2012 Grants Awarded
December 2012
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $98,620 in grants during their December meeting, including $97,000 to organizations and $1,620 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs 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 Kidtrax membership tracking software that will enable the club to track and report membership information.
- $15,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta’s Lawrenceville Club for its Academic Success program, a comprehensive homework help and educational program that uses high-yield learning activities designed to involve members in actions that reinforce what they are learning in school, such as a food preparation class that teaches fractions.
- $15,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Winder-Barrow 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.
- $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.
- $15,000 to the North Gwinnett Cooperative Ministry for its Medication Assistance Program, which covers the cost of non-narcotic/controlled substance prescriptions for senior citizens and families that qualify for assistance when the amount of medication is too much or the co-pays are too costly.
- $10,000 to the Norcross Cooperative Ministry for its Emergency Assistance Program, which provides 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 609 families in 2011.
- $10,000 to YMCA-Piedmont (Brad Akins Branch) in Winder to enable underprivileged children from kindergarten to 8th grade to attend the PrYme Tyme afterschool program for a year, participating in activities that include homework, sports, arts, crafts and more in a safe environment while their parents are at work.
- $2,000 to Casa de Amistad to purchase the Windows 7 Operating System for six computers used in its computer literacy program, and to purchase food for its food distribution program.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $995 to repair the septic tank of a disabled woman.
- $625 to make car repairs for a lung cancer patient who needs transportation to doctor’s and treatment appointments.
November 2012
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $89,325 in grants during their November meeting, including $78,950 to organizations and $10,375 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 to Gateway House, a Hall County non-profit serving victims of domestic violence and their children, to provide emergency legal assistance to request, file and enforce a Temporary Protective Order (TPO) to keep abusive partners from having contact with or harassing victims.
- $15,000 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 laboratory tests necessary for physicians to determine their health care needs and provide them with appropriate care.
- $15,000 to the Gwinnett Student Leadership Team for its student leadership program, a two-year program serving high school juniors and seniors in 22 public schools, providing practical leadership skills and training to return to their home high school to facilitate the core leadership principles with groups there to increase the capacity to develop student leaders.
- $9,750 to Step by Step Recovery, a Lawrenceville community-based grassroots addiction recovery organization 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, to assist with rent for men’s and women’s units.
- $7,500 to Athens Urban Ministries, a grassroots organization dedicated to assisting those who need a hand up, to help provide instruction and materials for GED and computer skills training to promote self-sufficiency.
- $5,700 to ACTION, Inc., for the Full Plate Food Program, which uses staff and volunteers to collect surplus food donated by Athens area restaurants, which is then redistributed to homeless shelters and other human service agencies, reducing both hunger and the food budgets of those agencies.
- $5,000 to Athens Community Council on Aging for its Project Northeast Georgia Healthy Grandparents, a program that provides support groups, health evaluations and follow-ups, and legal help with custody issues to grandparents who are primary caregivers for their grandchildren.
- $5,000 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 posttraumatic stress and other psychological problems.
- $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 replace a heat pump for a senior citizen.
- $3,500 to purchase a used car for a single mother who cannot get a job without transportation.
- $2,675 to make repairs to a ramp and porch entrance for a disabled senior citizen.
- $700 to repair the heating and air system of a disabled woman.
October 2012
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $81,965 in grants during their October meeting, including $73,000 to organizations and $8,965 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 to the Gwinnett Sexual Assault Center to provide child forensic interviews of child sexual abuse victims, which can include duplication of testimony and evidence for law enforcement, child protective services and the courts, as well as follow-up exams for at risk children to protect against and treat sexually transmitted diseases resulting from their victimization.
- $15,000 to Rainbow Village, a Duluth nonprofit that helps families in domestic or economic crisis rebuild their lives, to provide residents of its transitional housing case management to develop comprehensive self-sufficiency plans and contracts, and evaluate their progress in meeting family financial plans and goals.
- $11,000 to Gainesville Action Ministries, a network of more than 20 Hall County congregations that work to prevent homelessness by providing emergency financial, food and clothing assistance, and children’s services, to help provide rent assistance, a financial workshop and GED test fees.
- $10,000 to Family Promise of Gwinnett County for its Family Mentoring Program, which assigns trained volunteer mentors who work one-on-one over an extended period of time with low-income families that have overcome homelessness to help them manage stresses that can disrupt their lives and lead to recurring homelessness.
- $7,500 to the Banks County Senior Center to help fund the Home Delivered Meals program, which allows older citizens who are homebound to maintain independence and dignity, while receiving nutritious meals, additional wellness services and opportunities for social contact.
- $5,000 to Rock Goodbye Angel a non-profit serving Hall and Gwinnett counties to help provide a support system and peer support network for women and families who have experienced a miscarriage, stillbirth, perinatal or neonatal death.
- $4,000 to Prevent Child Abuse –Athens, a grassroots organization focused on ending neglect and abuse, to offer the First Steps primary prevention program that offers support, parenting education and community referrals to new parents to help them with the challenges of parenting.
- $3,000 to the Madison County Youth Leadership Development Program, which uses instructional materials from the University of Georgia’s Fannin Institute to teach Madison County High School students skills that will allow them to be effective leaders, for a ropes course at Camp Mikell Blue Ridge Outdoor Center and instructor/participant manuals.
- $2,500 to Spirit of Joy Food Bank in Flowery Branch to purchase food for the more than 30 families they serve in an average month.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $3,500 to install a wheelchair lift for a disabled woman.
- $3,115 to replace a heat pump for a senior citizen.
- $1,800 to help replace a new heat pump for a disabled woman.
- $550 to help purchase a lift chair for a disabled man.
September 2012
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $69,693 in grants during their September meeting, including $68,000 to organizations and $1,693 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 to the Gwinnett Housing Resource Partnership in Duluth, to help pay childcare expenses for homeless families in the Transitional Housing Program, so that adults can seek and gain employment to help them make permanent lifestyle changes.
- $10,000 to St. Vincent de Paul – St. Monica’s Conference in Duluth, to help provide Gwinnett County families and individuals in need with funds for emergency shelter, rent, food, medical needs, transportation, clothing and general assistance.
- $10,000 to St. Vincent de Paul – St. Michael’s Conference in Gainesville to help provide Hall County families and individuals in need with funds for housing assistance, including rent, mortgage payments or temporary housing when needed.
- $10,000 to Tiny Stitches, Inc. in Suwanee, which uses a network of volunteers to make handmade tote bags filled with a 37-item layette that are donated to mothers in nine North Georgia counties who have little or nothing for their newborns.
- $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.
- $5,500 to Place of Seven Springs, a Snellville non-profit which provides food and emergency assistance to Gwinnett County residents in need, to provide funds for food and non-narcotic prescription medicine.
- $5,000 to the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta to fund the Girls Excelling in Middle School program, which encourages adoption of healthy lifestyles and avoidance of risky behaviors, at Sweetwater, Moore and Richards Middle Schools in Gwinnett County.
- $5,000 to Teen Pregnancy Prevention in Gainesville to help fund the “Choosing the Best Journey” program, which takes the messages of healthy futures, decision making and abstinence to ninth grade health classes in Hall County and Gainesville City Schools.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $1,693 to help purchase a hearing aid for a hearing-impaired woman.
August 2012
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $89,973 in grants during their August meeting, including $83,950 to organizations and $6,023 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $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 – Lawrenceville for the Family Emergency Services program, which prevents homelessness and stabilizes families by providing rent or mortgage financial assistance directly to the landlord or property holder.
- $12,000 to the Salvation Army – Athens to assist with the increasing costs of providing meals served to both shelter residents and those who are served each night at the community meal.; the agency generally serves 50 shelter residents a day and 85 people each evening.
- $12,000 to the Salvation Army – Gainesville to assist with the costs of providing Emergency Shelter to prevent homelessness and community meals for families and individuals who are struggling; the agency provided 7,577 nights of shelter and more than 10,000 meals last year.
- $8,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Hall County to help purchase plumbing and electrical materials and labor, insulation and a heat pump for one of four homes the affiliate plans to construct in the county this year..
- $8,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Jackson County to help purchase electrical wiring, HVAC unit and kitchen cabinets for the tenth house the affiliate has built in the county.
- $5,000 to The Healing Place of Athens, which provides a residential drug and alcohol recovery program for homeless men, to purchase recovery program materials and supplies.
- $4,250 to NEGA 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.
- $3,500 to Citizen Advocacy – Clarke County, a non-profit agency that develops one-to-one personal relationships between people with disabilities and local citizens for advocacy and protection, to help pay the salary of a part-time support coordinator.
- $1,200 to CASA Enotah, which serves Lumpkin County by training community volunteers who represent the best interests of abused and neglected children, to help upgrade the data management system.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $3,140 to convert a bathroom to handicap accessible for a disabled senior citizen.
- $2,883 to install a wheelchair lift for a disabled woman.
July 2012
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $88,103 in grants during their July meeting, including $76,600 to organizations and $11,503 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hall County for computers and software, instructor training and course instructor for Project Generation D, a creative digital arts curriculum which teaches club members 12-18 years old how to use technology to create digital content that effectively communicates their ideas and vision, and apply what they learn to their future careers.
- $15,000 to the Hi-Hope Service Center in Lawrenceville to help fund part-time nursing services for 25 developmentally disabled residents in Gwinnett County, providing services such as daily medication, insulin, blood checks and specialized medical treatment to an increasing number of residents who require onsite nursing care.
- $12,000 to the United Methodist Children’s Home of North Georgia for its Financial Aid Program, which assists low income families with temporary family housing, medical bills and other related needs, such as transportation and child care, that impact their quality of life.
- $10,000 to the Athens YMCA to provide 28 underprivileged children access to the After School Program, providing opportunities for them to participate in activities such as football, soccer, basketball, roller hockey, cheerleading, modern dance, swimming, creative writing and art.
- $10,000 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, and prescription eyewear for low-income residents in the 10 counties Jackson EMC serves, using Lighthouse medical equipment, volunteer doctors, staff and volunteers.
- $9,600 to Our Neighbor, a Gainesville grassroots non-profit organization dedicated to assisting young adults with special challenges, to provide two developmentally disabled women with room, board, transportation, life skills training and social activities at Terrie’s House for Women, the organization’s first independent living facility for females.
- $5,000 to Project Safe, an Athens agency serving families experiencing domestic violence in Clarke, Madison, Oglethorpe and Oconee counties, for a Transitional Housing Initiative that provides long-term housing and support services to domestic violence survivors who need extra assistance to become emotionally and financially self-sufficient.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $3,477 to convert a bathroom to handicap accessible for a disabled senior citizen.
- $3,300 to replace the HVAC system of a senior citizen.
- $2,875 to replace the HVAC system of a disabled man.
- $1,850 to install an electric scooter lift for a disabled woman.
June 2012
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $101,524 in grants during their June meeting, including $95,899 to organizations and $5,625 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 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.
- $15,000 to the Fragile Kids Foundation to help fund the purchase and installation of critical medical equipment not covered by insurance, such as electronic wheelchair van lifts, for special needs children in the counties that Jackson EMC serves.
- $14,143 to Good Samaritan Health Center of Gwinnett in Lawrenceville, to provide laptops, mounting hardware, software licenses, technical services for cabling and networking installation for the Electronic Health Record Project that will end the reliance on paper health records.
- $10,200 to 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.
- $10,000 to the Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center, a multi-use science, history, culture, heritage and environmental facility located on a 700-acre campus in Buford, to allow students from low-income families to attend interpretative, hands-on field studies and educational programs.
- $10,000 to Hope Haven of Northeast Georgia, an Athens agency providing a variety of programs to support developmentally disabled individuals, to help purchase an accessible lift-equipped van for non-ambulatory individuals that will eliminate the transportation barrier preventing clients from using the agency’s services.
- $5,000 to Children First, a part of the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program serving Clarke and Oconee Counties, to provide transportation for children in foster care to and from the Family Time Community Visitation Center, along with supervision and assistance with parenting skills for family members.
- $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 the Rotary Club of Gainesville for its Accessibility Ramp Program, to purchase materials and supplies to construct solid, safe accessibility ramps as the primary entrance to the homes of local citizens with disabilities or other mobility challenges.
- $3,556 to the Athens Nurses Clinic, which serves residents who do not have health insurance and need medical attention, to purchase an EKG machine, electrodes, adhesive print paper and EKG Review Manuals, to provide annual EKGs to patients who are at greater risk for cardiac events due to chronic illness.
- $3,000 to the Rainbow Children’s Home, a Lumpkin County long-term care shelter for abused and neglected teenage girls, to create a visitation room with the capability to record supervised visits that help develop recommendations for reunifying children with their family.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $2,825 to install a stair lift for a disabled senior citizen.
- $2,800 to replace the HVAC system of a senior citizen.
May 2012
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $91,717 in grants during their May meeting, including $86,517 to organizations and $5,200 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 to Camp Koinonia in Homer to provide about 70 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.$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 32 home delivered meals daily, five days a week, and has a waiting list of 37 people.
- $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 32 home delivered meals daily, five days a week, and has a waiting list of 37 people.
- $14,000 to Jackson Creative Community Services in Commerce to help purchase a van that will be used to transport 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 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 35 percent less per week than graduates.
- $9,217 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. In 2011, the organization served 169 children.
- $7,500 to My Sister’s Place in Gainesville, a temporary shelter for homeless women and their children from all counties served by Jackson EMC, for a Parenting Support Program that will provide counseling and training, as well as referrals for child care centers, pediatricians and other children’s direct service providers.
- $5,000 to the Quinlan Visual Arts Center in Gainesville, to enable about 40 children entering 1st-8th grades at Title I schools in Hall County to attend one-week “Folk Art Road Trip” Art Camp sessions where students will make art with a variety of materials, painting, face jugs, weaving, found object sculpture, mobiles and more.
- $4,000 to Nuci’s Space 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.
- $3,600 to Kidstuff USA in Lawrenceville to enable youth with Autism Spectrum disorder, ages 4-22, from low-income families to attend a weeklong Art Camp with their siblings, and purchase art supplies.
- $3,200 to 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:
- $1,700 to purchase dentures for a disabled woman.
- $3,500 to repair the roof of a disabled couple.
April 2012
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $114,243 in grants during their April meeting, including $105,000 to organizations and $9,243 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 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.
- $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 food for its residential facility and a web-based management system for outpatient treatment services.
- $12,000 to Hope Clinic in Lawrenceville, a primary care internal medicine clinic founded to provide the uninsured working poor with affordable care, to help purchase medical equipment for the clinic’s second floor expansion that will allow it to double the number of clients served.
- $10,500 to I Am, Inc., in Buford to purchase supplies for the 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 the 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 Avita Community Partners in Gainesville, an agency assisting adults, children, adolescents and families affected by mental illness, emotional disorders, addictive diseases and developmental disabilities, to help purchase a van that will transport adolescents recovering from substance abuse.
- $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.$7,500 to NSPIRE Outreach in Lawrenceville, an outreach effort providing 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.
- $5,000 to Families of Children Under Stress (FOCUS), a nonprofit agency serving children, teens and adults with developmental disabilities and their families, to help provide Camp Hollywood in Lawrenceville, a unique summer day camp where children with developmental disabilities can build social skills, self-respect, character and community living skills.$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.
- $5,000 to the Young Women’s Christian Organization (YWCO) in Athens to help girls from low income families attend the Girls Club, a structured recreational and educational summer program targeting young girls ages 5-14 from low-to-moderate income families, and to help defray bus transportation expenses.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $3,500 to replace the heat pump for a disabled woman.
- $3,500 to build a wheelchair ramp for a profoundly disabled child.
- $2,243 to help make car repairs for a disabled senior citizen.
March 2012
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $65,859 in grants during their March meeting, including $57,500 to organizations and $8,359 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 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, as well as Family Literacy Nights to teach parents effective ways to use reading with their children, and GED assistance.
- $15,000 to Lindsay’s Legacy in Jackson County to help fund the coordinator’s position for a 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.
- $10,000 to Gwinnett Coalition for Health & Human Services to make upgrades in technology infrastructure supporting the Gwinnett Helpline, a one-stop referral resource for Gwinnett County residents seeking assistance for a diverse range of needs, to speed response time to clients.
- $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 St. Vincent de Paul Society of Jackson County to provide emergency financial assistance for rent/mortgage assistance, food, transportation, education and medical expenses to families in crisis in Jackson and Banks counties.
- $5,000 to the Sexual Assault Center & Children’s Advocacy Center in Athens to help cover the cost of individual therapy sessions for Spanish-speaking clients.
- $2,500 to the Community Based Mentoring Program of the Gwinnett County Public Schools Foundation to recruit and train mentors who provide guidance and caring support to at-risk young men in middle school, a group that makes up the largest percentage of students who fail to fail to advance and fail to graduate.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $3,500 to help make repairs to the well pump, plumbing and kitchen cooking area for a disabled senior citizen.
- $3,284 to replace rotted flooring in the manufactured home of a disabled senior citizen.
- $1,575 to purchase dentures for a disabled senior citizen.
February 2012
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $63,835 in grants during their February meeting, including $56,900 to organizations and $6,935 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 to YMCA – Georgia Mountains in Gainesville to help 30 underprivileged children kindergarten to 8th grade attend the Kids Time Afterschool Program, which provides a safe environment with 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 Potters House to help feed, house, counsel and provide educational programs such as adult literacy to men recovering from substance abuse through an intensive residential program of the Atlanta Mission on a 570-acre working farm in Jefferson.
- $7,000 to Center Point, a Gainesville non-profit which mentors at-risk young people in Gainesville City and Hall County schools, to provide free and low-cost counseling to youth and their families who could not otherwise participate in therapy.
- $5,000 to the Gwinnett Community Clinic to help fund a part-time nurse practitioner who works with volunteer physicians and nurses to manage the care of the clinic’s roughly 750 patients who are uninsured and do not qualify for Georgia Medicaid.
- $5,000 to the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens, a network of 19 area congregations that provides temporary housing and services to homeless families in need, to cover building and transportation expenses, and provide childcare so homeless parents can work or seek work.
- $5,000 to Lekotek of Georgia, a charitable organization that provides children with disabilities with accessible play, adaptive technology and toys, information and resources, to purchase additional toys and educational materials for its satellite location at Children’s Healthcare in Duluth.
- $4,900 to Clarke County Special Olympics to allow about 70 local athletes to compete in the Georgia Special Olympics Fall and Winter games, which provide students the opportunity to compete and further develop their independence, social and behavioral interactions.
- $2,500 to the Gainesville/Hall Community Food Pantry to purchase food.
- $2,500 to Region 5 DFCS Resource Development Unit in Jefferson to help fund the B.O.O.T. (Building Outstanding Opportunities Together) Camp two-day retreat that provides local foster and adoptive parents with parent development training, peer support and advocacy.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $3,435 to help cover dental bills and dentures for a disabled woman.
- $3,500 to help relocate a manufactured home for a senior citizen whose former home was destroyed by fire.
January 2012
The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $82,934 in grants during their January meeting, including $72,000 to organizations and $10,934 to individuals.
Organizational Grant Recipients:
- $15,000 to Challenged Child & Friends, a Gainesville non-profit organization providing educational, therapeutic, nursing and family support services to children with disabilities, to support the Early Intervention Program that provides special needs children with classroom instruction, individualized therapy and nursing services.
- $15,000 to the Hebron Community Health Center in Lawrenceville, a nonprofit organization providing medical and dental care to low-income, uninsured Gwinnett residents, to provide diagnostic mammograms and biopsies, as well as glucose monitors, glucose strips and medication for about 540 patients suffering from diabetes.
- $10,000 to the American Red Cross – East Georgia Chapter to train disaster response volunteers, purchase disaster education materials, and provide disaster relief, including food, shelter and clothing, to families in Jackson and Banks counties who have lost their home to a fire or natural disaster.
- $7,500 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, for distribution to community organizations in Gwinnett, Hall and Jackson counties.
- $7,500 to L.A.M.P. Ministries in Gainesville for its Community Youth Outreach program, three-month sessions that combine group counseling and community activities to provide high risk youths with a positive alternative to gangs and other delinquent behavior.
- $7,000 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 Rotary Club of Madison County to purchase materials for 10 handicap ramps, which are constructed by Rotary Club members for local individuals who cannot afford them, increasing their general mobility and improving safety in the event they need to evacuate their home .
- $2,500 to the Community Helping Place in Dahlonega for its Medical Clinic, which provides the uninsured working poor with primary and acute care, laboratory services, medication assistance and referrals.
- $2,500 to Safe Kids of Gainesville/Hall County, a program focusing on child safety education and injury prevention, to help provide smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors for the homes of families that cannot afford to purchase them.
Individual Grant Recipients:
- $3,500 to help purchase a handicap accessible van for a disabled man.
- $3,300 to replace an HVAC unit for a senior citizen.
- $3,000 to purchase hearing aids for a disabled senior citizen.
- $1,134 to replace a faulty breaker box and thermostat for a disabled senior citizen.