,640 to replace the HVAC unit in the home of a senior citizen.