*$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 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 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 in Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall and Jackson counties to attend the organization's weeklong summer camp program where daily activities are used to teach social skills lessons.
*$6,500 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 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.
*$3,000 to 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.
The Jackson EMC Foundation has put more than $7.5 million back into local communities since it was founded in 2005, funding 739 grants to organizations and 261 grants to individuals. Cooperative members participating in Operation Round Up have their monthly electric bills rounded up to the next dollar amount, with the "spare change" going to the Foundation.
Any individual or charitable organization in the ten counties served by Jackson EMC (Clarke, Banks, Barrow, Franklin, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison and Oglethorpe) may apply for a Foundation grant by completing an application, available online at http://www.jacksonemc.com/foundation-guidelines or at local Jackson EMC offices. Applicants do not need to be a member of Jackson EMC.
Jackson EMC Foundation board member Steve Blair (left) and Jackson EMC Gainesville District Manager Bill Sanders (right) present a $15,000 Foundation grant check to University of North Georgia Senior Vice President of University Affairs Al Panu that
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