IMPACTING YOUTH Our Leaders of Tomorrow

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F or 11 years, the Jackson EMC Foundation has provided funding for a multitude of community-based programs throughout the 10 counties

served by Jackson EMC. Grants have gone to support food banks and community health clinics, educational initiatives and emergency shelters, and so much more.

We take pride in all the work the Jackson EMC Foundation has accomplished, but we’ll admit it: We are most proud of the impact the Foundation has had on youth.

As an electric cooperative, Jackson EMC provides power to more than 221,000 meters across northeast Georgia. As a community partner, the Jackson EMC Foundation empowers youth throughout the region.

The impact is possible thanks to Jackson EMC members who participate in Operation Round Up® by rounding up their monthly power bills to the next dollar, with the extra pennies set aside for charity. Jackson EMC Foundation’s volunteer board of directors meets monthly to study grant requests from hundreds of area organizations and distributes grants to projects that impact the most citizens. The Foundation routinely provides assistance to programs that aid and inspire area youth.

These youth are our future. They are future Jackson EMC members. They are future community and governmental leaders. They will be our teachers, doctors, homebuilders and public servants.Our world is in their hands, and by investing in them, we invest in our future.

This funding for youth has run the gamut—from providing for afterschool programs and

organizations for developmentally challenged children to purchasing library books for kids and funding programs that deliver youth from the influence of gangs and violence.

Whether aiding children in dire need, or inspiring youth to achieve their highest potential, the Jackson EMC Foundation Board believes its support for young people has been one of its greatest accomplishments.

In this Annual Report for 2016, we visit eight organizations that positively impact the youth of Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Franklin, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison and Oglethorpe counties. It is our honor and privilege to support them.

Sincerely,

Beauty P. Baldwin, Chair,

Jackson EMC Foundation

Chip Jakins,

President & CEO, Jackson EMC

FUNDING FOR THE FUTURE BY AIDING AND INSPIRING OUR YOUTH l e t t e r f r o m b e a u t y p. b a l d w i n & c h i p j a k i n s

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Special Olympics Coach Susan Mullis with an athlete.

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The same scene is played out every time children are summoned by a stranger to leave their home, whether it’s because a parent has been arrested, or they’ve been put in foster care, or their home has burned. For these displaced children, leaving everything they’re familiar with is a scary thing.

To ease the fear of the three kids out West, McMahon took them to a department store and let each child pack a book bag with daily necessities like a toothbrush,

body wash, underwear and a water bottle. Having their own bag, filled with their own belongings, gave the kids a sense of comfort in the midst of an uncomfortable situation.

When she returned to Georgia, McMahon shared the story with her husband, Eric, and her mother, Debbie Gori. The trio wondered how many other children suffer fear when suddenly summoned to leave behind all they know. They started brainstorming and, in 2011, Adventure Bags was born.

Today, Gori runs the nonprofit which, while based in Auburn, serves all counties in Jackson EMC territory—and throughout the state. The goal is simple: provide security and comfort to a child in crisis. Adventure Bags does this by supplying children with essential items so that, as they transition during a crisis, they have something that’s all their own.

“You have to put yourself in that child’s place,” says Gori. “Even if you’re being mistreated, you love your parents. To be

Adventure Bags President/CEO Debbie Gori is affectionately called “the Bag Lady.”

I n 2010, social worker Tracey McMahon took a plane to the West Coast to rescue three siblings from an unsafe situation. Their only possessions were the dirty clothes they wore, and they were fearful of leaving

with a stranger. McMahon was struck by the sadness.

ADVENTURE BAGS www.adventurebags.org

BASED IN Auburn

COUNTIES SERVEDAll counties served by Jackson EMC

GRANT$7,500

for comfort bags for displaced children

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ANNUAL REPORT 5

taken away from them is difficult. Adventure Bags makes it a little less difficult.”

Each book bag is stuffed with age-appropriate essentials such as toothbrush and paste, shampoo, body wash, underwear, comb or brush, baby bottles, wipes and a stuffed animal. Extras include a water bottle, flashlight, coloring book or journal, pen or pencil, small toy, sippy cup, or other age-appropriate items.

Organizations that request bags include sheriff’s and fire departments, departments of family and children services and other foster services, domestic violence shelters, and agencies that serve displaced children. Bags are available for children of all ages, infant to 18, according to Gori, who says almost 4,000 bags were distributed in 2015. The organization is on track to give out 6,000 bags in 2016.

Gori often hears back from organizations that use the bags. One agency shared the story of an angry young teenager who had been fighting, cursing and spitting. “He reached in his book bag, pulled out the journal and started writing,” says Gori, “and that calmed him down.”

Adventure Bags is operated out of a 12x32 utility building at Gori’s home in Auburn. The walls are lined with book bags and

bins filled with items to go in the book bags. The building is stuffed, but the requests for Adventure Bags are multiplying, leaving the organization in need of more space.

Gori, who doesn’t draw a salary for her service as president/CEO, says every penny donated to Adventure Bags goes to the mission. “We couldn’t do this without volunteers and donations,” she adds, expressing gratitude for Jackson EMC Foundation grant monies which are used to buy, fill and deliver bags.

In five years of filling bags for children, there were things Gori knew to expect, most notably: sadness when hearing the plights of displaced children, and satisfaction when learning how a stuffed book bag lightened the load. But there was one thing she didn’t expect.

“In Barrow County, they call me the Bag Lady,” she concludes. “I didn’t see that coming.”

Volunteers who pack their fair share of Adventure Bags mark the occasion with their handprint on the wall.

We couldn’t do this without volunteers and donations

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The goal of C.O.R.E. is to improve the lives of adolescents struggling with weight by promoting Confidence, Ownership, Responsibility and Exercise through a 12-week program of high intensity, high impact exercise and instruction on healthy eating and behavior modification. At the end of three months, C.O.R.E. participants find themselves stronger, more confident and more interested in fitness.

Based at the Sports Performance and Rehabilitation Center (SPARC) at Athens Orthopedic Clinic, C.O.R.E. exists through a collaboration that brings together Athens Regional Health System, the William B. Mulherin Foundation for Health and Wellness and the University of Georgia Obesity Initiative. All work together to address adolescent obesity, which affects

approximately 35 percent of the nation’s youth. The program targets adolescent Medicaid recipients at risk for chronic conditions related to obesity.

It’s essentially an oasis for kids who live in an exercise desert, according to Parris, C.O.R.E.’s director.

“These kids don’t have access to gyms and, by middle school, aren’t able to participate in school sports because of intense competition for few positions,” says Parris, noting that less attention to P.E. in school has led to many children failing to receive the moderate to vigorous physical activity necessary to stave off being overweight or obese.

C.O.R.E. participants learn a high intensity exercise regimen of body weight exercises they can perform without gym

C .O.R.E. traces its origins to conversations Ken Parris and Sherri Goggin had with Chris Jordan a few years back. After taking a boxing class from Chris at the University of Georgia, Ken introduced his

daughters to boxing training. They loved it—as did Sherri’s children, who also took classes. The three adults started kicking around ideas and, in 2015, C.O.R.E. was formed.

Coach Chris Jordan works out with C.O.R.E. participants at the punching bags.

BASED IN Athens

COUNTIES SERVEDBarrow, Clarke, Gwinnett, Jackson and Madison

GRANT$10,000

C.O.R.E. mulherinfoundation.com

to cover program costs for participants

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equipment. As they train, they benefit from lower BMI, more lean muscle development, higher metabolism rates, greater energy, improved sleep and better health overall. Youth who learn proper technique for body weight and resistance band workouts push themselves to higher levels of endurance.

“We teach them how to do a proper pushup and equip them with the tools and intrinsic motivation to exercise regularly at home,” says Parris.

The high intensity training features non-combative shadow boxing, a “cool” sport that piques their interest, according to Goggin, director of the Mulherin Foundation. “As their strength and endurance increase, the participants’ confidence and overall demeanor grows,” says Goggin.

Children who once struggled with depression begin to smile a lot as they live out one of the program’s mantras: “Train like a fighter. Live like a champion.”

“These are children who’ve been pushed to the margins and, here, they find a place where they can engage in fitness with people like them,” says Parris, noting that many C.O.R.E. participants go from being unable to do one proper sit-up to mastering 100 at a time. “They struggle to exercise the first few weeks, but around the seventh week, they begin working out at a higher level, and during the last four weeks, they convert excess fat to muscle at a rapid rate as their endurance and capability grow.”

Since C.O.R.E. began, 62 youth have completed the program, which includes healthy diet instruction offered to parents by

UGA registered dietitian nutritionists. Athens Regional pediatricians monitor the health of participants.

“In my experience, there are very few truly successful programs which address the chronic health issues associated with childhood obesity,” says Dr. Jon Udwadia, an Athens-based pediatrician who refers patients at risk for obesity-related disease. “In a very short time, C.O.R.E. has delivered meaningful change in the health of my patients.”

“Jon has seen many of these kids for years, and nothing reversed their BMI trend like this program,” says Parris. “When he saw the drop in fasting glucose levels of his patients who participated in C.O.R.E., he was excited.”

Seventeen research scientists from the UGA Obesity Initiative have been following C.O.R.E. participants since January to monitor their anthropometric, metabolic and behavioral changes.

“This research shows C.O.R.E. is making significant improvement in the health of participants,” says Parris. Researchers plan to submit their findings to the National Institutes of Health this fall.

A UGA student volunteer, Amanda helps train kids like Gabriel.High intensity training at C.O.R.E. helps young athletes build muscle — and confidence.

In a very short time, C.O.R.E. has delivered meaningful change in the

health of my patients

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“Kids get behind in the summer, and this program gives them a head start when they get back to school in the fall,” says Murray, a 33-year educator who retired from Buford High School as assistant principal in 2015. “During the school year, teachers don’t have much time for one-on-one instruction with students, but here we have time to break it down for the kids.”

Started in 2006, the summer program serves at-risk students in grades K-8. Classes are conducted in the church fellowship hall, and the kids eat lunch there, too. Funded by church members and through grants, like the one from the Jackson EMC Foundation, the program is free to participants.

“We target students considered at-risk due to home environment, social-economic status, or parents’ inability to pay for quality daycare or summer camp,” says the Rev. Kary Harris, founder and CEO of Exodus Outreach. “Our main focus is educational so that when the children go back to school, they are at or above their academic level. Before, some of our students would not have gone to the library to pick out a book; now, they see they can have fun along with education.”

The summer program includes healthy meals, field trips, guest speakers, and physical education. Students receive both remedial and enrichment activities. Daily lessons are based on Georgia Department of Education standards with a focus on

At Union Baptist Church in Buford, summer doesn’t mean “shut-down,” but, instead: “Let’s keep going!” That’s the mantra of certified teachers, like Linda Murray, who lead the Exodus Outreach Summer Fun

and Educational Program.

Twins Kylin and Kylia, 5, make the most of their break from school at the Exodus Outreach Summer Fun and Educational Program.

EXODUS OUTREACH www.unionbaptistchurchbuford.com/exodus- outreach-ministry

BASED IN Buford

COUNTIES SERVED Gwinnett and Hall

GRANT$15,000

for children’s summer educational program

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STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) learning, according to Lacrecia Smith, summer camp program director and curriculum developer.

Most impressive, Exodus Outreach employs certified teachers whose experience in the school classroom leads to success in the summer program. In the summer of 2016, the staff at Exodus included teachers with masters and specialist degrees and one working on a doctorate degree. A certified nutritionist serves as dietitian and invites students to help plan meals as a way of instilling healthy habits and lifestyles.

Smith has witnessed the education and experiences offered through the program spark change in children’s behavior. “We have one student who’s been coming here for three summers who had behavior issues his first year,” she says. “We’ve seen a positive change. Being exposed to activities rather than at home watching TV and playing video games has really benefited him both academically and socially.”

Since 85 percent of their church membership is living on a fixed income, Exodus Outreach at Union Baptist wouldn’t be able to operate the program without financial assistance, according to Smith, who says, “Every time we turn to Jackson EMC, they always come through.”

In addition to the Summer Fun and Educational Program, Exodus Outreach operates a food bank that distributes food to almost 5,000 people monthly and offers computer classes weekly to anyone in need of basic computer knowledge.

Kids get behind in the summer, and this program gives them a head start

when they get back to school

During the school year, teachers don’t have much time for one-on-one instruction with students, but

here we have time to break it down for the kids

Summer Program Director Lacrecia Smith helps Mariah and Miracle at the computer.

Brennan tackles summer studies at Exodus Outreach.

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Founded in 1998, the Georgia Children’s Chorus offers beginning, intermediate and advanced vocal training through three groups: a Prelude Choir for its youngest singers, an Intermezzo Choir for upper elementary and beginning middle school students, and the Concert Choir for advanced middle school and high school singers. The Ensemble is another advanced choir for its most vocally mature high school members who also participate in the Concert Choir. Singers are selected through an audition process and placed in a choir according to their singing ability and age.

The chorus practices weekly during the school year. Music students at UGA assist with training, and the GCC performs one major concert each semester at the UGA Performing Arts Center. In addition to concerts onsite, the Chorus has performed in venues such as the Georgia Museum of Art, State Botanical Garden of Georgia, and the Lincoln Center in New York City.

Besides music, according to Artistic Director Carol Reeves, GCC singers learn responsibility, commitment, teamwork and self-confidence.

Participation in the Georgia Children’s Chorus (GCC) is about music—and so much more. In its eighteenth season, GCC is a 115-voice children’s chorus in residence at the Hugh Hodgson School of

Music at the University of Georgia. Its members, ages 7-18, receive professional choral training and opportunities to perform.

Georgia Children’s Chorus participants learn not only music but valuable life lessons through choral training.

BASED IN Athens

COUNTIES SERVED Barrow, Clarke, Jackson, Madison and Oglethorpe

GRANT$10,000

GEORGIA CHILDREN’S CHORUSgeorgiachildrenschorus.org

to enable 20 students from low-income families to participate

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“Every voice counts,” says Reeves. “Just like on a football team where every player counts, in the choir, every voice has to pull its own weight.”

Lifelong benefits for students of music include enhanced critical thinking skills, higher test scores, better vocabulary and advanced reading skills, according to Reeves.

“Kids who’ve been through the program tell me they learned music but so much more,” she says. “It’s built their confidence and helped them learn communication skills. When they go into the work field or college for interviews, they feel they can better handle themselves with more confidence and poise.”

Reeves recalls one young chorus member who was “so bashful she wouldn’t look you in the eyes.” Now, according to the artistic director, the once-shy student is involved in a multitude of activities, including drama.

“I have seen lives changed by the chorus, and it just amazes me,” says Reeves, noting that some chorus members go on to major in music and some teach music themselves. “All chorus members learn to be good citizens and to be part of a community… We stress that.”

Along with helping GCC provide choral training to low-income, the Jackson EMC Foundation grant also helps pay for sheet music that routinely costs $1.95 to $2.50 apiece.

“With 115 members in the choir, that adds up quickly,” says Reeves, adding that the sheet music provided by the JEMC Foundation remains in the GCC music library forever, leaving a legacy for future generations of chorus members.

“We are so grateful to the Jackson EMC Foundation for supporting the Georgia Children’s Choir—but also for investing in the youth in northeast Georgia through all the organizations they support,” says Reeves. “Jackson EMC truly is helping to build future leaders and outstanding citizens for the next generation.”

The Georgia Children’s Chorus presents a concert each semester at the UGA Performing Arts Center.

We are so grateful to the Jackson EMC Foundation for supporting the Georgia Children’s Choir—but also

for investing in the youth in northeast Georgia

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The acronym stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology” and the global competition reinforces STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills while inspiring innovation and promoting life skills.

With its primary focus on STEM experiences that build interest in technology careers, the Jackson County 4-H Robotics Team formed in 2011 and now boasts 25 members who meet at the 4-H Center in Jefferson. Teammates hail from each of Jackson County’s public and private schools; about one-third of the team’s members are girls.

Throughout the year, the robotics team studies STEM subjects in preparation for the big event—the FIRST Robotics Challenge. Each January, the challenge is unveiled via a global internet broadcast where all FIRST teams across the world learn of the challenge simultaneously. From the time the challenge is revealed, teams have six weeks to design, build and test an industrial-strength robot that’s remotely controlled with onboard computers and capable of playing that year’s game.

The six-week build is intense, to say the least, according to Robotics Mentor Harold Jarrett, who leads the team with assistance from other volunteer mentors.

The Jackson County 4-H Robotics Team won the 2016 Excellence in Engineering Award at state competition.

F or six weeks each winter, the Jackson County 4-H Robotics Team lives, breathes, eats and sleeps robotics. It’s practically a must when competing in the FIRST Robotics Competition.

BASED IN Jefferson

COUNTIES SERVED Jackson

GRANT$6,000

for equipment for FIRST Robotics Competition

JACKSON COUNTY 4-H ROBOTICS PROGRAMwww.team4189.org/joomla/index.php/about-us

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“The team is designed in the form of a small business with a board of directors made up of adult mentors and the kids as the managers and employees,” says Jarrett. “Projects are split up between people and there’s usually a lot of haggling involved.”

The team works together the same way any small business would with different departments handling their piece of the

whole project. In recent years, the team has built remote controlled robots to play basketball, ultimate Frisbee, and other competitive games—all while learning skills related to engineering, manufacturing, computer programming, electronic marketing and more.

Participation in FIRST Robotics is a plus for college applications, notes Jarrett, adding that three former Jackson County 4-H Robotics Team members are currently pursuing engineering degrees at Georgia Tech.

Last year’s FIRST challenge was the most complex so far, according to Jarrett, who said his team rose to the occasion. To create a robot that would defend a castle described in the challenge, students had to take into consideration items such as weight and height restrictions, which type of drive train would best maneuver the terrain, and the height of the robot for optimum movability.

The team build began with discussions; then transitioned to designing the robot; then building, testing and modifying it; and, finally, taking it to competition. Team members put in numerous late night and weekend hours building their bot, all while keeping up with their regular school studies and activities, according to Jarrett.

The Jackson team qualified in regional finals four of the past five years and did well at this year’s state competition, bringing home the 2016 Excellence in Engineering Award.

Along with the STEM skills they hone, team members learn valuable life lessons during the competition, according to Ean Plunkett, president of the Jackson County 4-H Robotics Team.

“We’ve learned the keys to success at competition are to have a good bot, be as skilled as possible, make a good group of friends, and be lucky,” says Plunkett, explaining that unforeseen circumstances can spoil even the best day for a bot.

Students test the second version of their T-shirt cannon.

We’ve learned the keys to success at competition are to have a good bot,

be as skilled as possible, make a good group of friends, and be lucky

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“In many ways this is an awakening for students,” says Niambi Sampson, Vice President of Programs for Junior Achievement (JA) of Georgia. “Many of us had to figure it out after our first paychecks and $10,000 on a credit card. We hope we can help this generation figure it out sooner.”

Open to students in August 2015, the JA Discovery Center is an interactive simulation center on the grounds of Discovery High School in Lawrenceville. Here, students take part in JA BizTown and JA Finance Park, immersive programs embedded into the core curriculum for sixth and eighth graders in Gwinnett County Public Schools. Both are designed as

interactive, marketplace environments representative of Gwinnett County’s business community.

“The facilities are big learning labs that give students their first shot at studying business practices, balancing budgets, and other business-related instruction to give them an idea of how they will use what they’ve learned in the classroom in the real world,” says Sampson.

JA BizTown serves sixth graders who assume the roles of employee, taxpayer and consumer at the simulated city complete with 18 businesses. Students experience a market economy by completing a day’s work and making purchasing decisions.

By learning about financial literacy, business and entrepreneurship at JA Biztown and JA Finance Park, almost 30,000 Gwinnett County middle school students go through an eye-opening experience that many

of their parents didn’t have until adulthood kicked in.

Gwinnett County in microcosm welcomes sixth graders to JA BizTown, where they get a feel for employment and what it takes to run a business.

BASED IN Lawrenceville

COUNTIES SERVED Gwinnett

GRANT$10,000

JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT DISCOVERY CENTER AT GWINNETT www.georgia.ja.org

for JA Biztown and JA Finance Park

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“Sixth graders earn a day’s pay and then decide whether they’ll spend all their paycheck or bank some,” says Sampson. “JA BizTown looks at the macro-economy, giving students social skills to move into the market and communicate effectively. JA Finance Park looks at the micro-economy.”

Eighth graders at JA Finance Park learn what their financial futures could hold based on the decisions they make. Students receive a life situation with job, income, education and family scenarios and then visit businesses to gather details for making wise financial decisions, using banking services, and determining investment options.

“At JA Finance Park, students discover the relationship between education, career and the future lifestyle they want to live,” says Sampson. “They learn key concepts such as how credit score determines loan eligibility or the role savings can play on acquiring certain luxuries.”

Both JA BizTown and JA Finance Park begin in the classroom with four weeks of JA curriculum devoted to business and financial concepts. Following the in-classroom lessons, the program culminates with the one-day experience at the JA Discovery Center at Gwinnett, where students apply math, science, social studies and language skills they’ve learned in class.

JA BizTown and JA Finance Park would not be possible without the partnerships with area businesses that donate both financial and human capital, according to Sampson.

“Companies like Chick-fil-A, Assurant and Cisco send employees who work with students as facilitators and mentors,” she says. “Who better to show them than those people who are in the industry?”

More than 90 percent of teachers involved in the program last year, its first year of implementation, said it helped them become more engaged with students. A typical response from students, according to teachers, has been: “Okay, I understand now why fractions are important, why teamwork is important. I get it now.”

Best of all, says Sampson, JA BizTown and JA Finance Park help students realize the relationship between education to career, career to income, and income to lifestyle.

“They learn that it all goes back to education—not just about going to college but preparing yourself for whatever career you seek,” Sampson concludes.

Sixth graders from Louise Radloff Middle School in Duluth manage operations at Home Depot during hands-on learning at JA BizTown.

At JA Finance Park, Louise Radloff Middle School eighth graders discover how their financial decisions impact their quality of life.

At JA Finance Park, students discover the relationship between education, career and the future

lifestyle they want to live

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“It’s like a lighthouse that’s illuminated a path for children to learn skills, to learn about life, to give children a way to embrace life,” says Mary Mauricio, who started the faith-based, nonprofit organization in 1997, along with her husband, Ruben, and a batch of volunteers. “Children’s futures are at stake. L.A.M.P. is a guide that leads them to learn and strive to reach their potential.”

Mary was working in a jewelry shop at Lakeshore Mall in the mid-1990s when the idea for the ministry first came to her.

“There were a lot of Hispanic kids getting in trouble at the mall,” she recalls. “I asked them ‘Why is it 1 o’clock and you’re not in school?’ and they’d answer, ‘I don’t care about school.’”

Mary saw it as a problem that, with God’s help, she could work to solve. She formed L.A.M.P. (Latin American Missionary Program) to address gang activity in Hall County. In the past 20 years, the agency has worked with hundreds of children and teens who have experienced the heartache of homelessness, abuse, neglect and violence. Young participants are referred to L.A.M.P. in an effort to get them on the right path.

“Drug dealers use children as young as 5 to make deliveries; older teens teach them to steal,” says Mary. “This traps children into the subculture of gangs and drugs… Our goal is to reach out to any destitute or at-risk child to provide stability,

F or almost two decades, L.A.M.P. Ministries, based in Hall County, has served as a beacon, guiding children out of the darkness of violence and abuse into the light of care and compassion.

Children like Pedro benefit from homework assistance, music and crafts.

L.A.M.P. MINISTRIES

BASED IN Gainesville

COUNTIES SERVED Hall, Jackson Lumpkin and Gwinnett

GRANT$11,000

for community children and youth program

www.lampga.org

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attention, love and discipline needed for the normal development of personality and character.”

The Jackson EMC Foundation grant supports L.A.M.P.’s Community Youth and Children’s Program, which features three-month sessions open to children, ages 7-17, at risk of becoming involved in gang activity. Group counseling, community activities and education assistance provide a positive alternative to gangs, drugs and crime.

The after-school sessions offer homework assistance, sports, music, crafts, community activities and automotive work training. Instruction runs the gamut—from promoting teamwork and self-discipline to teaching boys how to wear a tie and girls, how to set a table. Community guests visit with students, including police officers who explain the consequences of crime. Tutoring, individual and family counseling are offered as needed, and the program is one of few in the area that’s bilingual.

“We’ve seen grades go from 28 to 96,” says Mary, noting that more than 80 percent of L.A.M.P. participants are doing well in school or have graduated and are at work or in college—and no longer involved in crime or delinquency.

“We couldn’t reach the children we do without the Jackson EMC Foundation,” says Mary. “We just can’t tell you what it means to us—that they enable us to serve the community, to get kids off the streets and move forward with their lives.”

Some former students are now in college, culinary school or nursing school, according to Mary.

“One young man who was in a gang is a minister now,” she says. “When they leave here, we tell them: Be a blessing to somebody… Sometimes all they need is encouragement and someone to believe in them.”

We couldn’t reach the children we do without the Jackson EMC

Foundation. We just can’t tell you what it means to us—that they

enable us to serve the community

Jasmine shows affection for volunteer Jessica White as Javier plays a mobile game.

Jasmine, Jayline, Maria and Pedro gain self-confidence and life skills in L.A.M.P.’s Community Youth and Children’s Program.

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What the athletes gain from the experience is best summed up by parents, like Shirley Gunter whose daughter, Kelsey, plays soccer despite having Downs Syndrome.

“It helps Kelsey build self-confidence, deepens friendships, and is totally a positive experience,” says Shirley, an assistant physical education teacher who appreciates the physical fitness team sports offer her daughter. “Soccer is definitely good exercise.”

Historically, Special Olympics is known for giving people with intellectual disabilities an opportunity to exercise and experience joy. For most of its participants, Special Olympics is the only outlet these athletes have to compete.

“As our kids grow older, it becomes more difficult for them to compete with middle and high school kids, so this fills that gap, both athletically and socially,” says Cyndi White, whose daughter Emily also plays soccer on a Unified Partners Special Olympics team, which brings special needs children together with typical kids on the sports field. “This allows Emily to get together with her friends, meet new friends, and do something both fun and active.”

Susan Mullis, co-director of Special Olympics of Barrow County, coaches four Unified Partners soccer teams and appreciates what both special needs children and their typically developing peers gain from the experience, including

In Barrow County, kids of all ability levels can equally enjoy rigorous team sports, thanks to Special Olympics. And thanks in part to the Jackson EMC Foundation, Special Olympics of Barrow County makes

it possible for more than 500 special needs athletes to compete in basketball, bocce, soccer, and other sports at no cost to the athletes or their families.

Coach Susan Mullis wheels Emily around during a summer soccer exercise.

BASED IN Winder

COUNTIES SERVED Barrow

GRANT$7,000

SPECIAL OLYMPICS OF BARROW COUNTYfacebook.com/barrowcountyspecialolympics

for equipment and supplies

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acceptance and leadership skills for the typical athletes and new friendships and inclusiveness for those with special needs.

“You hear talk about why can’t we all just get along,” says Mullis. “Here on the soccer field, that really happens. It’s a caring, loving, patient environment. The real world isn’t always as kind.”

That kindness is exemplified by non-special needs athletes like Katie Robinson who, along with her twin sister Kellie, plays with Special Olympians on a Unified Partners team.

“Their faces light up when we play with them,” says Katie. “It makes them happy, so it makes me happy.”

In her ten years with Special Olympics, Mullis has watched children mature, like the boy who was non-verbal in elementary school but now, in high school, is comfortable traveling out of town independently with his fellow athletes.

“Special Olympics is founded on the belief that people with intellectual disabilities can, with proper instruction and encouragement, learn, enjoy and benefit from participation in

individual and team sports,” says Mullis. “In Barrow County, the Jackson EMC Foundation has allowed us to offer sports we couldn’t otherwise offer to provide more outreach in the community. We couldn’t do what we do without the Jackson EMC Foundation.”

The Foundation’s most recent grant funded $7,000 for uniforms and supplies and to pay for participation in local and state competitions, including the state competition held each May at Emory University, complete with opening ceremonies, a parade of banners, and awarding of medals to the Special Olympians.

Children of all abilities play together on Unified Partners soccer teams. There’s nothing like being part of the team!

In Barrow County, the Jackson EMC Foundation has allowed us to offer sports we couldn’t otherwise offer

CHANGES IN UNRESTRICTED NET ASSETS SUPPORT Contributions $ 1,103,065 $ 1,074,435

Interest 97 232

Contributed Services 54,979 53,722

1,158,141 1,128,389

PROGRAM SERVICE EXPENSES Community Assistance 1,045,800 1,121,106

Family Assistance 50,395 62,104

SUPPORT SERVICE EXPENSES Administrative and General 55,064 53,722

1,151,259 1,236,932

Increase (Decrease) in Unrestricted Net Assets 6,882 (108,543)

Unrestricted Net Assets, Beginning 189,681 298,224

Unrestricted Net Assets, Ending $ 196,563 $ 189,681

2016 2015

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100 Black Men of North Metro Atlanta $ 6,000

Action Ministries, Inc. 15,000

Adult Literacy Barrow, Inc. 14,010

Adventure Bags, Inc. 7,500

Aids Athens, Inc. 5,000

ALS Association of Georgia 2,500

Angel House of Georgia 7,500

Annandale at Suwanee, Inc. 15,000

Asian American Resource Foundation 7,000

Athens Community Council on Aging 5,000

Athens Regional Foundation 5,000

Athens Urban Ministries 10,000

Athens - Clarke County Treatment and Accountability Court 6,500

Books for Keeps, Inc. 4,800

Boy Scouts of Northeast Georgia 14,985

Boys & Girls Club of Athens 10,000

Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta 15,000

Boys & Girls Club of Winder 15,000

Camp Koinonia 15,000

Camp Kudzu 8,000

Camp Twin Lakes, Inc. 12,500

Court Appointed Special Advocates - Enotah 6,000

Chamber of Commerce - Madison County 3,000

Children’s Center for Hope & Healing 15,000

Citizen Advocacy Athens - Clarke, Inc. 6,400

Community Helping Place 2,500

Cooperative Ministry - Lawrenceville 15,000

Cooperative Ministry - Norcross 15,000

Cooperative Ministry - North Gwinnett 15,000

Disabled American Veteran - Chapter 92 4,000

Eagle Ranch, Inc. 15,000

Exodus Outreach, Inc. 15,000

Extra Special People, Inc. 15,000

Eyes of Love Lighthouse Mission 10,000

Families of Children Under Stress 5,500

Family Promise of Hall County, Inc. 15,000

Family Promise of Gwinnett County, Inc. 5,000

For Her Glory 15,000

Foster Siblings Reunited 2,000

Balance – Carried Forward $ 380,695

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Balance – Brought Forward $ 380,695

Fragile Kids Foundation 15,000

Gainesville/Hall County Alliance for Literacy 12,000

Gainesville/Hall Community Food Pantry 2,500

Gateway House 15,000

Georgia Children’s Chorus 10,000

Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, Inc. 10,000

Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta 5,000

Good News Clinics 15,000

Good Samaritan Health Center of Gwinnett 15,000

Good Samaritan Ministries of Northeast Georgia 3,500

Gwinnett Children’s Shelter, Inc. 15,000

Gwinnett County Public Library 11,463

Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center 15,000

Gwinnett Sexual Assault Center 15,000

Gwinnett Student Leadership Team 15,000

Habitat for Humanity - Barrow County 10,000

Habitat for Humanity - Gwinnett County 15,000

Hamilton Mill United Methodist Church 2,500

Harmony House Child Advocacy Center 6,893

Hebron Community Health Center 15,000

Hi-Hope Service Center 15,000

HOPE , Inc. 5,000

Hope for the Journey 4,800

Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens 10,000

Interlocking Communities, Inc. 10,463

Jackson County 4-H Club 6,000

Junior Achievement of Georgia 10,000

L.A.M.P. Ministries 11,000

Lindsay’s Legacy Mentoring 15,000

MedLink Georgia, Inc. 15,000

Mercy Health Center 12,500

NEGA CARE-NET 9,650

New Beginnings Ministries of Lawrenceville 7,500

New Beginnings Ministry of Franklin County 5,000

Next Stop Foundation 15,000

Noah’s Ark, Inc. 5,000

Northeast Georgia Regional Education Service Agency 951

Balance-Carried Forward $ 762,415

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Balance – Brought Forward $ 762,415

Our Neighbor, Inc. 15,000

Partnership for Gynecological Cancer Support 5,000

Path Project, Inc. 2,000

Piedmont Regional Library System 15,000

Pilot Club International 5,000

Place of Seven Springs 5,000

Project Safe, Inc. 7,500

Quilts for Kids 5,000

Quinlan Arts, Inc. 5,000

Reins of Life, Inc. 1,910

Salvation Army of Athens 15,000

Salvation Army of Gainesville 15,000

Salvation Army of Lawrenceville 15,000

Salvation Army of Toccoa 5,000

Samaritan Center for Counseling & Wellness 5,000

Senior Center - Madison County 15,000

Special Olympics - Barrow County 7,000

Spectrum Autism Support Group 10,000

Spirit of Joy Christian Church 2,500

St. Vincent De Paul Society - Flowery Branch 12,000

St. Vincent De Paul Society - Gainesville 12,000

St. Vincent De Paul Society - Jackson County 12,000

Step by Step Recovery, Inc. 15,000

Tree House, Inc. 15,000

University of North Georgia Foundation 15,000

Urban Ministry - Gainesville First United Methodist Church 1,475

William B. Mulherin Foundation 10,000

YMCA - Athens 10,000

YMCA of Georgia’s Piedmont 15,000

YWCO of Athens 10,000

Balance-Carried Forward $ 1,045,800

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2016 Jackson EMC Foundation Annual Report

P.O. Box 38 • Jefferson, GA 30549 www.jacksonemc.com/foundation