Published Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Community Foundation helps non-profit groups

The Newnan Times-Herald

With hard economic times hurting many non-profit groups, local organizations are happy to have received grants from the Coweta Community Foundation.

The foundation solicited grant applications from local organizations in the spring. The applications were reviewed by a grant screening committee and then presented to the foundation board for a vote.

The foundation's mission is to provide grants to a wide variety of charitable causes that support quality of life for Cowetans. The foundation's key interests include women and children's issues, public safety, education and the arts. The foundation also considers health care, social services, religious and environmental causes.

Recipients of $8,800 in foundations grants have been announced.

-- Coweta Community Food Pantry was granted $500 to purchase items that cannot be purchased with food stamps, including toilet paper, paper towels and personal hygiene products.

-- One Roof Ecumenical Alliance Outreach received $1,000 to secure transition placement for four homeless families seeking permanent housing.

Derenda Rowe heads the operations of both the Food Pantry and One Roof and says that grants like the one just received from the CCF are critical to keeping both organizations running.

"We could not operate without the help and generosity of organizations like the Coweta Community Foundation," Rowe said. "Grants like this allow us to do extra things we can't do with regular donations of cash or food items. This grant will help us do lots more to serve the local community."

-- Prevent Child Abuse (PCA) Coweta received $1,000 to purchase three baby simulator dolls to be placed in three Coweta County high schools in support of Implemented Reality Works Shaken Baby Syndrome Simulator program, which helps educate the community on the dangers of shaking a child.

PCA spokesperson Helen Passantino said the grant had already paid dividends and helped buy new training DVDs and simulator dolls for three local high schools.

"It's already helped," Passantino said. "We appreciate it so much and it's really important because we have to advocate for the small children who have no voice. This really helps."

-- Cochran Mill Nature Center in Palmetto received $500 for supplies for their summer camps, which offer environmental education to school age children.

"In this recession every dollar we get is precious," said Mariberth Wansley, executive director. "We can't say how grateful we are to the CCF for their help."

-- BelAir Estates, Inc. received $1,000 for renovations to grounds and facilities, including painting and construction of permanent partitions. Spokesperson Carmen M. Hamer said,

"While our primary focus is on keeping the doors open, we have given equal attention to improving the living conditions around the facility to ensure the environment is warm, loving, and like home. As a non-profit, faith-based philanthropic organization, we rely heavily on the generosity of others and donations such as the Coweta Community Foundation Grant. We were elated to hear of the opportunity and feel blessed that the committee found favor in our program."

-- Coweta Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy received $500 to help provide quality literature to preschoolers and their parents during the first five years of a child's life.

Spokesperson Nelda Boren said, "We are working very hard with other local agencies to be proactive in addressing literacy in our future leaders in Coweta. It is much more cost efficient than trying to address or correct the problem of illiteracy later in life. The $500.00 contribution to Ferst Foundation by the Coweta Community Foundation is most appreciated. All of the contribution went toward books for preschool children and their parents in Coweta County, many of whom may not have any appropriate reading material in the home."

-- Newnan-Coweta Angel's House, Inc. received $1,000 for repairs and maintenance on rooms in the Angel's House children's shelter. The shelter has housed more than 130 abused and/or neglected children over the past five years.

Angel's House board member Colleen Sprayberry said, "We were thrilled to receive the grant from the CC Foundation. You can imagine the wear and tear that the house has gone through for the past four and a half years. The money we receive from the state does not begin to cover the costs of maintenance and upkeep on the house. The grant money has been ear-marked to be used for much needed interior painting. We are blessed to live in a community that continues to support Angel's House and we are extremely grateful to the Coweta County Foundation for this generous grant."

-- The Community Welcome House received $1,000 to improve cost-effectiveness on the environment by reducing the cost of water and energy usage.

"Community Welcome House would like to thank and acknowledge the Coweta Community Foundation for helping us improve our facility in the Grants to Green initiative," said CWH executive director Linda Kirkpatrick. "Community Welcome House served 134 women and children in the safe-haven in 2008. The improvements made have reduced our power and water bills and is helping us decrease our carbon footprint in our community."

-- Brewton-Parker College received $500 towards purchase of laptop and LCD projector for the college's Newnan satellite facility to enhance teaching and learning strategies through technology.

-- Newnan High School's Green Dream Program received $1,000 to make chemistry lab more environmentally sound. Newnan High also received $800 for tables needed for bi-annual Veterans Project where military veterans are teachers for a day.