JEFFERSON - The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $113,540 in grants to organizations during their December meeting, including $96,000 to organizations serving area residents.<br />
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*$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.<br />
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*$15,000 to the Norcross Cooperative Ministry for its Emergency Shelter Assistance Program, which provides up to four weeks stay at a local hotel for families that find themselves homeless.<br />
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*$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.<br />
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*$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, Jackson and Clarke counties to help them get back on their feet, to help with rent on the building used to house the mission's inventory.<br />
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*$10,000 to the Lilburn Cooperative Ministry to provide 40 needy families with $250 assistance for rent or mortgage payments annually, helping them to avoid foreclosure or eviction.<br />
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*$10,000 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.<br />
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*$10,000 to NOA's Ark, 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 fund a Trauma Counseling Service that provides individual and group counseling to reduce the risk of post-traumatic stress and other psychological problems.<br />
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*$5,000 to Nothing but the Truth, a faith-based organization dedicated to meeting needs in the community, to purchase food for the Weekend Food Bag Ministry that provides food for the weekend to Gwinnett County public school children who have been identified by counselors as food insecure.<br />
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*$4,000 to Randy and Friends, Inc., a Gainesville non-profit that employs adults with developmental disabilities, for a commercial-grade range, refrigerator/freezer and icemaker that will be used to expand the offerings of The Rooster's Perch Café, where clients work as well as display and sell crafts they have created.<br />
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*$2,000 to Northeast Church Women's Mission Connection in Braselton for its Backpack Buddies program that sends two main meals, breakfast choices, snacks, juice and shelf milk home each weekend with children in the West Jackson Primary, West Jackson Intermediate and Gum Springs Elementary schools who have been identified by counselors as being food insecure.<br />
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The Jackson EMC Foundation has put more than $9.3 million back into local communities since it was founded in 2005, funding 928 grants to organizations and 305 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. <br />
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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.
