The Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors awarded a total of $85,046 in grants during its January meeting, including $76,300 to organizations and $8,746 to individuals.

Organizational Grant Recipients:

$5,000 to the Athens Community Council on Aging's Meals on Wheels, a program that provides a hot meal each weekday to homebound individuals, allowing the program to feed an additional five people for a year.

$9,100 to the Boys & Girls Club of Barrow County, to implement the "Triple Play" program that teaches young people how to understand nutrition, make better food choices and engage in daily physical activities for the health of their growing bodies.

$10,000 to the Dream House for Medically Fragile Children in Lilburn, to help fund the Family for Keeps program that provides support, education and skills for foster parents who provide care to children who depend on life support, medication, therapies or equipment to live.

$7,200 to Junior Achievement of Georgia, to offer the Junior Achievement program and materials to 240 Hall County students in 12 Tadmore Elementary School classes, providing the students with an understanding of the free enterprise system so that they can become better-educated consumers, employees, citizens and leaders.

$15,000 to Mercy Health Center in Athens, which uses a combination of funding and volunteer medical help to provide free medical and dental care, to purchase a dental x-ray unit that will be used to provide dental care to the working poor, unemployed and/or disabled and the homeless.

$15,000 to the Rotary Club of Madison County, to purchase pressure-treated lumber and materials to construct approximately 35 handicapped ramps for area residents, selected on the basis of need, who have suffered an illness or accident and are having difficulty leaving their home.

$15,000 to the Single Parent Alliance and Resource Center in Norcross, to develop and print their Frontline Parenting Series, a program for single parents designed to increase communication and decrease the stress that can lead to violence, with curriculum ranging from traditional parenting classes to cross-gender classes that promote understanding between mothers and sons.

$2,250 to a disabled cancer patient, for emergency dental work.

$2,996 to a resident whose gas furnace no longer works and is using her oven to heat her home, for the purchase and installation of a heat pump.

$3,500 to a family whose son's rare brain disorder has left him wheelchair-bound, for the down payment on a handicapped accessible van.

Operation Round Up funds can be used to provide meals to the elderly, provide assistance for disaster relief and to support organizations and agencies with special program needs.

Grant Applications Available

Organizations and individuals are now applying for Operation Round Up (ORU) grants. You or a community organization may also be eligible for an ORU grant.

Any individual or organization in any of the counties served by Jackson EMC may apply for an ORU grant. The following are included in Foundation guidelines: non-profits, community-based or volunteer organizations, civic organizations, shelters, schools, hospitals, families and individuals.

Applications from organizations should target program support. Causes covered by these grants can include human need; education and development; family enrichment; literacy; health education, awareness and advocacy; and medical or disaster-related emergencies. Individuals and organizations may receive only one grant award from the Foundation each year. Awards are generally limited to $3,500 for individuals and $15,000 for organizations.

Please visit the Operation Round Up home page or call 706-367-6295 for more information.

Please visit www.jacksonemc.com/roundup or call 706-367-6295 for more information.