November 12, 2007 The Board of Directors of the St. Marys United Methodist Church Foundation, Inc. has approved grants for the Fall 2007 Grant Cycle. Grants totaling $1,124,120 will be made to 13 charitable organizations the week of December 3, 2007. The following is a brief description of each recipient and the purpose of the grant.
Care Net Pregnancy Center (www.ourpartners.org)A $25,280 grant to the Care Net Pregnancy Center to provide a part-time nurse manager and initial ultrasound training for the Kingsland, Georgia Center. Care Net is a Christ-centered ministry dedicated to advancing the sanctity of human life and sexual purity by providing abstinence education as well as free pregnancy testing and counseling for women with unplanned pregnancies.
Charlton County Family ConnectionsA $34,340 grant to the Charlton County Family Connections in Folkston, Georgia to help fund the Children Safe All Summer (CSAS) program in Charlton County and to provide capacity building for the local boards governing the program. Charlton County Family Connections was established in 1987 to provide children and families in Charlton County the opportunity to meet their potential in a safe, healthy, educated and supportive environment through a collaboration of community agencies.
The Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy of Glynn (http://www.ferstfoundation.org)A $50,000 grant to the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy of Glynn to provide funding for a program which partners with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to send out age appropriate books to children ages birth to 5 years old at no cost in Glynn County. Established in August 2006, the goal is to assist every child in Glynn County to be reading ready before entering kindergarten. The organization encourages children to dream through reading and encourages parent involvement to achieve early school success.
Cord of ThreeA $20,000 grant to Cord of Three Counseling Services to support the startup of Project Care, a family visitation and support program for children in foster care in Brantley County. Cord of Three was established in January 2006 to provide professional, Christian counseling services to families and individuals within southeast Georgia in need of mental health and spiritual counseling. Specifically, counseling services are designed to help with abuse in the family, adolescent living, anxiety / stress / depression, bereavement and grief, drug and alcohol abuse, family enrichment and relationships.
America’s Second Harvest Food Bank of Coastal Georgia (www.helpendhunger.org)$132,000 in grants to America’s Second Harvest. The grants are provided in two segments; $87,000 to assist in renovating the new warehouse facilities in Brunswick, Georgia and $45,000 to support a Mobile Food Pantry to service Brantley, Glynn, Charlton and Camden Counties. America’s Second Harvest Food Bank of Coastal Georgia was established in Savannah in 1981 to provide hunger relief services to counties in southeast Georgia and in 2006 America’s Second Harvest established a food distribution warehouse in Brunswick, Georgia to serve the four counties of Camden, Glynn, Brantley, and Charlton.
Connectional Ministries of the South Georgia Annual Conference of the United Methodist ChurchAn $85,000 grant to Connectional Ministries to bring the Hope for Africa Children’s Choir to the June 2008 South Georgia Annual Conference Meeting to provide additional information about and create partnerships for HUMBLE Place, a ministry of the South Georgia Annual Conference, in Uganda.
MAP International (www.map.org)A $25,000 grant to MAP International to provide back-up servers for the MAP headquarters in Brunswick, Georgia. MAP International (Medical Assistance Programs) was founded almost 50 years ago as a Christian, non-profit, global relief and development organization serving people living in the world’s poorest communities.
Open Door Community House (www.opendoorcommunityhouse.org)A $75,000 grant to Open Door Community Center in Columbus, Georgia to support the organization’s FY2008 operating budget. Open Door is an agency of the South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church and provides a number of social services to low and moderate-income residents of Muscogee County, Georgia. Services include case management for homeless women, programs for children, youth and senior citizens, a clothing ministry, a community parenting program, a GED program, a transition home for women in crisis and a showering program for the homeless.
Society of St. Andrew (www.endhunger.org)A $75,000 grant to the Society of St. Andrew to support operating expenses for the regional gleaning office located in Tifton, Georgia. The Society of St. Andrew is a ministry of the South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church which distributes millions of pounds of food annually to food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, churches for local distribution and individuals.
South Georgia Annual Conference the United Methodist Church (www.sgaumc.org)A $15,000 grant to the South Georgia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church to fund a video project for the Annual Conference which would highlight conference agencies. Specifically, the project would create a video with 90-second segments for conference agencies which would be presented during the June 2008 Annual Conference Meeting. Additionally, an expanded video with 5-minute segments for the same agencies would be created to be sent to all South Georgia United Methodist churches.
UMCOR (www.umcor.org)A grant of $100,000 to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to support the development and implementation of a U.S. based disaster management software system. The web-based system provides the capability to communicate with the Coordinated Assistance Network (CAN) and consequently any other disaster response agencies that utilize a web based database and will benefit disaster victims and organizations (including but not limited to UMCOR) that respond to disasters for many years to come. This represents the first year of a three-year commitment to this project. UMCOR was established by the United Methodist Church in 1940 in response to the suffering of people during World War II and continues to provide a channel through which people may express their Christian compassion for people around the globe, often the poorest in society, who are undergoing hardship and suffering as a result of natural catastrophes, conflicts or wars. UMCOR is called on to provide immediate relief and long-term recovery wherever and whenever needed.
Coastal Medical Access Project (CMAP)An $87,500 grant to CMAP in support of their sustainability initiative to expand services in southeast Georgia. This represents the third year of a four-year commitment to this project. CMAP provides access to free pharmaceuticals, access to medical service, and chronic disease case management and serves the uninsured and under-insured residents of Camden, Charlton and Brantley counties.
Church World Service (www.churchworldservice.org)A $400,000 grant to Church World Service to support an expansion of the Africa Initiative - Giving Children Hope Program in East and Southern Africa. This grant represents the first year of a new 3-year partnership between Church World Service and the St. Marys United Methodist Church Foundation referred to as the Africa Initiative. The goal of this initiative is to protect the rights of and to provide support to orphans and vulnerable children living in the countries of Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia who have been affected by HIV/AIDS, war and famine that they may be empowered to manage their own well being and the stability of their families, to participate in the social and economic development of their communities, and to live in the shelter of hope. The initiative will reinforce the capacity of and support the expansion of church and related organizations to build child-centered programs and networks.
The St. Marys United Methodist Church Foundation, Inc. was organized in January 2001 to support the charitable activities of the St. Marys United Methodist Church. Annual grant distributions will typically represent about 3% to 5% of the Foundation’s value. The Foundation awards grants twice each year, in the spring and the fall. Grant proposals are accepted year round. Proposals received from December 2nd to June 1st will be considered for the Fall cycle while proposals received from June 2nd to December 1st will be considered for the Spring cycle. Proposals to be considered must be related to:
Children, Youth and Family – Agencies of the South Georgia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and programs in southeast Georgia (Camden, Glynn, Brantley and Charlton Counties) that promote the spiritual, mental and/or physical well being of children, youth and families.
Adults and Elderly – Agencies of the South Georgia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and programs in southeast Georgia (Camden, Glynn, Brantley and Charlton Counties) that promote the spiritual, mental and/or physical well being of adults and elderly.
Health, Mental Health, and Mental Retardation – Agencies of the South Georgia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and programs in southeast Georgia (Camden, Glynn, Brantley and Charlton Counties) that provide research, treatment, or care in the fields of health, mental health and mental retardation.
Christian Education, Evangelism, and Missions – Agencies of the South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church and programs that equip God’s people for evangelism, programs whose sole focus is spreading the Gospel, and mission programs which seek to spread the Gospel through local southeast Georgia (Camden, Glynn, Brantley and Charlton Counties).
Additional information about the St. Marys United Methodist Church Foundation, Inc. is available on the Internet at www.smumcfoundation.org or by calling 912-510-9350.
Jeff Barker, President
