December 2015

The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total $92,450 in grants during their December meeting, including $81,950 to organizations and $10,500 to individuals.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

• $15,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Gwinnett County for the “A Brush With Kindness” program, which provides minor home repairs, painting, landscaping and weatherization to low-income seniors, the disabled and low-income homeowners who financially struggle to maintain their home in decent and safe condition.
• $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.
• $10,000 to the C.O.R.E. (Confidence, Ownership, Responsibility, Exercise) Program, a community health initiative covering Barrow, Clarke, Gwinnett, Jackson and Madison counties that engages underprivileged adolescents at risk for chronic conditions related to obesity and overweight conditions in a 12-week program of high intensity, high impact exercise and behavior modification upon referral by a pediatrician.
• $10,000 to the Eyes of Love Lighthouse Mission in Buford, a grassroots ministry that collects and distributes clothes, food and furniture to those in need in Gwinnett, Hall, Barrow counties to help them get back on their feet, to help with rent on the building used to house the mission’s inventory.
• $10,000 to the Athens YMCA to provide 40 underprivileged children access to the After School Program, providing opportunities for them to participate in activities such as football, soccer, basketball, mountain biking, cheerleading, modern dance, swimming, and arts and crafts.
• $9,650 to Choices Pregnancy Care Center in Gainesville for ultrasound services to check for a pregnancy’s viability and ectopic pregnancy, and to purchase parenting videos, literature and incentive baby items for its My Baby Counts program, which provides crucial parenting skills to pregnant women and new parents in Gwinnett, Hall and Jackson counties to break the cycle of inadequate parenting, neglect and abuse.
• $5,000 to NOA’s Ark (No One Alone), a Dahlonega emergency shelter and comprehensive support program for women and children who have been the victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, to help provide food to shelter residents and outreach clients.
• $4,800 to Books for Keeps, an Athens nonprofit organization that works to improve children’s reading achievement, for its Stop Summer Slide program, which provides books for summer reading to children in Clarke County elementary schools where 90 percent or more of the students receive free or reduced lunches.
• $2,500 to the Community Helping Place, a Dahlonega non-profit that addresses hunger in the Lumpkin County community, to purchase food for its food pantry, summer food program and White Christmas food boxes.

Individual Grant Recipients:

• $3,500 to help make handicap-accessible modifications to a van for a 10-year-old boy with cerebral palsy.
• $3,500 to help purchase a van equipped to carry wheelchairs for two brothers who have mitochondrial disease.
• $3,500 to help purchase a handicap-accessible van for a 19-year-old boy with cerebral palsy.

November 2015

The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total $98,910 in grants to organizations during their November meeting.
Organizational Grant Recipients:

• $15,000 to Annandale at Suwanee, a nonprofit community serving adults with developmental disabilities or traumatic brain injury, for the Afterglow Gardens program, a horticulture therapy program using a climate-controlled greenhouse and garden center that will provide year-round recreational/therapeutic gardening opportunities ranging from potting plants, working in raised beds and harvesting produce.
• $15,000 to the Gwinnett Children’s Shelter to provide 60 homeless children and their mothers with The Next Step program, which provides a 3-12 month transitional living experience where children can regain a sense of security and mothers can work with a life coach to develop a customized plan to help them achieve financial security and permanent housing to prevent future homelessness.
• $15,000 to the Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center Foundation, 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.
• $12,000 to St. Vincent de Paul Society Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Flowery Branch for its Aid Hot Line program, which provides emergency aid to families in crisis for rent, mortgage and temporary housing to prevent homelessness and disrupted lives.
• $12,000 to St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. Catherine Laboure in Jefferson for its financial assistance program which provides funds to families in crisis for rent, mortgage, food, transportation, gas, car repair and insurance premiums, and medical assistance.
• $12,000 to St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. Michael in Gainesville to help fund direct aid for housing assistance, including rent, mortgage and temporary housing for families in crisis, as well as to purchase an industrial quality freezer to support their food distribution program.
• $10,000 to Athens Urban Ministries, a grassroots organization dedicated to assisting those who need a hand up, to help provide instruction and materials for GED training to promote self-sufficiency.
• $6,000 to CASA Enotah, which serves Lumpkin County by training community volunteers who represent the best interests of abused and neglected children, to cover the travel expenses of volunteers who work through the Paths to Permanency Initiative to find permanent homes for children in foster care.
• $1,910 to Reins of Life, a Franklin County non-profit that uses hippotherapy treatment to special needs and at-risk children, youth and their families, to help five Franklin County clients attend therapy sessions that use a horse’s movement to improve neuromuscular function.

October 2015

The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total $93,589 in grants during their October meeting, including $87,500 to organizations and $6,089 to individuals.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

• $15,000 to Gainesville Action Ministries, a network of 17 Hall County congregations that work to prevent homelessness by providing emergency financial, food and clothing assistance, and children’s services, to provide rent assistance that enables clients to stay in their homes.
• $15,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Winder-Barrow in Winder for its Power Hour comprehensive homework help and tutoring program for elementary aged members, and Goals for Graduation, a program that combats academic underachievement in middle and high school aged members to set and work towards goals for school attendance, homework completion and positive study habits.
• $15,000 to Family Promise of Hall County, a community effort to end the cycle of family homelessness, to purchase a ductless HVAC system for a home being renovated by the nonprofit to serve as affordable housing for families who have found employment and graduated the 90-day program.
• $15,000 to Gateway House, a Hall County non-profit serving victims of domestic violence and their children, to provide emergency legal assistance in requesting, filing and enforcing a Temporary Protective Order (TPO) and safety planning to keep abusive partners from having contact with or harassing domestic violence victims.
• $10,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Athens for its Mind Blowers Program, a targeted supplemental math education program to teach essential problem-solving and quantitative skills that students will use in the classroom, work world and every-day life.
• $7,500 to Adventure Bags, an Auburn-based non-profit that sources and stuffs comfort bags that are distributed to displaced children through local DFCS offices, domestic violence shelters, fire departments, group homes and children’s shelters to provide comfort and security in a crisis.
• $5,000 to H.O.P.E., Inc., a Duluth non-profit serving low-income single parents who are working to achieve their college degree, to help with childcare and housing when either situation threatens the parent’s ability to continue their classes.
• $2,500 to the Pantry at Hamilton Mill to purchase food.
• $2,500 to Spirit of Joy Food Bank to purchase food.

Individual Grant Recipients:

• $2,689 to install an EZ lock docking system in a handicap accessible van and replace the dentures of a disabled senior citizen.
• $3,400 to replace the HVAC system of a senior citizen battling cancer.

September 2015

The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total $67,972 in grants during their September meeting, including $64,472 to organizations and $3,500 to an individual.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

• $15,000 to the Piedmont Regional Library System to cover its electronic book system fee and hosting costs, and purchase additional Ebooks, providing a quality selection of Ebook titles and free access to technology they might not be able to afford.
• $14,010 to Adult Literacy Barrow for computer equipment, supplies and instruction to offer GED and college entrance instruction to former inmates now on probation, helping them become employable and productive members of the community.
• $12,500 to Mercy Health Center, an Athens ministry using a community of professional and lay volunteers to provide primary and specialty medical care, dental and pharmacy services for low income uninsured patients, to help provide a part-time Dental Coordinator/Hygienist and purchase equipment and supplies to expand dental care access.
• $10,462 to Interlocking Communities, a grassroots community service organization in Lawrenceville, to upgrade computers, purchase equipment and materials, and employ an instructor for English as a second language classes that enable students to better communicate with their children’s teachers, sustain employment and become more productive citizens.
• $7,500 to Angel House of Georgia, a Gainesville recovery residence for women with alcohol and/or drug addiction, to cover program fees that will enable indigent women to participate in the twelve-month program.
• $5,000 to the Partnership for Gynecological Cancer, an all-volunteer Hall County nonprofit that provides direct assistance to women experiencing financial difficulties during their treatment for gynecological cancer, for assistance with gas and groceries.

Individual Grant Recipients:

• $3,500 to repair the leaking roof of a woman disabled by a stroke.

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August 2015

The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total $83,800 in grants during their August meeting, including $74,800 to organizations and $9,000 to individuals.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

• $15,000 to the Salvation Army of Athens, which serves Clarke, Madison and Oglethorpe counties, for emergency shelter operations and to provide food to shelter residents and those in the community who are hungry and seek a meal at the nightly free dinner; the Athens agency provided 17,050 individuals with emergency shelter and served 31,612 meals last year.
• $15,000 to the Salvation Army of Gainesville, which serves Banks, Barrow, Hall and Jackson counties, for emergency shelter operations and to provide food to shelter residents and those in the community who are hungry and seek a meal at the nightly free dinner; the Gainesville agency provided 5,338 individuals with emergency shelter and served 7,567 meals last year.
• $15,000 to the Salvation Army of 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; the agency provided more than 200 families with rent assistance in 2014.
• $5,000 to AIDS Athens, a resource center serving Barrow, Clarke, Jackson, Madison and Oglethorpe counties, to help purchase furnishings for its new facility, located in the Athens Resource Center for the Homeless on property formerly housing the Navy Supply Corps School, where those infected with HIV/AIDS can find housing and medical care.
• $5,000 to the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta to offer The Girl Scout Leadership Experience in Gwinnett County, a program which impacts 15 developmental outcomes to help girls discover their own strengths, connect with others in healthy relationships and become more resourceful problem solvers.
• $5,000 to the Pilot Club of Madison County to help purchase car seats for two Child Safety Seat Check Days for area residents where proper installation and use would be taught and seats provided to those in need, and afternoon Child Safety Seat Checks at each of the county’s five elementary schools to help reach parents.
• $5,000 to the Salvation Army of Northeast Georgia, which serves Franklin and Lumpkin counties, for emergency shelter operations and to provide food to shelter residents and those in the community who are hungry and seek a meal at the nightly free dinner; the Toccoa agency provided 263 individuals with emergency shelter and served 849 meals last year.
• $5,000 to the Samaritan Center for Counseling and Wellness, an Athens non-profit serving all counties in Jackson EMC’s service area except Lumpkin, that provides confidential, compassionate mental health services to individuals, families and community groups, to help replace outdated computers and software used for client information and intake/scheduling procedures.
• $4,800 to Hope for the Journey, Inc., a compassionate community cancer outreach program in Lawrenceville serving Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall and Jackson counties that provides support, meals and educational materials to child and adult cancer victims and their families, working closely with the American Cancer Society.

Individual Grant Recipients:

• $3,500 to help convert a van to wheelchair accessible for a nine-year-old girl with cerebral palsy.
• $3,500 for dental work and dentures for a senior citizen living on Social Security.
• $2,000 to repair the unstable floors in the manufactured home of a disabled senior citizen.

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July 2015

The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total $75,625 in grants to organizations during their July meeting, including $72,500 to organizations and $3,125 to an individual.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

• $15,000 to the Gwinnett Sexual Assault Center to provide forensic interviews of child sexual abuse victims in a climate of safety, openness and trust to help provide evidence for law enforcement, child protective services and the courts, as well as 24-hour family advocacy support for non-offending family members to identify resources and options to meet their needs.
• $15,000 to the Hi-Hope Service Center in Lawrenceville to help fund part-time nursing and nutrition services for 20 developmentally disabled residents in Gwinnett County, providing services such as daily medication, insulin, blood checks and specialized medical treatment to residents who require onsite nursing care.
• $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.
• $10,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Barrow County to help purchase a used pickup truck needed to carry materials, supplies and a tool trailer from one home construction build site to another to make the most efficient use of volunteer and build time.
• $7,500 to Project Safe, an Athens agency serving families in all counties Jackson EMC serves who are experiencing domestic violence, to help fund 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.
• $7,000 to the Special Olympics of Barrow County to purchase equipment and supplies for more than 500 special needs athletes and athletes-in-training from 16 county schools so they can compete in basketball, bocce, soccer, softball, swimming, snow skiing and track and field events.
• $5,000 to Family Promise of Gwinnett County to fund supplies and meals for homeless single women and women with children who use the agency’s Salt Light Center emergency shelter.
• $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.

Individual Grant Recipients:

• $3,125 to purchase a wheelchair lift for the car of a disabled Vietnam veteran.

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June 2015

The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total $79,500 in grants to organizations during their June meeting, including $72,500 to organizations and $7,000 to individuals.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

• $15,000 to Eagle Ranch, a Chestnut Mountain home for boys and girls in crisis serving all of Northeast Georgia, to install two security gates at key entry points that would control campus access, increasing the level of security and ensuring the safety of the children entrusted to its care.
• $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 all the counties that Jackson EMC serves.
• $15,000 to Good Samaritan Health Center of Gwinnett, a faith-based nonprofit committed to caring for the indigent, homeless and working poor in Gwinnett and Hall counties who do not have health insurance, to help provide diagnostic laboratory and pathology services to patients with chronic diseases.
• $10,000 to the Georgia Children’s Chorus, an organization that provides vocal and choral training to young people who wish to pursue that field, to help 20 students from low-income families participate in the training program and concerts.
• $7,500 to New Beginnings Ministries of Lawrenceville, a nonprofit that offers low-cost professional level counseling in Gwinnett, Hall and Barrow counties, to provide counselors who provide single women and single mothers with free, five-session crisis counseling sessions with a stipend for their time and gas.
• $5,000 to the Athens Community Council on Aging for the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren program, supporting grandparents who are primary caregivers for their grandchildren by providing caregiver and child support groups, emergency food and personal care supplies, and Active Parenting workshops.
• $5,000 to the Place of Seven Springs, a Snellville nonprofit which provides food and emergency assistance to Gwinnett County residents in need, to provide funds for emergency housing, water bills, gas cards, food and non-narcotic prescription medicine.

Individual Grant Recipients:

• $3,500 to help purchase a van that would be converted to handicapped accessible to transport a 10 year old girl with cerebral palsy.
• $3,500 to replace a water heater and repair the home of a senior citizen.

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May 2015

The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total $73,600 in grants to organizations during their May meeting, including $70,100 to organizations and $3,500 to an individual.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

• $15,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta’s Lawrenceville Unit for its Homework Help/Afterschool Program, which uses staff and volunteers to provide club members with homework help, specialized tutoring and high-yield learning activities.
• $15,000 to Lindsay’s Legacy Mentoring, Inc. 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.
• $6,500 to ACTION, Inc., for the Full Plate Food Program, which uses staff and volunteers to collect surplus food donated by Athens area restaurants, then redistribute that food to homeless shelters and other human service agencies, reducing both hunger and the food budgets of those agencies.
• $6,500 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.
• $5,500 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 the Quinlan Visual Arts Center in Gainesville to enable about 40 disadvantaged, but exceptional students with exemplary artistic skills entering 1st-8th grades at Title I schools in Banks, Hall, Jackson, Gwinnett and Lumpkin counties attend one-week Art Camp sessions.
• $5,000 to the Side by Side Brain Injury Club, a Gwinnett nonprofit organization that helps individuals recovering from traumatic brain injury to regain employment and living skills, to provide a month of rehabilitation program fees for six brain injured adults from Gwinnett and Hall counties.
• $4,000 to Nuçi’s Space in Athens, a nonprofit organization working to prevent suicide, to enable young people from low income families participate in Camp Amped, a summer day camp for northeast Georgia youth ages 11-18 focusing on positive mental health and music education.
• $4,000 to the Lumpkin County Family Connection for its Backpack Buddy program, which provides a weekend supply of seven meals each week to children who are food insecure.
• $3,600 to Barrow Ministry Village, a community ministry established through a partnership of local churches which provides foster care support, counseling services and food to those in need, to fund a monthly mobile distribution of about 10,000 pounds of food to about 220 people.

Individual Grant Recipients:

• $3,500 to make handicapped accessible modifications to a van for a teenage girl with cerebral palsy.

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April 2015

The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total $123,500 in grants to organizations during their April meeting, including $120,000 to organizations and $3,500 to an individual.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

• $15,000 to Camp Koinonia in Homer to provide 60 Banks County underprivileged third through sixth 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 Exodus Outreach, a Buford nonprofit organization serving people in all walks of life who are hurting and in need of support, for a summer program that offers kindergarten through eighth grade at-risk students in Gwinnett and Hall counties with a supervised summer learning and development curriculum that readies students to succeed in school in the fall.
• $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.
• $15,000 to the Summer Scholars Institute, a three-year academic enrichment program designed to help at-risk middle and high school students in Hall County prepare for college and careers. Held at the University of North Georgia’s Gainesville campus, the summer program concentrates on the basic areas of reading, writing and mathematics, along with science for third-year students.
• $13,500 to Extra Special People in Watkinsville to provide an opportunity for special needs or seriously ill children from low income or financially distressed families in Barrow, Clarke, Gwinnett, Jackson and Madison counties to attend a weeklong camp where they can explore nature, discover their own abilities, master new skills and make new friends.
• $10,000 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.
• $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 families in Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall and Jackson counties, 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.
• $8,000 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, to help children from the 10 counties served by Jackson EMC attend a one-week overnight summer camp.
• $7,000 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.
• $5,000 to Bread for Life, a Northeast Georgia nonprofit organization focused on job training and work readiness for those who are unemployed and have few or no marketable skills, to provide baking training for clients in Barrow, Clarke, Jackson and Madison counties using both experiential and classroom training that earns participants a ServSafe® Food Handler certification.
• $2,750 to Carepointe Community Ministries of Cross Pointe Church in Duluth to help provide Pack’n Play infant cribs to parents in Gwinnett, Barrow and Hall counties who cannot afford baby beds in order to avoid infant deaths caused from sleeping in the same bed with parents.
• $2,000 to Camp to Belong Georgia, a free summer camp that reunites brothers and sisters living separately in foster care or other out-of-home care to strengthen relationships, increase self-esteem, create healthier attitudes and childhood memories, to enable children in the 10 counties Jackson EMC serves to attend the camp.
• $1,750 to the Gainesville 1st United Methodist Church Urban Ministry to help fund a summer soccer camp for at-risk elementary school-aged children in the Baker and Glover neighborhood.

Individual Grant Recipients:

• $3,500 to make repairs to a handicap accessible van for a young man with muscular dystrophy.

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March 2015

The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total $112,500 in grants to organizations during their March meeting, including $109,000 to organizations and $3,500 to individuals.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

• $15,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Hall County, to purchase HVAC and electrical equipment, cabinets, flooring and lighting for its Home for a Hero project, which is constructing a home for a disabled veteran on land donated by a family that lost their home to a fire last year.

• $15,000 to Signs and Wonders in Lawrenceville, a nonprofit organization that offers assistance to the homeless and needy on a non-discriminating basis, to allow 18 homeless men to participate in the addiction recovery program, a two phase drug and alcohol recovery course to help them get back on their feet and re-enter society in a stable, productive manner.

• $12,500 to the Boy Scouts of Northeast Georgia 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.

• $12,500 to the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia to help fund the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, which teaches girls how to understand themselves and their values, use that knowledge to explore the world, care about and team with others, and take increasing responsibility for designing and implementing activities to make the world a better place.

• $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 will keep the infant warm and dry for the first 2-3 months of life, donated to mothers in nine North Georgia counties who have little or nothing for their newborns.

• $7,500 to the American Red Cross of East Georgia to provide disaster relief, including food, shelter, personal needs and clothing, to families in Jackson, Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Franklin, Jackson, Madison and Oglethorpe counties who have lost their home to a fire or natural disaster.

• $7,500 to the American Red Cross of Northeast Georgia to provide disaster relief, including food, shelter, personal needs and clothing, to families in Hall and Lumpkin counties who have lost their home to a fire or natural disaster.

• $7,500 to Project Adam, a non-profit focused on the prevention and treatment of alcohol and drug dependency, to help purchase technical services and equipment that will allow the agency to better serve its outpatient clients with programs such as risk reduction, defensive driving, drug-free workplace, and individual and family counseling.

• $7,500 to Rainbow Children’s Home, a Dahlonega shelter for abused and neglected girls, to help fund programs that go beyond the basics of food, clothing and shelter to provide services such as support groups, academic tutoring, substance abuse treatment, self-defense classes and family recovery workshops.

• $5,000 to the Madison County 4-H to purchase parts, materials, power tools and technology for its robotics program, which builds science, engineering and technology skills, inspires innovation and promotes well-rounded life skills in middle and high school students.

• $5,000 to The Potter’s House, an Atlanta Mission facility, to help feed, house, counsel and provide educational programs such as adult literacy to men who are recovering from substance abuse through an intensive residential program at this 570-acre working farm in Jefferson.

• $4,000 to the Franklin Life Pregnancy Resource Center, a volunteer, Christian ministry that provides testing, counseling, and parenting classes for expectant teens and their families, to help provide the “Earn While You Learn” program that teaches parenting skills and provides essential child care items..

Individual Grant Recipients:

• $3,500 to replace the HVAC for a disabled senior citizen with limited income.

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February 2015

The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total $110,500 in grants to organizations during their February meeting, including $103,500 to organizations and $7,000 to individuals.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

• $15,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Jackson County to help purchase a 15-passenger van to provide safe, dependable transportation for the more than 250 club members to the club after school as well as to summer program field trips and activities.
• $15,000 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.
• $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 seven counties served by Jackson EMC, 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 YMCA Piedmont Brad Akins Branch for its Summer Day Camp to enable 16 children and 14 teens from economically disadvantaged families to attend an 11-week day camp that provides a safe environment and nurturing quality programs for youths that might otherwise be “latchkey” kids during their schools’ summer break.
• $10,000 to the Ark of Jackson County, a community outreach effort by area churches that assists individuals who have experienced a loss of income due to circumstances beyond their control, to help fund emergency housing assistance for rent or mortgage, and prescription medicine assistance.
• $10,000 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 in Hall and Jackson counties with a positive alternative to gangs and other delinquent behavior.
• $10,000 to Teen Pregnancy Prevention in Gainesville to help fund the “Smart Girls” program in Hall County and Gainesville City 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.
• $7,500 to Athens Nurses Clinic, a non-profit health care clinic providing free services to uninsured low-and-no income residents, to help implement the Healthy Living/Healthy Community Program, which assists diabetic patients understand their disease and make lifestyle changes that will result in improved health.
• $3,500 to Good Samaritan Ministries, a Gainesville non-profit that provides food, clothing, furniture, job counseling and education assistance to those in need in Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson and Lumpkin counties, to purchase food and personal hygiene items.
• $2,500 to the Gainesville/Hall Community Food Pantry to purchase food from the Atlanta Community Food Bank and the Georgia Mountain Food Bank for distribution to those in need in Hall County.

Individual Grant Recipients:

• $3,500 to help purchase a ceiling lift for a wheelchair bound teenager suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy whose parents can no longer safely lift her.
• $1,750 to help pay for dental work for a senior citizen with limited income.
• $1,750 to help pay for dental work for a disabled senior citizen with limited income.

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January 2015

The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $107,806 in grants to organizations during their January meeting.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

• $15,000 to Challenged Child and Friends, a Gainesville non-profit organization providing educational, therapeutic, nursing and family support services to children with disabilities in all counties served by Jackson EMC, to support the Early Intervention Program that provides special needs children with classroom instruction, individualized therapy and nursing services.
• $15,000 to the Hall County Health Department to provide indigent women in Banks, Franklin, Hall and Lumpkin counties who would otherwise not receive medical care during pregnancy with prenatal care services, including diabetic supplies, prenatal vitamins and checkups, that limit risk factors for both mother and baby.
• $15,000 to MedLink of Georgia, a non-profit primary medical care network serving all counties served by Jackson EMC which provides care to those who lack access to quality medical care because of finances, transportation or few local physicians, to transition to an electronic practice management and health records system that will allow physicians and staff to better manage patient care.
• $15,000 to Peace Place, a domestic violence shelter in Winder, to help refurbish four apartments and two houses that serve as safe transitional housing for women and children in Banks, Barrow and Jackson counties who have survived domestic violence and are seeking to rebuild their lives, independently and free of abuse.
• $15,000 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.
• $14,867 to Success by 6, a program of the United Way of Northeast Georgia, to help print “Critical Years, Critical Needs” parenting manuals in English and Spanish that provide a resource guide on early childhood developmental needs and good child care practices, along with board books, that are distributed to new parents through a partnership with St. Mary’s Hospital, Athens Regional Medical Center and Barrow County Medical Center.
• $11,939 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 2013, the organization served 148 children.
• $3,000 to iServe Ministries, a Jefferson grassroots organization that helps churches recognize community needs and helps get those needs met, for backpacks and food for its “Bags of Love” program that sends disadvantaged students in Jackson and Madison counties home each weekend with enough food for family meals and snacks.
• $3,000 to Straight Street Revolution Ministries, a Gainesville non-profit providing a support system to those in need in the community, to purchase food for its “BackPack Love” feeding program that sends disadvantaged students in Gainesville and Hall County schools home each weekend with food for family meals.

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