Gwinnett is actively recruiting volunteers for its annual Gwinnett Great Days of Service volunteer initiative.
For three days, the weekend of October 21-23, thousands of individuals, corporations, churches, schools and civic organizations will join in a weekend of community service to address some of the County’s most critical needs.
Volunteers can choose service projects based on location, agency or activity. Opportunities range from stocking shelter pantries to building wheelchair ramps to cleaning up nature trails and streams.
Community Services Collaboration Manager Muriam Nafees says: “There are so many different types of projects, so you can choose one that fits your skills and interests. Whether you are part of an organization in need of volunteers, a company or group with a passion to create a positive impact or an individual with a desire to change your community, we have a place for you.”
Launched in 2000 by the Gwinnett Coalition, Gwinnett Great Days of Service has become one of the largest volunteer days of service in the United States.
This year, the Coalition has passed the torch to Gwinnett County, empowering Volunteer Gwinnett to lead the charge through Gwinnett Serves, a new initiative that helps local nonprofits and community partners with volunteer recruitment. For more information and to register for an event, visit VolunteerGwinnett.net.
$4 million grant will expand local mental health care
View Point Health of Lawrenceville has been awarded a four-year, $4 million Certified Community Behavioral Health Center (CCBHC) Planning, Development, and Implementation grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Jennifer Hibbard, View Point Health CEO, says: “We are thrilled to be able to expand our already robust programs to offer more comprehensive services which focus on the whole individual. This grant is the result of a year-long effort by our team to move towards the CCBHC model.”
View Point Health, one of 22 Community Service Boards in Georgia, is a comprehensive behavioral health provider in Gwinnett, Rockdale and Newton counties providing recovery-focused care to the most in need population since 1994. View Point Health is part of a statewide behavioral health safety-net that ensures everyone in Georgia can get the help they need, in their community, regardless of their ability to pay. With this new funding, View Point Health is able to expand its already robust services to serve as a comprehensive provider including mental health, substance use treatment and health care services to our community.
Peachtree Corners is finalist for IEEE Smart Cities award
Peachtree Corners has been named by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers as a Smart Cities finalist. The organization brings together IEEE’s broad array of technical societies and organizations to advance the state of the art for smart city technologies and to set the global standard. A link to the official awards can be found at https://smartcities.ieee.org/ieee-smart-cities-contest-2022/results.
Peachtree Corners was recognized for its unique approach to city government and the proactive integration of technology into its short and long-term planning. This, in addition to the strategic vision, economic development factors, real-world problems solved, impact on various federal government agencies or regulators, the city’s alignment with United Nations Sustainability Goals, and benefits for citizens to the architecture of technologies deployed, were all considered during the evaluation.
As an incubator, the Curiosity Lab acts as a community for these companies and technology developers to network and collaborate on projects that may not have been possible before.
EMC Foundation grants $87,000 to Gwinnett nonprofits
The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total of $102,000 in grants for organizations during its September meeting, including $87,000 to organizations serving Gwinnett County. They include:
- $15,000 to Good Samaritan Health Centers of Gwinnett, Inc., in Norcross, for technology needs to operate its two full-service primary medical and dental care clinics.
- $15,000 to Hebron Community Health Center, Inc., in Lawrenceville, a nonprofit providing low-income, uninsured Gwinnett residents with medical and dental care, to fund the Next Step Project, which provides diagnostic referrals and testing and prescription medication and supplies.
- $15,000 to Hope Clinic, Inc., in Gwinnett County, for its mental health services program to uninsured patients in Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Franklin, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson and Madison counties.
- $15,000 to Junior Achievement of Georgia, Inc., for program materials and supplies for the JA Biztown and JA Finance Park interactive programs that teach the concepts of financial literacy, business, entrepreneurship and career readiness to middle school students in Gwinnett County.
- $15,000 to Neighborhood Cooperative Ministry, Inc., in Norcross, for its Emergency Rental Assistance Program, which provides matching funds to assist clients with one month’s housing costs.
- $12,000 to Northeast Georgia Care, Inc. (dba Choices Pregnancy Center), in Gainesville, for its My Baby Counts program, which provides educational materials on parenting skills to pregnant women and new parents in Barrow, Clarke, Gwinnett, Hall and Jackson counties.
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