* $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 to Project Adam, a Winder non-profit providing education, treatment and prevention services to those affected by drug and alcohol addictions; to purchase food for its residential facility as well as a web-based management system for outpatient treatment services.
$10,000 to the 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 to attend the organization's weeklong summer camp program where daily activities are used to teach social skills lessons.
* $10,000 to Avita Community Partners in Gainesville, an agency assisting adults, children, adolescents and families affected by mental illness, emotional disorders, addictive diseases and developmental disabilities, to help purchase a van that will transport adolescents recovering from substance abuse.
* $7,500 to NSPIRE Outreach in Lawrenceville, an outreach effort providing homeless men and women in Gwinnett County with skills and tools that will help them leave the streets and become independent, to provide continuing education through GED courses, online courses, career training, or courses at local colleges or technical schools .
* $5,000 to Families of Children Under Stress (FOCUS), a nonprofit agency serving children, teens and adults with developmental disabilities and their families, to help provide Camp Hollywood in Lawrenceville, a unique summer day camp where children with developmental disabilities can build social skills, self-respect, character and community living skills.
* $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.
Since the Jackson EMC Foundation began in 2005, it has funded 633 grants to organizations and 231 grants to individuals, putting more than $6.5 million back into local communities. The Operation Round Up program allows participating electric cooperative's members to have their monthly electric bills rounded up to the next dollar amount.
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/Guidelines-for-Funding.106.0.html or at local Jackson EMC offices. Applicants do not need to be a member of Jackson EMC.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2012/5/248704