The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total $103,850 in grants during its April meeting, including $70,050 to organizations serving Hall County.
*$15,000 to Camp Twin Lakes, a not-for-profit organization that offers year-round recreational, therapeutic and educational programming 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.
*$15,000 to Spectrum Autism Support Group, a parent-run nonprofit group in Suwanee that provides Gwinnett and Hall County families with support, education and resources for the entire spectrum of autism disorders, to help disadvantaged autistic individuals ages four to 22 attend the organization’s weeklong summer camp program, with daily activities that teach social skills lessons.
*$15,000 to the Summer Scholars Institute, a three-year academic enrichment program held at the University of North Georgia’s Gainesville campus to help at-risk middle and high school Hall County students prepare for college and careers by concentrating on the basic areas of reading, writing, and mathematics, along with science for third-year students.
*$10,000 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 Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Franklin, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson, Madison and Oglethorpe counties to attend an eight-week camp experience where they can explore nature, discover their own abilities, master new skills and make new friends.
*$6,550 to Path Project, a community and youth development organization dedicated to increasing graduation rates for at-risk children growing up in mobile home parks in Gwinnett and Hall counties, to help fund a summer soccer camp for 50 elementary school-aged children.
*$6,000 to FOCUS (Families of Children Under Stress), a nonprofit agency serving children, teens, and adults with developmental disabilities and their families, to help provide 20 children the opportunity to build social skills, self-respect, character and community living skills at Camp Hollywood in Lawrenceville.
*$2,500 to Camp To Belong, (Foster Siblings Reunited), to enable children in the 10 counties Jackson EMC serves to attend a 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. the camp.
Jackson EMC Foundation grants are made possible by the 190,961 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 1,396 grants to organizations and 379 grants to individuals, putting more than $14 million back into local communities since the program began in 2005.
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 https://www.jacksonemc.com/foundation-apply or at local Jackson EMC offices. Applicants do not need to be a member of Jackson EMC.
Click here for a list of all the April grant recipients.
