Changing Communities for the Better annual report 2013
WHEN A LITTLE CAN DO A LOT
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ow many times have you thought, “I’d like to help, but
for the visually impaired, from summer camp opportunities to
I’m only one person – how much difference can I make?”
employment for the developmentally challenged, from youth
We are, after all, only individuals; most of us are just
mentoring to drug, alcohol, spouse and child abuse prevention.
average middle class working folks. How can just one ordinary person affect the lives of others? One way is through the Jackson EMC Foundation. Nearly 89 percent of all Jackson EMC accounts participate in Operation Round Up, voluntarily having their monthly electric bill rounded
It’s also helped individuals who have encountered life-changing medical issues, have been isolated by mobility limitations, or live on a fixed income and need a helping hand with unexpected repairs to roofs and HVAC systems, or handicap accessible modifications. Those members who make up the Jackson EMC Foundation have
up to the next dollar amount. The spare change from those bills, an
found a way to make a difference. They each are only one person, but
average of about $6 per year per account, is deposited in the Jackson
together they are an amazing force for good in our communities.
EMC Foundation, where it is used to help others. Those Jackson EMC members who participate have found a way to make a little do a lot. The spare change they contribute each month joins forces with the contributions of others to form what
The following examples of grants awarded by the Jackson EMC Foundation in the last year clearly demonstrate how a little can do a lot.
has become a million dollar foundation. When Jackson EMC’s Operation Round Up turns eight years old this month, participating members will have put $8 million back into their communities, touching the lives of countless individuals, many of whom are their neighbors. Through our members’ generosity, the Jackson EMC Foundation – their foundation – has supported local organizations that provide everything from emergency financial assistance to adaptive technology
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Randall Pugh President & CEO Jackson EMC
Johnny Fowler Board President Jackson EMC Foundation
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NORTH GWINNETT CO-OPERATIVE, INC. Joe and his wife Runetta lost their Stone Mountain home to flooding in 2009, but found help with Joe’s medications at the North Gwinnett Co-operative.
$15,000 Grant: Prescription Medicine Assistance Program
“I had no understanding of the need in Gwinnett County. Like most people, I thought that homelessness and poverty were urban problems, and had no idea of the problems in the suburbs. When I saw what was going on, I couldn’t not help,” she remembers. Beginning as a volunteer at the co-op, Kornowa first served as a part-time executive director, and in May 2012 became the first to
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hold that position full-time. She stresses that in today’s economy, nyone who has filled a prescription knows that medicine is expensive. In 2012, the increase in the cost of prescription drugs was double the rate of inflation according to the
Bureau of Economic Analysis. Somewhere buried in that statistic are individuals and families who face tough choices every month – buy food, pay their rent or mortgage, put gas in the car or take their medicine. It’s a difficult decision when either not taking medication or taking less of it could produce life-threatening results. Some of the people facing those choices have found help at the North Gwinnett Co-Operative (Co-op) in Buford. Co-Op executive director Maureen Kornowa didn’t realize that a donation for her daughter’s outreach club would lead to a 10-year labor of love with a charitable agency that started life in the basement of a local church as a food ministry.
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with many families living at or below the poverty level, all it takes is one life crisis – a job loss, a divorce, a health problem – to place people in the position of having to make those difficult decisions. Co-op client Virginia is 83 years old. Retired from AT&T, she lives on a fixed income. Her 63-year-old son, Steve had a good construction job in better days, but was partially paralyzed in an automobile accident. Now Virginia cares for her son, renting a place to live and babysitting to pay the utilities. They are both diabetic. She tears up when talking about the cost of their medication and choices it forced on her. Like the more than 300 people who are estimated to have been helped by the North Gwinnett Co-Operative’s Prescription Medicine Assistance Program, Virginia and her son receive up to $150 in non-narcotic prescription medicine assistance – monthly for senior citizens and every 60 days for those who are younger. “Everybody here is super nice. Maureen tries to work with everyone, but she’s strict. We follow the rules,” Virginia explains.
Clients drop their prescriptions off at local pharmacies. When they come to the co-op office, a volunteer calls the pharmacy to verify the prescription is not a narcotic or controlled substance, and what the exact cost will be. Clients are given a check, written to the pharmacy, for the exact amount needed to pick up their medication. In 2011, North Gwinnett Co-op spent more than $25,000 on prescription medicine assistance, more than $28,000 in 2012.
“Our clients need help because the cost of their medication is more than they can afford, co-pays are often too much for them to handle, and many have been relying on partial prescriptions, even for lifesaving medication,” says Maureen. A chance encounter with the co-op moved executive director Maureen Kornowa to first volunteer, then lead the organization.
Joe’s problems came out of the blue when he was just 54 years old. He had a steady job in the bakery business that paid the bills. Then, congestive heart failure sidelined him, and the 2009 flooding in Gwinnett County took his Stone Mountain home. He and his wife, Runetta, moved to Buford. FEMA gave them a list of potential places where they might get help. “I’ve been working since I was five, and I never needed any help. Now I can’t work and I’m taking 12 medications a day. I got medicine one month and then skipped a month. We were sent to different places to find help, and the response was that they were out of funds, come back the first of the month. We’d come back, and the story would be the same. It’s hard when you have to ask for help after being able to take care of yourself,” Joe says. Then they found the North Gwinnett Co-Op. Joe is taking his medication and Runetta is working part-time in a pharmacy while going to school to get her Early Childhood Care degree. For both Virginia and Joe, the choices are a little easier now.
Both Virginia and her disabled son are diabetic and need help with prescription medicine.
The North Gwinnett Co-Operative bridges critical gaps for families in need during times of crisis by providing, in addition to prescription medicine assistance, bread and bakery goods weekly, groceries once every 60 days, financial assistance once a year per household, utilities assistance once a year, emergency assistance under extreme circumstances, clothing, tutoring, and Holiday Meal Bags to residents of Buford, Suwanee or Sugar Hill, along with a thrift store, Second Blessings. In 2012, the Co-Op served more than 16,800 people.
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AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION Regional AHA director Julie Ann Hamilton (right) explains the contents of the CPR Anytime kit during a Community Bank & Trust training session.
$7,500 Grant: Gainesville: CPR Anytime Kits – Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson and Banks Counties
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he numbers are alarming. Nearly a third of all Northeast Georgia deaths are caused by cardiovascular disease that results in cardiac arrest. And while nearly 80 percent of cardiac arrests that occur outside a hospital happen
at home with family members present, only slightly more than 27 percent of those victims received CPR, mainly because the people who witnessed the cardiac arrest simply didn’t know CPR. “Those statistics are really tragic, because we know that when CPR is provided by a bystander the cardiac arrest victim’s chances of survival double. It’s also a fact that
$7,500 Grant: NE Georgia Chapter: CPR Anytime Kits – Barrow, Clarke, Madison and Oglethorpe Counties
just about anyone can learn CPR, and knowing how to perform it in an emergency is a valuable – even critical – skill to have,” says American Heart Association (AHA) regional director Julie Ann Hamilton. Teach more people CPR and more people will survive cardiac arrest. That’s the goal of a personal training kit, “CPR Anytime for Family and Friends,” offered by the AHA. While the thought of learning something as vital as CPR might be intimidating, the kit is a user-friendly way to learn the basics. Packed in the kit are an inflatable Manikin (Mini Anne™) whose chest registers CPR compressions done correctly with a “click” sound, a video that teaches basic
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“While CPR Anytime training won’t certify you in CPR, it will teach you the basics that will prepare you to help others in an emergency.” One group training was held at Community Bank & Trust in Gainesville as part of the Heart Walk kickoff. As chair of the 2013 Hall County Heart Walk, bank senior commercial lender Kurt Hansen was very aware of the importance of CPR training, but that conviction was reinforced just a week after the bank’s 22 employees were trained. “We had a customer come into the bank showing symptoms of a heart attack. While CPR wasn’t necessary that day, everyone in the bank felt like they could have handled the situation if called upon. In a business where customers regularly visit our office, Hamilton helps Community Bank & Trust senior commercial lender Kurt Hansen master effective CPR compressions while co-worker Carol Shirley awaits her turn with the inflatable Manikin.
that’s a pretty important skill to have on hand,” Kurt says. At least one bank employee took the CPR Anytime kit home
CPR skills in a step-by-step format, and a
“While CPR Anytime training won’t
to share with her eight-year-old son. “With
handy reference booklet. Intended for use
certify you in CPR, it will teach you the
all of the instances of cardiac arrest we’ve
by individuals or small groups, the kit walks
basics that will prepare you to help others in
seen at schools and school events in the
users through how they can effectively
an emergency. Some CPR is better than no
past few years, that’s an extremely vital skill
administer CPR, and can be used by an AHA
CPR, and it can keep a cardiac arrest patient
for him to have,” Kurt notes.
instructor or as self-training.
going until emergency medical professionals arrive. Our goal in the AHA Greater
“We had a customer come into the bank showing symptoms of a heart attack. While CPR wasn’t necessary that day, everyone in the bank felt like they could have handled the situation if called upon.”
Southeast Affiliate is to train 2.27 million people in CPR this year, and we couldn’t do it without the support of corporate sponsorships and grants, like the grants we received from Jackson EMC,” says Julie Ann. CPR Anytime kits can be requested by
The American Heart Association is the nation’s oldest, largest voluntary organization devoted to fighting cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Founded by six cardiologists in 1924,
offices, civic organizations and community
the AHA now includes more than 22.5 million
groups. Each kit trains an average of four
volunteers and supporters working tirelessly
people and is reusable. Recipients are
to eliminate these diseases. The AHA funds
encouraged to take the reusable kits home
innovative research, fights for stronger public
so that family members can benefit from the training.
health policies and provides lifesaving tools and information to save and improve lives.
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ALVIN HOOFNER Alvin Hoofner, with granddaughter Chloe and wife Barbara, has fully recovered from a diabetic ulcer that could have cost him his foot, thanks to his new lift chair.
$550 Grant: Lift Chair
Alvin found three reasons to keep going – his granddaughters, Anniebell, Chloe, and Amberlyn – reasons that bring a smile to his face and twinkle to his eyes.
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He had been having difficulty getting to his feet, and devised a arnesville resident Alvin Hoofner grew up in Dacula.
method of scooting himself forward in his recliner using his heels
He can recall what life was like at his family’s rural
to provide leverage. The result was pressure ulcers that wouldn’t heal
home before power lines brought electricity, lights and
from scooting and a nasty diabetic ulcer on his heel from pulling
running water. After attending Dacula High School, he became a
himself to his feet. The ulcer became infected and the infection
homebuilder and cabinetmaker, staying in his hometown.
spread to the bone. Diabetic ulcers, which are difficult to cure, can
The Internet brought him and wife Barbara together after she moved from New Jersey to Georgia in 2005. Then, hereditary diabetes caught up with him, throwing roadblocks in his way, creating life-threatening health issues and testing his will to live. Alvin and Barbara have for six years planned their lives around
result in amputated limbs, and his method of getting to his feet wasn’t giving Alvin’s foot a chance to heal. With both Alvin and Barbara disabled, there were no funds in their limited budget to purchase the lift chair that his doctor recommended to help him to stand. He and Barbara applied to the
the three times a week dialysis that his end stage renal disease
Jackson EMC Foundation for a grant. There was one serious drawback
demands. To stay alive, he must be transported by ambulance to the
– he was extremely attached to the recliner that the lift chair would
dialysis center and sit still with legs elevated for a four-hour dialysis
replace. “I have cuddled my grandbabies in that recliner from the
session. Along the way, he’s had to deal with fistulas (joining an
time they were born. It was really hard to give it up,” Alvin declares.
artery to a vein under the skin to make a larger access point), failing
The new lift chair has won him over. It’s pretty handy for
access points, life-threatening blood clots in his legs and peritoneal
cuddling grandbabies – and now great-grandbabies – but in addition
dialysis. It’s been hard.
it has eliminated the need to put pressure on his heel. His doctor
“When he found out about his kidneys, he was really angry and
has pronounced the diabetic ulcer that could have cost him his foot
depressed. He wanted to give up, but I wouldn’t give up on him,”
completely cured. “It’s a blessing,” he says of his chair, “and I thank
says Barbara.
the Jackson EMC Foundation for making it possible.”
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JULIE BRIGHT Lack of mobility was no laughing matter for Julie Bright. A wheelchair lift allowed her to regain her independence and begin pursuing activities that had been put on hold.
$2,882 Grant: Wheelchair Lift
“I slowly went from limping to falling and having to use a cane. I got a wheelchair, but I put it away and kept walking for as long as I could,” she explains. Falls resulted in rotator cuff injuries and
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surgery, making it painful to keep using her walker. Finally, she gave ulie Bright is laughing, recalling the time when she couldn’t
in to the wheelchair. While her independence had gone away as
get out of the shower. “When I was sitting there, it wasn’t
well, her sense of humor and positive outlook remained.
funny; but I told myself that in the future when I talked about it I would laugh,” she says, doing just that.
It’s unusual to find someone laughing about Multiple Sclerosis,
“One of the hardest things I’ve had to learn is to ask for help. It’s difficult when you’ve been able to go when you needed to, without having to ask someone to take you and have your life
but she is and she makes it feel like the most natural thing in
revolve around their schedule,” she says. She purchased a pre-owned
the world. “You have to keep your sense of humor. After I was
van. Then it took her a year to put together the financing for hand
diagnosed, my mother asked me when I was going to ask, ‘Why
controls. That achieved, she applied to the Jackson EMC Foundation
me?’ My answer to her was ‘Why not me?’ You don’t get to choose
for a wheelchair lift that would allow her to guide her chair up onto
whether you’re going to have something like this,” Julie recalls.
a platform, step off and have the lift load the folded chair into the
A native of Miami, Julie moved to Georgia with her family at age 17. Though she moved away when she married, she soon found herself back in the state, working as an office manager for
back of her van. She still has to carefully walk down the side of the van to the driver’s door. “I actually have my freedom back – I’m no longer a prisoner in
an appraisal company, Georgia State University and SmithKline
my house. I can take myself to doctor’s appointments, go to the
Beecham in Atlanta. “I was going along, living my life, moving up,”
mall, travel to visit friends and family, and meet my mother for a
she recalls.
movie,” she exclaims.
Then she began to notice small things – a pen slipping out of her
Her next goal is to return to online studies she was pursuing
hand, her ankles bumping when she walked. While being treated for
before the surgeries interfered, perhaps to get a degree in criminal
a bout of optic neuritis, her doctor mentioned the words Multiple
justice. But the main thing will just be to achieve the goal – she’s
Sclerosis. She was officially diagnosed in 1991. Since then, her sister
already mastered one.
has been diagnosed with MS as well. jackson emc foundation
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UNITED WAY OF NORTHEAST GEORGIA Members of the St. Mary’s Bundles of Joy support group – (l-r) Andrea Sedgely and Ronnie, Nicole Broome and Judah, Kristen Copes and Mia, Michele Worley and Ryan, Melissa Adair and Charlotte June – all received a Welcome Baby box with the Critical Years, Critical Needs guide and baby’s first board book.
$14,691 Grant: Success by 6 program
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ow many parents have said they wish their newborn had come with an instruction manual? Parents of babies born at Athens Regional Medical Center and St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens are actually getting something
similar.
“Becoming a new parent can be a frightening time, with many unknowns. We know that 90 percent of a child’s brain develops in the first five years of life. We feel strongly that parents need a resource to not only effectively care for their
“Becoming a new parent can be a frightening time, with many unknowns. We know that 90 percent of a child’s brain develops in the first five years of life.”
young child during those critical years, but also could use a jump-start in positive parenting habits, like reading to their child,” explains Jeanine Russell, Success by 6 coordinator. Through Success by 6, an easy-to-use parenting guide, Critical Years, Critical Needs, and baby’s first board book are placed in a Welcome Baby box each new mother receives at discharge from the hospital. The hospitals are distributing an average of 350 boxes a month – up to 5,000 a year. The guide, printed in both English and Spanish, is broken into stages of the child’s development – your child at birth, at two months, at four-six months, etc. – covering everything from bathing and sleeping to safety and nurturing in easy-
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to-digest chunks. The inside cover provides
St. Mary’s lactation consultant Laura
“During our support sessions, I lay the
contact information for resources the new
Crowe is a Success by 6 advocate. She
program materials out for the mothers to see
parents may need.
conducts the hospital’s Bundles of Joy
and refer to. When we’re discussing their
support group, which offers mothers a
babies’ development or issues they’re facing,
parents with excellent newborn support,
chance to learn from each other, weigh
I refer back to the Critical Years, Critical
the Critical Years, Critical Needs guide
their babies before and after breastfeeding,
Needs materials. My own little girl (now
goes beyond the newborn years. The guide
and monitor the baby’s advancement from
four years old) started out on it,” Laura says.
addresses crucial developmental needs and
week to week.
“While our local hospitals provide new
All the Bundles of Joy mothers say
desirable childcare practices from birth
they have made use of the parenting guide
to age six. It uses up-to-date research to
and read to their babies. Andrea Sedgley,
identify and provide critical information to busy parents, removing the temptation to rely on sometimes misguided intuition or previous experience,” explains Jeanine. The board book that comes with the parenting guide is designed to start new parents off reading to their baby, a habit which will promote reading skills in their child and
“While our local hospitals provide new parents with excellent newborn support, the Critical Years, Critical Needs guide goes beyond the newborn years.”
ready them for Kindergarten.
holding baby Ronnie, says her husband posted reminders on their whiteboard, and Meghan Manning, with baby Jonas, says the guide has provided lots of helpful hints. Melissa Adair, with a smiling baby Charlotte, says her three-and-a-half-yearold son asks to read “Charlotte’s book.” “The guide can answer a new parent’s questions and give them peace of mind as they’re watching their baby develop. It’s just a great resource,” Laura declares.
The United Way of Northeast Georgia currently supports 29 human service agencies in an eight county area that includes: Barrow, Clarke, Franklin, Jackson, Madison, Morgan, Oglethorpe and Oconee. The agency’s Success by 6™ program is devoted to the goal that all children enter Kindergarten prepared to succeed. The program has five separate projects: Critical Years, Critical Needs, Kindergarten Readiness, Wee Read, Family Resource Fair, and Preschool Project.
“The guide can answer a new parent’s questions and give them peace of mind as they’re watching their baby develop. It’s just a great resource.” St. Mary’s lactation consultant Laura Crowe (right) explains to Success by 6 coordinator Jeanine Russell how she uses program materials in Bundles of Joy support sessions to help with development or care issues. jackson emc foundation
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GEORGIA MOUNTAIN FOOD BANK
Georgia Mountain Food Bank volunteers packed out boxes and coolers each weekday for 10 weeks to ensure that children at risk of going hungry while school was out had food.
$10,000 Grant: Summer Lunch Bag Program
While working for the Community Foundation of Northeast Georgia, Kay watched the beginnings of what was then called the Community Food Pantry. “I visited the Atlanta Community Food Bank (ACFB), which was quite an inspiration. Since opening at the end of 2008, the number of GMFB supporters has multiplied many
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times. I have to tell you it’s such an honor to be the facilitator of the t has all the hallmarks of a military campaign – strategy, valor, leadership and resourcefulness. For 10 weeks each summer, teams of volunteers gather at the Georgia Mountain Food Bank
money that’s donated for us to do this work.” Since 2009, the GMFB has organized a privately funded Summer Lunch Bag Program. This summer the program provided 16,034
(GMFB) in Gainesville to mount a special fight with an unseen
breakfast and lunch meals, along with an equal number of snacks,
enemy – hunger.
to four Hall County and four Lumpkin County sites.
“In Gainesville City, Hall County and Lumpkin County Schools,
The plan of attack involved a food service permit and
the number of children qualified to receive free or reduced meals
preapproved menus that followed USDA guidelines on what and
has hovered at about 60 percent for the last four years. During the
how much could be served and at what temperature. The troops
summer months these children are at high risk of going hungry
were composed of 19 groups of 25 volunteers each, organized into
without the meals provided at school. These families are already
morning and afternoon shifts, who donated more than 3,000 hours
struggling and the challenge to provide enough food during summer
to the program. At the front, Kay led the way. Behind her were eight
months certainly strains them even more,” explains GMFB executive
corporate donors and the Jackson EMC Foundation.
director Kay Blackstock.
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Every weekday at 7 a.m., first-tier morning volunteers arrived to breakdown bulk food supplies into individual servings – making sandwiches, bagging carrot sticks, etc. When the second-tier morning volunteers arrived, they staged the day’s supplies and in assembly line fashion packed out boxes and coolers. An individual worked as a “counter” to ensure that the amount needed by each site was packed.
“The children participating in these vital programs are some of the most at-risk during the summer months for both obesity and childhood food insecurity. We know that they are facing many roadblocks to success, and during the summer months, these programs provide the children with the tools they need to retain knowledge”
Each afternoon another shift would take over to glean supplies for the following day, wash and sanitize that day’s coolers, pull juice and milk and place them, along with the coolers and ice packs, in the freezer for the next morning. The ice packs, along with the frozen juice and milk, would ensure that cold food would arrive at the correct serving temperature. The next morning, it all began again. “The children participating in these vital programs are some of the most at-risk during the summer months for both obesity and childhood food insecurity. We know that they are facing many roadblocks to success, and during the summer months, these programs provide the children with the tools they need to retain knowledge and keep them healthy and strong until school begins again in August. We’ve given them a place at the table,” Kay “During the summer months, these programs provide the children with the tools they need to retain knowledge and keep them healthy and strong until school begins again in August. We’ve given them a place at the table,” says GMFB executive director Kay Blackstock.
observes. For another summer, the battle has been won.
The Georgia Mountain Food Bank (GMFB), an affiliate of the Atlanta Community Food Bank (ACFB), collects surplus food and grocery products for distribution to nonprofit partner agencies serving the hungry in the Georgia Mountain region. Located in Gainesville, GMFB collaborates with ACFB to provide food to nonprofits with hunger relief programs in Dawson, Forsyth, Hall, Lumpkin and Union counties. These programs provide direct assistance to families and individuals who are in need of food assistance due to job loss or low income. For more information about the Georgia Mountain Food Bank, visit: www.gamountainfoodbank.org.
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BANKS COUNTY SENIOR CENTER Awaiting the truck that will start their day of packaging and delivering food to Banks County senior citizens, (l-r) Ruth Vaughn, Brenda Roberts, Judy Covington, Susan Clay and senior center director Sheila Ledford, take a moment before springing into action.
$7,500 Grant: Meals on Wheels Program
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t’s 8:00 in the morning at the Banks County Senior Center in Homer, and five ladies are clustered around one
of the rows of folding tables that will later be crowded with seniors who come for activities like chair exercise, bingo, Wii™ games, crafts, word puzzles and blood pressure checks. It’s quiet now; they’re drinking coffee and waiting. Three are part-time employees of Legacy Link, a service of the local Area Agency on
issues that have popped up today. In the
They pick up the food for their route
center’s kitchen, bricks are warming in the
and head out to the homes of about
oven, and ice is chilling in the freezer.
30 senior and disabled citizens who are
At 8:30, a truck from Valley Foods in
unable to prepare food for themselves.
Cornelia pulls up out front and the group
It’s a routine repeated each weekday. On
springs into action. Trays of hot food are
Mondays, the workload is heavier; not only
transferred from the truck to a hot table
do they deliver the hot meals, but also a
in the kitchen. The Legacy Link workers
week’s worth of frozen meals to 30 other
don hairnets and plastic aprons, and form
clients who are able to prepare them.
an assembly line to fill and seal individual
For 25 years, the Banks County Senior
divided trays with today’s hot meal – turkey
Center has been feeding senior citizens and
pot pie, rice and spinach. Sealed trays will
those who cannot leave their homes due to
be parceled out into bags with the heated
a disability through their Meals on Wheels
bricks to keep them warm, coolers with
program. In 2012, the center served 14,884
ice will be packed with juice and milk, and
meals to 68 individuals. “The services
shopping bags filled with fresh fruit and
we provide are vital to helping seniors
bread, all according to the delivery route of
stay in their homes and retain a sense of
the volunteers who have begun to arrive.
independence and dignity. We’re not just
Aging that provides community service employment opportunities to seniors, one is a Banks County employee and the fifth is senior center director Sheila Ledford, who is already fielding calls and handling the
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At 8:30, a truck from Valley Foods in Cornelia pulls up out front and the group springs into action. Trays of hot food are transferred from the truck to a hot table in the kitchen.
providing nutrition through the Meals on
You talk to them about how they’re feeling
close call with an aneurysm a few years ago,
Wheels program. Our volunteers provide
that day. You tell them you love them – it’s
but made a miraculous recovery. She’s frail,
safety checks and support. They monitor
amazing what those words mean to them.”
but manages to care for Herbert, who is
the client’s condition and use of the meals. If there is a concern, then we can make a referral to the Area Agency on Aging for a nurse to make a follow up visit,” notes Sheila. For the volunteers, it’s a labor of love; but even though the Legacy Link employees are paid, it’s obvious they truly care about the people they’re serving. Legacy Link staffer Judy Covington also volunteers for Meals on Wheels deliveries, and stresses that the program is about more than food. “I grew up in Banks County, and many of the folks we serve knew me as
hearing impaired. They’re happy to get the
“I grew up in Banks County, and many of the folks we serve knew me as a child. They need the food, but they also need the social contact – you may be the only person they see that day. You ask about their children and their grandchildren.”
a child. They need the food, but they also
their children and their grandchildren.
She asks about their children, how they’re getting along and gives each a hug and kiss as she heads out the door to make her next delivery of food and friendship.
The Banks County Senior Center is located at 700 Thompson Street in Homer. In addition to the Meals on Wheels program, a hot lunch is provided at the center each weekday, along with social and physical activities for the
need the social contact – you may be the only person they see that day. You ask about
food, but even happier to have Judy visit.
One of Judy’s stops is the home of Ellie Mae and Roy Herbert. Miss Ellie Mae had a
area’s senior citizens and services such as blood pressure checks.
On one of her stops, Judy Covington brings a hot lunch to Ellie Mae and Roy Herbert, then takes time to chat about their day and family. “You tell them you love them – it’s amazing what those words mean to them,” she says.
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YMCA OF GEORGIA’S PIEDMONT, BRAD AKINS BRANCH Swamped by the kids she loves, YMCA of Georgia’s Piedmont Brad Akins Branch program director Tracey Milush has created a PrYme Tyme afterschool program that engages the children and allows them to select activities that interest them.
$10,000 Grant: PrYme Tyme Afterschool Program
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racey Milush is surrounded by kids. All ages. Some are hopping around, some are chattering, some are finishing up snacks, some are working on craft projects. All have happy faces. And it’s obvious this is where Tracey
wants to be. As program director for Brad Akins Branch of the YMCA of Georgia’s Piedmont in Winder, she’s responsible for the PrYme Tyme afterschool program. “I always refer to this as a mission, rather than a job. It’s like a family here. In fact, my own children have grown up here from the time my daughter was 4 and my son six and a half. You have to love kids. If I’m not here, then I’m doing scouting,” says the nearly 10-year YMCA veteran. Across America, too many young people go home after school, unsupervised until their parents get home from work. Afterschool programs provide a safe environment with adult-supervised activities. Research shows that students who participate in these programs do better academically and are involved in fewer instances of juvenile crime and substance abuse. For parents, it provides peace of mind. The Brad Akins Branch PrYme Tyme afterschool program served 100 children in the 2012-2013 school year, and has started with 87 at the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year. About 75 percent of the participants are considered at-risk children. Many of the single parents and foster families need help to afford the $45 per week program fee.
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“At the Y, we do a lot with a little. What these kids remember when they go home is that someone listened to them, someone was nice to them, someone asked about their day. My reward is seeing them grow up.”
Leader Program. PrYme Tyme members ages 13-17 get their homework done when they first arrive, then help with snacks and cleanup and participate in Centers activities by helping with crafts and activities. While they’re not assigned to specific children, the Leaders build relationships with the children and provide role models for them. Leaders who are 18 years old can serve as Once a PrYme Tyme afterschool participant, Marquis Mitchell, watching PrYme Tymer Jared Stimpson demonstrate his basketball technique, progressed through the Leader Program to become a summer program counselor and is now a YMCA staff member.
counselors for the YMCA summer program. Some, like Marquis Mitchell, go on to work as YMCA employees. “At the Y, we do a lot with a little. What
“Each day, our traditional afterschool
she explains. Her staff contribute ideas for
these kids remember when they go home
program provides devotionals, snacks,
“Centers” activities, many from their own
is that someone listened to them, someone
sports, games, arts, homework help and
personal interests and hobbies.
was nice to them, someone asked about
tutoring assistance. On Tuesdays and
More than activities, the program is
their day. My reward is seeing them grow
Thursdays, we have the ‘Fit Kids’ program,
about development. Along the way, PrYme
up, come out of their shells and mature,”
taught by a certified aerobics instructor, to
Tyme kids learn about positive character
Tracey says, smiling.
show them that being healthy and fit can be
traits, such as respecting each other,
fun too,” Tracey says.
safety and health issues. They also develop
Always looking for ways to engage the kids in YMCA activities, Tracey brought
relationships with counselors who are responsible, caring adults. Ten-year-old Jared Stimpson started at
The YMCA of Georgia’s Piedmont, whose
another YMCA. “Before, we had blocks of
“the Y” when he was in first grade and is
mission is to put Christian principles into
time where we offered the kids an activity
a fan. “Mostly I get to hang out with my
practice through programs that build healthy
they had to participate in and then they
friends and I get to do my homework. I
spirit, mind and body for all, offers youth
rotated on to the next activity. If they
like “Centers,” because I get to pick and
weren’t really interested in that activity,
I mostly like outside activities,” he says,
they just wouldn’t participate. ‘Centers’
grinning. “He’d be my secretary if I’d let
organizes blocks of activities in a time
him. He’s always smiling and upbeat. He
period, so the kids can decide what activity
gets what we’re about,” Tracey adds.
home the idea of “Centers” time from
they want to be part of. There’s a lot more participation and interaction that way,”
Leadership skills, and even future YMCA staff members, are developed through the
programs that include the PrYme Tyme Afterschool Program, a summer day camp program, Dazzle Days day care on Barrow County School holidays, and Parents Night Out from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on the first and third Friday of each month.
jackson emc foundation
16
JACKSON EMC FOUNDATION, INC. STATEMENTS OF ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEARS ENDED MAY 31
2013
2012
Support Contributions Interest
$1,039,204 $1,045,585 314
1,085
1,039,518
1,046,670
962,800
947,118
70,508
90,408
-
10
Program Service Expenses Community Assistance Family and Individual Assistance Other Increase in Unrestricted Net Assets Unrestricted Net Assets, Beginning Unrestricted Net Assets, Ending
17
jackson emc foundation
1,033,308 1,037,536 6,210
9,134
277,795 268,661 $284,005
$277,795
JACKSON EMC FOUNDATION, INC. SCHEDULE OF COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE FOR THE YEAR ENDED MAY 31, 2013
Action Ministries, Inc. - Athens $ 7,500 Action Ministries, Inc. - Gainsville 11,000 American Heart Association - Hall County
7,500
American Heart Association - Northeast Georgia Chapter
7,500
American Red Cross - East Georgia Chapter 10,000 American Red Cross - Northeast Georgia Chapter
3,000
Area Committee to Improve Opportunities
5,700
Ark of Jackson County, Inc. 10,000 The Ark United Ministry Outreach Center
5,000
Athens Community Council on Aging
5,000
Athens Nurses Clinic
3,556
Atlanta Mission
8,000
Boys & Girls Club of Hall County 15,000 Boys & Girls Clubs of Jackson County 15,000 Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta 15,000 Boys & Girls Clubs of Winder-Barrow 15,000 Camp Kudzu
5,000
Casa de Amistad
2,000
Enotah Court Appointed Special Advocates
1,200
Center Point
6,500
Computers for Youth - Atlanta 15,000 Challenged Child & Friends, Inc. 15,000 Charity Baptist Church Food Bank
2,500
ChildKind, Inc.
2,500
Children First, Inc.
5,000
Children’s Center for Hope & Healing 15,000 Citizen Advocacy Athens - Clarke, Inc.
3,500
Cooperative Ministry - Lawrenceville 15,000 Cooperative Ministry - Norcross 10,000 Cooperative Ministry - North Gwinnett 15,000 Cross Pointe Food Pantry
2,500
Diamond in the Rough Youth Development Program
2,500
Eagle Ranch, Inc.
9,000
Exodus Outreach, Inc. 15,000 Extra Special People, Inc. 10,000 Families of Children Under Stress
5,000
Family Promise of Gwinnett County, Inc. 10,000 Food Bank of Northeast Georgia, Inc. 15,000 Balance-Carried Forward
$ 325,956
jackson emc foundation
18
JACKSON EMC FOUNDATION, INC. SCHEDULE OF COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE FOR THE YEAR ENDED MAY 31, 2013
Balance-Brought Forward $ 325,956 For Her Glory Fund
7,500
Fragile Kids Foundation 15,000 Gainesville State College Foundation 15,000 Gainesville - Hall County Alliance for Literacy 10,000 Gainesville - Hall Community Food Pantry
2,500
Gateway House 15,000 Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, Inc. 10,000 Georgia Mountain Food Bank 10,000 Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta
5,000
Good News Clinics 15,000 Good Samaritan Health Center of Gwinnett 14,143 Good Samaritan Ministries
7,500
Guest House, Inc.
5,500
Gwinnett Children’s Shelter, Inc. 15,000 Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center 10,000 Gwinnett Housing Resource Partnership, Inc. 15,000 Gwinnett Sexual Assault Center 15,000 Gwinnett Student Leadership Team 15,000 Habitat for Humanity of Hall County
8,000
Habitat for Humanity of Jackson County
8,000
Healing Place of Athens
5,000
Hebron Community Health Center 15,000 Hi-Hope Service Center 15,000 Hope Haven of Northeast Georgia 10,000 Hope Resource Center
5,000
Junior Achievement of Georgia - Gainesville 10,200 L.A.M.P. Ministries, Inc.
7,500
Lindsay’s Legacy Mentoring 15,000 Madison County Chamber of Commerce
3,000
Meet the Need Ministry, Inc. 10,000 Mercy Health Center 15,000 My Sister’s Place 12,500 Northeast Georgia Cancer Care, Inc.
7,500
Newtown Florist Club
5,000
NOA’s Ark, Inc.
5,000
Nuci’s Space
4,000
Balance-Carried Forward
19
jackson emc foundation
$ 688,799
JACKSON EMC FOUNDATION, INC. SCHEDULE OF COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE FOR THE YEAR ENDED MAY 31, 2013
Balance-Brought Forward $ 688,799 Our Neighbor, Inc.
9,600
Peace Place
15,000
Place of Seven Springs
5,500
Prevent Child Abuse Athens
4,000
Project Safe, Inc.
5,000
Quinlan Arts, Inc.
5,000
Rainbow Children’s Home, Inc.
3,000
Rainbow Village, Inc.
15,000
Reins of Life, Inc.
1,000
Rock Goodbye Angel, Inc.
5,000
Rotary Club of Gainesville
5,000
Salvation Army of Athens
12,000
Salvation Army of Gainesville
12,000
Salvation Army of Lawrenceville
15,000
Senior Center - Banks County
7,500
Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse
5,000
Spectrum Autism Support Group
10,000
Spirit of Joy Christian Church
2,500
St. Vincent de Paul Society - Gainesville
10,000
St. Vincent de Paul Society - Duluth
10,000
StepByStep Recovery, Inc.
9,750
Success by 6 of United Way of Northeast Georgia
14,691
Teen Pregnancy Prevention, Inc.
5,000
Three Dimensional Life
7,500
Tiny Stitches, Inc.
10,000
Tree House, Inc.
15,000
United Methodist Children’s Home of North Georgia
12,000
Urban Ministry - Gainesville First United Methodist Church
3,000
View Point Health
14,960
YMCA of Winder Barrow
10,000
YMCA of Athens
10,000
YWCO of Athens
5,000
$ 962,800
jackson emc foundation
20
2013 Jackson EMC Foundation Annual Report
Jackson EMC Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 38 • Jefferson, GA 30549