The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total $77,792 in grants during its December meeting, including $72,427 to agencies serving area residents.
$15,000 to Project Adam, a Winder-based nonprofit serving Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Franklin, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson and Madison counties that focuses on the prevention and treatment of alcohol and drug dependency, to cover the entry fees of 12 men who can’t afford to enter the residential treatment program and do not have family to assist them.
$11,927 to Fragile Kids Foundation, a Georgia nonprofit that provides prescribed medical equipment that Medicaid and private insurance will not cover to medically fragile children, to help fund the purchase and installation of critical medical equipment such as electronic wheelchair van lifts, strollers, toileting and bathing systems in the counties Jackson EMC serves.
$10,000 to 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.
$8,000 to Eagle Ranch, a Chestnut Mountain home for boys and girls in crisis serving all of Northeast Georgia, to cover the annual subscription costs for an electronic health record database system that securely stores state-required records and tracks the ongoing progress of the youth being served.
$7,500 to Adventure Bags, an Auburn-based nonprofit that sources and stuffs comfort bags and distributes them to displaced children through local DFCS offices, domestic violence shelters, fire departments, group homes and children’s shelters in Jackson EMC’s service area to provide comfort and security in a crisis.
$5,000 to NOA’s Ark (No One Alone), a Dahlonega emergency shelter and comprehensive support program for women and children from Lumpkin, Gwinnett and Hall counties who have been the victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, to help provide food to shelter residents and outreach clients.
Jackson EMC Foundation grants are made possible by the more than 184,400 participating cooperative members who have their monthly electric bills rounded to the next dollar amount through the Operation Round Up program. Their “spare change” has funded 1,147 grants to organizations and 340 grants to individuals, putting more than $11.6 million back into local communities since the program began in 2005.
