Rotary Club Literacy Program: Investing in the Capital of Children

How well a child reads is a better predictor of academic achievement than family income. To give local children the tools they need early in life for school success, the Madison County Rotary created a Literacy Program.

“Our Literacy Program started because a member, who is also a principal, asked for volunteers to help students with low reading scores,” says Jerry Countant, Rotary Club Services Chair. “From that request, the program grew exponentially, reaching more than 500 children in our community in five years.”

A $15,000 grant from the Jackson EMC Foundation has allowed the Rotary to continue to support their Literacy Program, which is designed to improve the reading readiness and efficiency of Madison County elementary students. The program purchases and mails an age-appropriate book each month to any Madison County child registered for the program from birth through five years of age. The program also purchases dictionaries for the county’s fifth-graders as well as other publications relevant to the students’ educational goals.

Community Helping Place: Reaching Out to Those in Need

The Community Helping Place (CHP) focuses on reducing hunger and improving the health of Lumpkin County’s uninsured and working poor. Its Client Assistance Program, which benefited from a $15,000 Jackson EMC Foundation grant, is more needed than ever.

“We’re seeing a huge increase in the demand for our services,” says Brenda Cook, executive director for Community Helping Place in Dahlonega. “Several area plant closings and layoffs have hit the Lumpkin County area especially hard, leaving many residents with no health insurance and facing hardships.”

The Client Assistance Program offers food, baby supplies and emergency assistance for rent and medications, and in October 2008 was expanded to include a free medical clinic. Offered two afternoons each week, the clinic provides care to those without medical insurance who fall below the federal poverty guidelines. Already, the clinic has served more than 400 patients.

“Our goal is to restore our patients’ health and, at the same time, educate them on the benefits of a healthy lifestyle,” says Paula Payne, CHP Clinic Director. “In the short period since the clinic opened, many lives have been impacted, from an elderly man who suffered from Type I diabetes but had not seen a doctor for several years, to a young boy who couldn’t play soccer because of asthma and whose mother couldn’t afford the doctor’s visits and medications.”

Tiny Stitches: Helping New Moms in Need

Imagine being a new mother unable to afford even the basics for your newborn such as clothes, booties and a blanket. The volunteers who started Tiny Stitches didn’t want new moms to worry about these necessities, so they started an organization to make layettes for mothers who have little or nothing for their newborns. A $10,000 Jackson EMC Foundation grant is helping the Suwanee-based organization purchase needed supplies such as fabric, yarn and notions.

“Our volunteers make tote bags and fill them with a 35-item handmade layette, including receiving blankets, nightgowns, bibs, booties, burp cloths, undershirts and an afghan,” says Tiny Stitches President Jill Stubler. “In our 10-year history, we’ve donated more than 4,000 layettes.”

Items are lovingly stitched by about 125 volunteers. Their work is anonymously donated through social workers and nurses at area hospitals, health departments and other facilities in nine northeast Georgia counties. Tiny Stitches also supplies burial ensembles for bereaved parents by request. The staff distributing the layettes says the gift makes an incredible impact.

Individual: Helping a Family with Special Needs

With the premature birth of their oldest daughter, Nikki, Brian and Lisa Page found that a special needs child creates additional challenges in achieving every parent's goal of providing a safe, nurturing home.

“After she was born, Nikki had a lot of complications,” says Lisa. “She was eventually diagnosed with infantile spasm disease and cerebral palsy. While we went through a lot of ups and downs, Brian and I were determined to do whatever it took to give her the best life possible.”

The family of five lived in a doublewide trailer without handicap access, which created challenges when caring for and transporting Nikki.

“We talked to several builders, and they said they could build a permanent addition, which we could later attach to when we build a home,” says Brian. So with financial help from several sources, including a $3,500 grant from the Jackson EMC Foundation, and volunteer labor, the now 17-year-old Nikki has a beautiful new addition with a fully handicap accessible bedroom and bath, complete with a roll-in shower, as well as an exterior wheelchair ramp.

“We were overwhelmed with the outpouring of support for this project,” says Lisa. “Being a parent of a handicapped child can be overwhelming, and I cannot express what a difference this addition will make in our lives and, most of all, in Nikki’s.