Rape Response, Meals by Grace, Jesse's House, Open Arms Clinic, Good News Clinic and Gateway Domestic Violence Center are this year's beneficiaries. The Community Impact Grants are awarded to non-profits to help them fund programs that meet a critical need.
"Funds such as the Community Impact Grant Endowment Fund allow the North Georgia Community Foundation to respond to the ever changing needs of the community and make grants to address the most urgent and pressing needs now and in the future," North Georgia Community Foundation President Jim Mathis said. "We were able to provide more than $14,000 to these essential agencies."
Rape Response received $2,350 for its Eighth-Grade Prevention Education program which provides date rape curriculum to all eighth grade classes in Dawson, Habersham, Lumpkin and White counties. Rape Response serves as a system of support, advocacy, and education, offering services to the community and survivors of sexual assault.
Meals by Grace, a ministry of Grace Chapel Church of Christ in Cumming, helps feed hungry children, youth and families and will use its $3,000 grant for transportation and labor required to disassemble, move, repair, and reassemble five walk-in freezers/refrigerators and a large four-tiered baker's oven received as gifts. This additional equipment will allow them to add more families to their weekly distributions.
Jesse's House, which provides emergency and long-term shelter and care to adolescent women in Forsyth County, received $2,000 to supplement their clothing allowance budget for the year. Jesse's House provides its residents with the essential clothing, shoes and accessories required to attend school and jobs and participate in educational and cultural programs outside the shelter. The grant will supply clothes for six girls who enter the shelter.
Open Arms Clinic received $2,000 to purchase prescription medications for its patients with chronic medical conditions and will help the clinic continue to provide 100 percent of the medications prescribed by its physicians. The clinic offers free health care in Stephens County for those who have limited access to health care.
Good News Clinics, which provides free medical care, dental care and medications to indigent, homeless and hard-working people who have no health insurance and cannot afford medical care, will use its $3,000 grant to fund laboratory tests for new patients. These tests are critical for the clinic's physicians to diagnose and provide medical care to patients.
Gateway Domestic Violence Center will use its $2,000 grant to support its transitional housing initiative. Gateway, which provides shelter and support for women and children fleeing domestic violence, is raising money to build additional transitional housing so its clients who move out of the shelter have a home for up to six months while they work and save money to secure their own safe place to live.
The Community Impact Grants are available annually to classified 501(c)3 tax-exempt organizations in the 15-county North Georgia region including Banks, Dawson, Fannin, Forsyth, Franklin, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Jackson, Lumpkin, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union and White counties. The Community Foundation awards grants between $1,500 and $3,000 through this program.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2012/9/253422