By Savannah Chandler
MONROE, Ga. | Walton EMC is lighting up learning in K-12 classrooms within its 10-county service area. Cooperative representatives delivered checks totaling more than $241,500 to public and private school educators whose innovative ideas for creative learning projects were selected to receive a grant.
From left are Jennifer Broun, Walton EMC;, Jocelyn Hickson, recipient; and David Baker, assistant principal at Annistown Elementary School.
This is the seventh year the co-op’s School EmPOWERment Grant program has provided financial support to provide programs and materials to enhance academic, arts and athletics programming at area schools. The 2023 grants were awarded for 46 different projects at 34 schools. The average size of grants was $5,252.
New recipients plan to use their grants to enhance education with everything from books to bots to barns, said Walton EMC’s Jennifer Broun, who oversees the School EmPOWERment program.
“Many of these instructional projects wouldn’t happen without these grants because local systems don’t have funds for them in their regular operating budgets,” she said.
Money for the grants comes from capital credit refunds that go unclaimed by former co-op customer-owners. After Walton EMC exhausts all efforts to find the rightful owners of the refunds, Georgia law allows the money to be used for community benefit.
This year’s grants bring the all-time total awarded to more than $2.3 million.
“After providing reliable and reasonably-priced electric power, serving our community is next on the list,” said Walton EMC COO Ron Marshall. “Our School EmPOWERment Grant program is a perfect example of the cooperative principle ‘concern for community.’”
Grants to Gwinnett schools include:
- Annistown Elementary School, Jocerlyn Hickson, Inchy the Bookworm Book Vending Machine, $9,000;
- Craig Elementary School, Chris Locke, Nik-Cole Austin, STEPS program, $9,721;
- Grace Snell Middle School, Kimberly Arenas, Cooking Club, $5,000;
- Gwin Oaks Elementary School, Sharon Amolo, Are You Up for the Challenge?, $5,793;
- Harbins Elementary School, Joel Frey, Tigers Roar and Tigers Soar, $5,500;
- Pharr Elementary School, Sarah Powell, Book Vending Machine Replenishment, $2,500;
- R.D. Head Elementary School,Jessica Gaskin, Promoting Kindness Through Literacy, $576; Shann Griffith and Joe Gusmerotti, REC TREK!, $3,617;
- Shiloh Elementary School, Frances Bishop, Reading and Imagination through Computer Science, $5,000;
- Trickum Middle School, Kathryn Mullen, Fun with Circuits and Magnets, $2,738; and Jennifer Killian, Graphic Drawing Tablets, $1,675; and
- Trip Elementary School, Leslie Grubbs, We Want a Ticket to the Hollywood of the South!, $1,300.
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